The Urantia Book Fellowship
IT Summit Group: Condensed Report
July, 2009

July 22, 2009

Present day information technologies (IT) offer a wide range of potentials for more economical administration, enhanced communication, and a wide-open opportunity for global dissemination of the Urantia Book.  IT development should be an evolving effort focused on enabling the Fellowship economically, efficiently, and comprehensively to pursue its global mission;  IT exists to support and serve the Fellowship.

Therefore, in order to provide a coherent actionable IT plan, the Fellowship must first articulate a strategy—exactly how do we intend to actualize the many vision statements generated in the past?  And, once we articulate the processes by which we intend to pursue our mission, how do we intend to finance them?  Prior to the development of any meaningful IT plan, the Fellowship must describe a strategy and develop a business plan by which that strategy will be financed.  Only in conjunction with such an administrative process can the issues of IT support be addressed.    

Does the Fellowship want to assume a leadership role in productive dissemination and reader services, or is it content with mediocrity on the web and in its internal administrative processes?

The IT summit group strongly urges the administrative sector of the Fellowship immediately to address relevant issues related to organizational strategy, public relations, and supportive financial resources.  The full IT Summit report provides a number of options in the key areas of IT service to the organization.  This more detailed report should be read by anyone with an interest in the matter, particularly new Officers, Committee Chairs, and Councilors.  It is also recommended that the pressing business and IT issues facing the Fellowship be taken into serious consideration with regard to the upcoming election of Councilors and Officers, with a premium being placed on experience in business, finance, and related information technologies.

It is further recommended that the Officers of the Fellowship, in dialog with participants in the IT summit and with consultation with the General Council where deemed appropriate, immediately become engaged in a process that will result in a clearly defined organizational strategy, a business plan, and an IT plan that supports these objectives—to be in process of implementation within three years.

The IT Summit Group also identified several areas which should receive immediate attention while more long-range issues are considered.  These are:

1. Database development must focus on relieving Paula of managing multiple databases which contain identical information, the integration of financial data sets with the primary reader database and more effective fund raising/membership expansion efforts.

2. An inventory of current data—scattered over “official” databases, society address lists, contribution records, conference registration databases—and more, must be inventoried; information critical to effective management and service must be identified.  Then, procedures need to be created by which this information is appropriately updated and backed up.  Appropriate backing up must include periodic restoration tests.

3. The entire set of readership data must be audited. Auditing must be done in conjunction with the creation of sound administrative procedures for updating and managing the subsequently audited data in order to maintain its integrity and value.

The full IT Summit Report may be found on the admin website at http://www.fefadmin.org/committee_reports/supplemental_reports/IT_Summit_Final_Document.pdf

The IT Summit Group expresses its appreciation for the service opportunity provided by the Fellowship and is standing by to advise as needed.

Tim Hobbs
Michael Challis
Barry Clark
Emilio Coppola
Susan Cook
Paula Thompson
Alan Goodman
Larry Watkins
Michelle Klimesh
Robert Burns
David Kantor