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Across Canada, thousands of community "intermediary" organizations act as links between the various levels of government and Canadians, often people experiencing poverty, health problems, social isolation and other forms of disadvantage. Community intermediary organizations produce community media to publicize to the larger society the issues and events they believe are important, and they network with each other and with their community members to share information. This research explores the community media and networking activities of four of these organizations in four different Canadian provinces, and the role of the Internet in these activities. For our analysis we draw on fieldwork data including transcripts from interviews and focus groups as well as content analysis of texts produced by the organizations. Our research situates these organizations as actors within wider social movements and considers their community media and networking activities in this context. The research contributes understanding about how the Internet is used by this specific group of social movement actors - community intermediary organizations - and the challenges and opportunities for and barriers to using the Internet for their community media and networking activities., International Communications Association (ICA) Annual Conference, May 24-28, 2007, San Francisco, California, USA

The Community Intermediaries Research Project (CIRP) investigated the social challenges and needs addressed by Canadian non-profit community-based organizations, the social and community contexts in which they operate, and the information and services they provide to citizens. These organizations are described as community intermediaries because they act as links between various levels of government and citizens. The CIRP research team used a case-study, mixed methods approach. This paper presents an overview of the results of the CIRP study and includes a discussion of institutional knowledge and memory., Community Informatics Research Network (CIRN), 2006

Community organizations produce community media to publicize to the larger society the issues and events they believe are important. They network with each other to coordinate their activities and form coalitions for action on common themes. Within alternative media theory and new social movement theory, community media and community networking are the primary means by which community organizations and social movement organizations attempt to challenge dominant social codes, test new ideas, and conduct experiments on existing relations of power. During the past decade, researchers have posited that information and communication technologies (ICT) offer new possibilities for community organizations to further their work on behalf of marginalized groups. This paper analyzes how four community organizations in four different Canadian provinces produce community media and network with other community organizations, drawing on fieldwork data collected as part of the larger Community Intermediaries Research Project. The analysis focuses on: the processes and technologies used for community media and networking, the community media and networking activities and messages, and the social and organizational arrangements that exist and form around these processes, technologies, messages and activities., Canadian Communication Association Annual Conference 2006, June 1-3, 2006, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

A research methodology called Information Environment Mapping (IEM) was developed for use in the Community Intermediaries Research Project (CIRP). The CIRP was a study of the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in community organizations that provide social services in the form of intermediation between community members and governmental and private sector organizations. One aspect of the CIRP was to understand the use of ICT in problem solving performed by community intermediary staff. Pilot studies suggested that people often find creative solutions to everyday problems that may not be obvious to those outside of their organizations or lines of work. The IEM methodology was developed in order to create a problem-solving environment for use in the CIRP in which respondents were encouraged to reveal unique perspectives on their information needs and any creative responses they employ to deal with challenges they face in getting at and using information. This methodology was adapted from a human-computer interface evaluation technique called cognitive walkthroughs. This paper provides and overview of the IEM methodology., Communication Association Annual Conference 2006, June 1-3, 2006, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Canadian government's 1999 Speech from the Throne set the goal of being known around the world as the government most connected to its citizens with Canadians able to access all government services on-line at any time and place of their choosing. As part of achieving this advancement to a knowledge society, the government made a series of investments in infrastructure, content and access. Underlying these commitments and activities is a broadly held expectation by government and other social actors that social and economic activities in the country are, and will be, predominately conducted using electronic communications. The federal government's approach to information and service delivery is primarily framed by a broad on-line policy framework, to be implemented through the citizen-centred Government On-Line/Service Improvement Initiative (Canada, 2006; Treasury Board of Canada, 2002, 2003). Within this context however, there continues to be debate about variation of access (digital divides) and the veracity for different means of information and service access by citizens., International Association of Media and Communications Researchers (IAMCR) Annual Conference, July 23-28, 2006, Cairo, Egypt

Canada's knowledge society labour policy is reflected in the federal government's re-designing and re-scaling of the welfare state. Part of this re-designing has been connecting labour market and social policy - that is combining the ‘workfare model' with the ‘social investment model' of lifelong learning. These changes are reflected in the 1995 Employment Insurance Act (EIA) with an emphasis on the re-commodification of labour and the importance of active reemployment. Under this policy, all working age individuals' have a duty and obligation to work whether they receive social assistance, employment insurance benefits or a disability pension. In addition to tightening employment insurance eligibility requirements the Act has also shortened benefit periods. The Act is also accompanied by a minimal safety net that offers short-term employment public programs, available on a competitive basis to community non-government organizations, ostensibly to assist those who have been previously excluded from the workforce. An emphasis has been placed on life-long learning and skills and training for those planning on entering or re-entering the workforce. More recently the federal government has launched, what it refers to as a citizen-centric on-line employment services. Client services include: the on-line data Job Bank, a web-based network of Canadian job postings; the Electronic Labour Exchange (ELE), that matches job seekers with businesses; on-line Employment Insurance (EI), reporting for those out-of work and receiving benefits, as well as the on-line Web Record of Employment (ROE)., International Association of Media and Communications Researchers (IAMCR) Annual Conference, July 23-28, 2006, Cairo, Egypt