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| Cisco Product Grant Proposal |
Cisco Systems, Inc. Community Investment Product Grant Proposal
The Wildlife Center of Virginia
P.O. Box 1557
Waynesboro, VA 22980
540.942.9453
http://www.wildlifecenter.org
1.What is the history of your organization?
The Wildlife Center of Virginia was founded 1982, in a converted barn in Augusta County, Virginia, to be a regional clinic for injured wildlife. It soon became obvious that nearly all of the injuries seen at the Center were caused, directly or indirectly, by human behaviors. The animal injuries were, in effect, a symptom of the greater underlying problems of human ignorance, indifference or malice toward wildlife. To address these problems, public education was integrated into the central mission of the organization.2. What is the community need your organization addresses?
In 1985, the Center moved from the barn to new facilities in Weyers Cave, Virginia where its expanded base included three trailers and a one-acre compound of animal holding cages. The Center operated from that location until 1995. During this period, veterinary students began to contact the center seeking experiential training in wildlife medicine. With the support and partnership of the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Center established its veterinary training program for senior veterinary students and post-doctoral interns. Also during this period, the Center's reputation as a leading organization in the emerging field of conservation medicine began. Soon organizational expansion and the loss of its lease required WCV to move once again.
In May of 1995, the Center moved to its current $1.2 million facility in Waynesboro, Virginia. From this location, the Center has now become one of the leading organizations in the world in the field of wildlife and conservation medicine. The Center now has more than twenty full-time employees and treats more than 3,000 animals each year. The Center professional training programs reach several hundred veterinary and conservation students and professionals. The public education program audiences totaled 140,000 people in 2000 alone. Through its television series, Wildlife Emergency, the Center's message is now extended worldwide.
In its first nineteen years, the Center has treated approximately 50,000 wild animals, presented formal education programs to audiences totaling one million people, and trained several thousand veterinary students and professional. Furthermore, through its clinical research, the Center has unlocked a number of mysteries concerning the effect of environmental contaminants and disease on wildlife. Ultimately, these findings have profound implications for people as well as animals.
The Center treats thousands of injured animals each year, and uses the unique insight gained through the care of these creatures to create a window through which the public can see and understand the consequences of human behaviors. Through education, the Center promotes better decisions and more sustainable practices on the part of individuals and society at large. The careful monitoring of the Center's patient load also serves as a monitor of environmental health, for wildlife and humans. The Center maintains close cooperative relationships with State, Federal, and international government agencies, and actively assists them in the pursuit of their missions by providing technical and logistical support and, occasionally, forensics information in criminal cases.
The Center treats all species of native wildlife. The Center's environmental education programs reach all sectors of the community, with special effort extended to school systems with limited resources and to special populations. Wildlife medicine training is provided to veterinary students nationwide, at no charge, without regard for race, or economic capacity. The Center's expertise is also shared worldwide, especially in countries in Latin America where conservation resources are extremely limited.4. How many individuals are/will be served by your organization?
Each year, the Center treats more than 3,000 wild animals and reaches up to 140,000 people (mainly elementary school children) with environmental education programs. On an annual basis, the Center trains up to 25 students of veterinary medicine (from 3/4 of the veterinary schools in the U.S. and Canada, and several other countries) and 25 additional students of environmental sciences, with intensive 3-8 week, on-site programs. Hundreds more students and professionals from around the world are trained through seminars, short courses and workshops in subjects including wildlife medicine, environmental education and organization management.
Several Cisco System employees, including Robert Schattner, Tom Magrini and Brian Rider, are involved in the design and installation of a new information technology system that will support, extend and enhance all aspects of the Center's operations. Additionally, a number of Cisco's major customers, including NTELOS, are actively leading the effort to design, install, train and operate the new systems, directed by CCNA and CCNP certified employee volunteers.
The new information technology infrastructure will be integrated into all aspects of the Wildlife Center's programs and services: veterinary medicine, environmental education, professional training, internal management and fundraising. Information will be gathered more efficiently, analyzed more thoroughly and used more effectively to achieve conservation, education, and training goals. Further, by integrating state of the art information management technologies, the Center will create models that can be emulated by others worldwide.7. What are the expected outcomes of this program/project?
Through the new technologies, the Center will be able to reach more people and places with its specialized programs, and do so even more effectively. Training will be deliverable to people who do not have access to the Center's face-to-face teaching programs. The Center's day-to-day operations will be accessible to students and professional worldwide.About the current technology environment:
The automation and integration of databases would significantly streamline all operations. The ability to analyze patient records would alert Center staff to epidemiological issues not presently being recognized. The ability to demonstrate veterinary practices and procedures with others in remote locations would increase the effectiveness of Center training programs by an order of magnitude. The ability to let donors and supports actually see inside the facility without compromising patient care would dramatically deepen the organization's ability to win and utilize financial support.About the leveraging opportunities:
What makes the Wildlife Center of Virginia unique is the integration of veterinary medicine, public education and public policy involvement. When these cornerstone priorities are linked technologically, the ability to promote the Center's organizational model will be dramatically enhanced.
