Membership
The membership fees are based on a cost recovery model, with the resources re-invested in the infrastructure thereby creating long term sustainability. Membership fees vary according to the type of organization joining (see below). Annual membership fees are subject to review every two years by the SPCO in consultation with the Senior Advisory Committee. Voluntary sector groups and organizations who cannot afford the membership fee (normally those with an annual budget under $60,000) can become full members by contributing in-kind. Requests to contribute through an in-kind contribution should be made to the CIMS Manager, with the intention that the in-kind contribution would be of benefit to community based research / evidence based practice in the local community with respect to population health issues. For profit organizations are not entitled to become members. The annual membership fee provides the member unlimited access to the three core elements within the CIMS infrastructure for one year:
- The Supports for Community Based Research and Mapping
- The Interactive Web Based Mapping and Data Portal
- Links to Other Members and Their Projects
As well, each annual membership entitles the user to establish a custom geographic boundary for accessing information within the CIMS (e.g. the agency’s specific catchment area), so long as the boundary is not smaller than a census sub-division in rural areas or a census tract in urban areas. Members are encouraged to develop atlases (thematic collections of maps) on issues that matter to them and to share their research and tools with other members. Opportunities will be provided for partnership development with other members, for example to work on common issues or to leverage additional data of relevance to members. Members are requested to participate in a modest annual evaluation of the initiative to support continuous improvement of the infrastructure, are invited to participate in an on-line Annual General Meeting, and may join one of the CIMS committees.
Annual Membership Fees
|
User Level |
Description & Benefits |
Annual Price |
|
Individual Voluntary Sector Organization or Group |
Local organizations
|
$2,000 |
|
Provincial Organization with no more than 15 chapters * |
Provincial Organizations with local chapters
|
$5,000 |
|
Provincial Organization with more than 15 chapters * |
Provincial Organizations with local chapters
|
$5,000 + in-kind |
|
Municipalities; Government Stakeholders; Quasi-governmental bodies |
City and County governments and their staff or subcontractors; school boards; Public Libraries;
|
$10,000 |
|
Collaboratives, Partnerships, etc. * |
Partnerships of several organizations pooling resources for joint access to CIMS Consortium, tool and supports
|
$5,000 to $10,000 negotiable based on # of members and financial capacity of members |
|
Organizations with annual budget of $60,000 or less |
Local organizations
|
$ & / or in-kind - negotiable |
Additional individualized support is available at a rate of $75.00 per hour, including additial geocoding of addresses for uploading. * Such group members would be requested to sign an agreement that their use of the CIMS would be for the purposes of the group’s collaborative work, and not as a substitute for the individual membership of group members who would intend to use the CIMS for their own work.
Membership Application
To apply for membership or to request further information, contact the CIMS Manager.
