At ICMA's 1997 business meeting in Vancouver, the Association's membership unanimously approved a resolution that had been recommended by the Executive Board, to make a commitment to each other that all members should be using electronic mail by the year 2000. This policy has been taken seriously by the membership, and over the past two years, I have heard discussions at state association meetings reminding members of the commitment and of its implications for how we will communicate with each other in the future via this technology.
As we approached this major turning point in the calendar, I pondered how we could make this commitment real to all members and how ICMA could "walk the talk" and begin to use electronic communication in a meaningful way. During this period, we have been active in several ways.
We have built the ICMA Web site--icma.org--as a robust site that has been commended by a number of members for its content and its user-friendliness. The site currently attracts more than 25,000 user sessions per month.
Each member of ICMA has received a password that can give him or her entry to the members-only services accessed from the "Members' Corner" area on the site, including an on-line version of the Who's Who membership directory. More changes and innovations will be added to the site in the months ahead.
The on-line ICMA's Bookstore & More (http://bookstore.icma.org) has been ready to process orders for our products and services since October 1998. During its first year of operation, with minimal promotion, the e-bookstore generated $90,000 in sales.
We have built Access Local Government (ALG) as an information-sharing and communications Web site. We have done this in cooperation with the National League of Cities and Public Technology, Inc., and recently with the National Association of Counties. More than 5,500 people in local government have registered for ALG.
ICMA also guides the Local Government Environmental Assistance Network (LGEAN), which provides environmental regulatory information to local governments on-line at http://www.lgean.org. LGEAN's Web site allows users to research and share information with a document database and message boards.
In light of these advances, the question becomes what to do next to make electronic communications available and meaningful to our members. The ICMA Strategic Planning Committee, which has been working during the past two years to chart the future of the Association, has been reinforcing this direction and prodding us to do more and to do it quicker.
I am proud to tell members that I have recommended, and the board has approved, the three initiatives described below, which have been presented this year. These are but the first of what I think will be many changes in how we continue to share information and communicate with our members.
Changes Ahead
Here's a look at these three new opportunities.
Keep your eye on the "Members' Corner" of ICMA's Web site for new services. Soon, members working in local governments will be able to search the more than 4,000 Inquiry (IQ) Service abstracts to see what ordinances, reports, and other documents are in the subscriber database. You'll be able to download the full-text documents supporting these abstracts at a significantly discounted cost.
The second initiative involves the on-line Who's Who, which has been moved in its entirety to the Web site. This on-line, real-time version of our information base offers far more value to members than ever, as it can be updated daily with the most accurate information available at the time. To assist members who may not yet use e-mail or the Internet fully, for the next few years the Association will publish a soft-cover member roster that will give the basic information needed to contact members. Complete career information will be available via the Web site, in a format that also can be searched by members and sorted according to certain demographic criteria.
Our third initiative may be the most exciting of all. ICMA has partnered with a private company based in Florida, GovStoreUSA, one of ICMA's executive-level Corporate Partners, to offer the first Web site devoted exclusively to state and local government purchasing. This joint venture will allow local governments to use the Internet to define more clearly their needs for information technology products and services; to obtain competitive bids and to shop in a new way for high-quality products that can meet these needs; and to make purchases using electronic commerce at low, competitive prices.
Local governments can sign up at to use the site at no cost and with no obligation. The partners--ICMA and GovStoreUSA--are confident that the user-friendly nature of the site, combined with the low prices and transaction costs, will enable local governments to begin to use the power of electronic commerce to improve their purchasing efficiencies and power.
Think Boldly
These are thrilling times for all people in our profession and for the Association. Electronic communication, electronic commerce, and indeed electronic government will challenge us to think and act boldly and creatively. Our Strategic Planning Committee has it right, and I hope the Association has moved quickly enough to lead the membership and to walk our talk.
Bill Hansell
Executive Director