The Center's entire philosophy is based upon partnerships among diverse interest groups and collaborative programs. In creating this unprecedented application of information technology within the world of wildlife conservation and veterinary medicine, the Center will at the same time provide a unique venue and application for use of these technologies. The Center will then provide prototypes for the application of these technologies to professional fields that have not generally embraced information technology.11. What is the impact of sharing resources internally and externally for your organization? (cost savings, policies and procedures, training and support)
The project currently involved partners ranging from the regional ICP who is testing new services to software manufacturers who are looking for new applications for their programs and technologies. This project involves unusual hardware applications, unprecedented software applications, innovative use of technology in traditionally low-tech fields, and a broad coalition of supporters and contributors from the information technology community, both locally and nationally.
Internally, the Center works hard to coordinate and integrate its programs and services, but it presently relies upon interpersonal communications and information sharing only. Automation of data management will greatly enhance the degree to which each department can access and utilize the experience and expertise of the others.12. What other groups/organizations partner with you?i
Externally, many, if not most, of those who could benefit from the Center's programs and service do not have access to them due to the expense of travel and the limitation on our ability to transfer data and information to remote locations. Even when the Center travels to remote locations to present training, the ability to do follow-up consultation and coaching is limited to email and telephone communication. New technology will enable the Center to develop a "tele-medicine" support service for animal care facilities worldwide and to offer technical support to facilities with limited resources.
The Center presently trains students from 3/4 of the veterinary schools in the U.S. and Canada. Veterinary schools in Costa Rica and Colombia also partner with the Center for the training of students in Central and South America, respectively. The Center has close relationships with national and international organizations including the following: International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, National Wildlife Rehabilitator Association, National Wildlife Federation, Humane Society of the United States, Association of Zoological Medicine, Wildlife Disease Association, and Association of Avian Veterinarians. The Center also works closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, along with several other national and international agencies.13. Please list your other grantors and the cash/in-kind services received from each during the previous fiscal year. (i.e. foundations, corporations, and all other sources).
The list of foundations and corporations supporting the Center is extensive. Among the most recognizable corporate supporters are DuPont de Nemours & Company, NTELOS, and Hollister, Inc. Foundations have included the Baker Trusts, Mars Foundation, Benwood Foundation and Beck Foundation. Most of the Center's support comes from individual contributors (see attached annual report for sources and amounts).14. What other sources are you soliciting for this project? Include current dollars and pending grant amounts.i
Again, the list of supporters is extensive (see attached technology plan). NTELOS is providing Internet connectivity, transport and Category 5e wiring materials totaling approximately $25,000 this year. ESRI is interested in providing GIS software support. Various professionals and other regional technology companies have contributed design, engineering and installations services.15. For New Hampshire/Massachusetts Internet Access Grant applications, how would a cash grant from the Cisco Foundation be used to enhance the program?
NOT APPLICABLEThe Technology Plan:
See attached inventory.17. Description of current network in place, current training, technical support process, plans for upgrades, and known issues and problems.i
See attached.18. What is your commitment to this technology plan and will you proceed if this proposal is denied?
This technology project is essential to both the advancement of the Wildlife Center of Virginia and to the field of wildlife conservation. The Wildlife Center will bring this project to fruition regardless of the outcome of this proposal, and will fully utilize the resources and opportunities it provides.19. What is the timeline for deployment and installation of all donated equipment?
See attached work plan.20. How will success be measured?
The effectiveness of the project will be measured in the increased numbers of students and professionals with whom the Center is able to establish and maintain a supportive relationship. The increased internal operational efficiency will be assessed in terms of the reduction in redundant labor expended, and the increased utilization of the information the Center has within its archives. Ultimately, the success of the project will be measured in the concrete metrics of wild lives saved, numbers of people reached with education programs, and support generated for the perpetuation of these results.21. What are your plans for when and how the technology plan will be revisited and revised?
The technology plan, like the technology itself, is in constant evolution. As new technologies are available, they will be evaluated and adopted as appropriate. As new opportunities or needs for the application of this technology emerge, priorities will be shifted to meet these changing requirements. The Wildlife Center maintains a three-year strategic planning cycle. The technology being embraced will certainly influence that planning process and be influenced by it.22. How will you maintain your equipment after installation? (in-house volunteers, consultants, collaboration)
Because of the partnerships being created in the development of this project, the Center will rely heavily upon volunteers during the first several years of the project. As the project is implemented and the systems become operational, in-house IT management will certainly be required. A goal of the project is to create an income stream that will support the system, underwriting its full utilization, operation and future expansion.
updated 31 Aug 2001 rp