(08 08 06) NISCN Research Consortium Update

Members of the KORI team including Franz Seibel, Jordan Sturgeon and Brian Walmark met with Michael Gurstein via teleconference to review the NISCN Research initiative.  Michael outlined the work undertaken so far especially the Workplace Skills Initiative (WSI) which will provide training and employment for some members to develop research capacity at the community level.  There was also discussion about the development of a comprehensive database to support the work of the communities in economic development, health and education.  The framework document outlines the entire project.  The next steps for the project include Michael revising the WSI proposal based on recommendations and suggestions gathered from a wide network of interested parties; Brian developing a letter proposal describing the project and the team developing a proposal that can be distributed to all of the potential funders which can be addressed during a proposed meeting in Ottawa with potential partners.  A project website is being constructed which will provide a means to communicate this work more effectively.