InformOntario

Inform-ing our Membership - E-news

News and announcements for the memberhip.

April 2012 Download - in PDF format

March 2011 Download - in PDF format

Sept 2009 Download - in PDF format

Announcing....MCI Grant

Through a Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration Partnership grant Building Local Information Support to Ontario Newcomers, InformOntario is developing online training courses and toolkits of best practices to build the capacity among those providing information and referral services to newcomers in Ontario.

The 3-year project will engage pilot sites within selected communities with existing working relationships between local Community Information and Referral/Assurance Centres and newcomers organizations.  

The first step is the hiring of a qualified Project Coordinator. That process is in the final interview stages. The successful candidate should be in place by May 1st.

Our next step is to seek out IO members who are interested in serving as pilot communities. The application, criteria and deliverables are below. The selected communities will receive remuneration based on level of involvement.

Pilot Communities - application form in Word format --- Download Application form

Pilot Communities - project background and deliverables in Word format ---- Download PilotCommunities_background

Deadline for applications for Pilot Community applications is Monday, April 30th.

InformOntario Membership

Membership to InformOntario is open to a wide variety of organizations which provide Information and Referral/Assurance to their clients and their communities. It is an annual fee, renewable each January.

• RENEWALS --- InformOntario 2012 membership form

Download in PDF format or Download in Word format

• NEW MEMBERS -- InformOntario 2012 membership form

Download in PDF format or Download in Word format

InformOntario membership benefits Download Word document

Please complete and return it by e-mail or mail to address on the form.

If you have any questions about the InformOntario membership please contact InformOntario at e-mail.

InformOntario Board of Directors

As of January 2012

Trudy Beaulne, President
Executive Director
Social Planning Council of Kitchener-Waterloo/
Community Information Centre of Waterloo Region

Laura McDonald, Treasurer
Individual Representative

Rosemary Park, Secretary
Board Member, VCIC

Sylvia Mueller
Information Barrie

Suzanne Robinson
Individual Representative

Michele Watson
United Way of Durham Region

 Philip Wolfart
Manager,Volunteer Manitoba

Coordinator
Barbara McLachlan

To contact InformOntario
c/o 3010 Forest Glade Dr, Windsor, ON N8R 1L5
(519) 735-9344

info@informontario.on.ca

 

To Contact InformOntario

Mailing Address:
c/o 3010 Forest Glade Dr, Windsor, ON N8R 1L5

By phone:
(519) 735-9344 (home number, so please leave a message)

E-mail:
info@informontario.on.ca

Professional Standards within I&R

InformOntario supports the best practices and professional standards within our industry.

Is your staff providing excellent customer service which addresses the needs of the client?

If you maintain a community resource database, it is up-to-date, relevant and easy to use for both staff and the public, and does it follow information management practices?

Does your service meet industry governance and administration standards?

Learn more about the professional benchmarks which define best practices through the AIRS Standards for Professional Information and Referral including their agency accreditation process.See the IO Information Management Standards toolkit

Staff can also pursue the professional designations of Certified Information and Referral Specialist (CIRS) and Certified Resource Specialist (CRS). To learn more about certification, exam sites and the Canadian process at the InformCanada website.

InformOntario Members

Our diverse membership of autonomous organizations, each active within their own communities, or on a regional, provincial or national basis, includes: 

Individuals with a professional interest in community information and assistance Comprehensive community information and referral centres Specialized information and referral services (eg. health, children, seniors) Nonprofit organizations Social planning councils Government: local, regional, provincial Volunteer centres Multi-service agencies

Settlement services Foundations and other funders 211 and 311 centres Similar services in other provinces Agencies that maintain information used by an I&R service Services that maintain information related to human services Service providers who are contacts for people seeking support Internationally accredited services

A new members list coming soon. The membership list as of July 2008.

What InformOntario Can Do For You...

InformOntario is a provincial association supporting the professional delivery of community information and assistance. Our members help shape Information and Referral (I&R) in Ontario.

A membership with IO will provide:

• Professional development for both agency and individual practitioners
• Member-reduced fees at Annual Symposium, training that reflects daily work and trends within the human services sector
• Access to community forums, discussion board, website, e-news
• Promotion of sector training opportunities
• Ongoing development of Ontario-specific standards in information management
• Online toolkit of resources including a Style Guide for data entry
• Collaborative planning with Community Information Online Consortium (CIOC)
• Involvement on a regular basis with experts in the field
• Sector advocacy, development, and strategy
• Projects, partnerships and initiatives with/between members (eg. data partners for the 310ccac.ca)

 InformOntario membership benefits - full document Download Word document

Information Management Standards Toolkit

 
 

At last! One location for all of the documentation related to managing an Information and Referral database.

The Information Management Standards (IMS) Toolkit includes:

• Information and Referral data management standards
• tools
• appendices
• training materials from Webinar workshops

Materials provided in Adobe PDF format, unless otherwise specified. IMS Toolkit Link

What is InformOntario?

The Association of Community Information Centres in Ontario (InformOntario) is an umbrella organization representing more than 60 Community Information Centres and associated Information and Referral Providers around the province of Ontario, and in other parts of Canada. The Association has a vision that everyone in Ontario should have equitable access to human services information. Our mission statement as an association is to strengthen and enhance Community Information Centres in Ontario by providing them with leadership in the areas of standards, accreditation, marketing, development and information technology. To this end, the association has established a process of accreditation of Community Information Centres with common standards of technology and service delivery.