Paperless Meetings Solutions
Prepared by
Mike Gagel, Director of Information
and Education Technology
Maggie Li, Executive Assistant
August 2009
Paperless Meetings Evaluation
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... 3
BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................... 5
Paperless Meetings Timeline ...................................................................................................... 6
Specifications Required .............................................................................................................. 6
Solutions Evaluated .................................................................................................................... 6
SOLUTIONS COMPARISON ..................................................................................................... 7
SOLUTION 1 – Acrobat PDF Writer by Adobe (status quo) ........................................................ 8
SOLUTION 2 – DocuWorks by Xerox ........................................................................................... 8
SOLUTION 3 – Meeting Manager by iCompass Technologies .................................................... 9
SOLUTION 4 – eBoard Solutions by Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA) ..................... 10
SOLUTION 5 – Electronic School Board by InterCom Network ................................................ 12
COST COMPARISON ............................................................................................................. 13
RECOMMENDATION ............................................................................................................ 15
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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Paperless Meetings Solution
Executive Summary
Further to the Board’s request during the April 2009 Board meeting, staff evaluated several
paperless meetings solutions currently available in the market. Required specifications for the
solution were considered and the following five products were selected for evaluation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Acrobat PDF Writer by Adobe (status quo)
DocuWorks by Xerox
Meeting Manager by iCompass Technologies
eBoard Solutions by Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA)
Electronic School Board by InterCom Network
Each software vendor provided BCSTA with a demonstration where the different features of the
solutions were showcased. Staff considered the practicality of each product, weighed its pros
and cons and reviewed the cost structure.
Based on the current needs and resources of our association, it is recommended that BCSTA
Board continue to use the Acrobat PDF Writer solution. At no additional cost, Acrobat PDF
Writer meets the needs of the Board to conduct paperless meetings and it is compatible with
Elluminate, the teleconference software for our remote meeting options. While the other
solutions have compelling features or additional functionality, the products are too costly and
exceed the needs of the association at this time.
As the association evolves technologically, the Board may want to reconsider the more
advanced paperless meeting solutions to conduct committee meetings and Provincial Council
meetings. Out of the solutions evaluated, Electronic School Board provides the scalability and
diversity that could be suitable for our other governance meetings such as Provincial Council.
However, this solution would require all councillors to have access to a laptop or netbook in
order to participate in the meeting.
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BACKGROUND
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Paperless Meetings Solution
Background
Paperless Meetings Timeline
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May-July 2009
August 2009
Board agreed to eliminate paper agendas at Board meetings
Board conducted first paperless meeting using laptops and netbooks
Board conducted first paperless meeting remotely using Elluminate
Board requested staff to evaluate paperless solutions available in the market
Staff evaluated paperless solutions
Staff presents different paperless solutions and recommendations to the
Board for consideration
Specifications Required
 Paperless meeting solution
 Cost – has to be low, can we justify purchasing a new solution comparing it to current
solution (Acrobat PDF Writer)?
 Integration with existing technologies – DocuShare, Elluminate
 User practicality – how easy is it for our Board to adopt?
 Scalability – ability to use with other meetings such as Provincial Council (nice feature to
have for future)
Solutions Evaluated
1. Acrobat PDF Writer by Adobe (status quo)
2. DocuWorks by Xerox
3. Meeting Manager by iCompass Technologies
4. eBoard Solutions by Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA)
5. Electronic School Board by InterCom Network
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SOLUTIONS COMPARISON
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Paperless Meetings Solution
Solutions Comparison
SOLUTION 1 – Acrobat PDF Writer by Adobe (status quo)
Features
 Pdf formatted documents
 Integrates directly with DocuShare
 Easy navigation – bookmarks to each agenda item
 Minimal training required
 Cost is minimal as Acrobat Writer is already purchased and Acrobat Reader is free
 Works with Elluminate, just add pdf to whiteboard
Consideration
 Lack of annotation features (ability to make notes on package)
 Meetings are not pre-templated
 Initial template creation for meeting preparation is labour intensive (no drag and drop
feature)
SOLUTION 2 – DocuWorks by Xerox
Contact
Kristen Keating, Inside Solutions Specialist
Xerox Canada Ltd.
Toll Free: 1-866-448-6066
Ph: 506-631-5208 / Intelnet 8*281-5208
Email: [email protected]
Features
 Users can annotate document with highlights, post-its, comment on post-its
 Integrates directly with DocuShare
 Ability to create “virtual binders”
 Drag & drop functionality allows different types of documents to be created in the same
“binder”
 Easy navigation – creates hyperlinked binder index, can create drop down menu from
table of contents that jump to each agenda item (can also add tabs to each document
section further reinforce the virtual binder look/feel)
 Final document can be exported to pdf
 Works with Elluminate, just add pdf to whiteboard or share out DocuWorks application
Consideration
 Very similar to current pdf solution
 Meetings are not pre-templated
 Cost (more costly than PDF-only solution, but significantly cheaper than following
solutions)
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Paperless Meetings Solution
Solutions Comparison
SOLUTION 3 – Meeting Manager by iCompass Technologies
Contact
Jason Cacaci, Sales Manager - North America
iCompass Technologies
T: 1-800-260-7409 x 118, Direct (250) 851-9401 x 118
Email: [email protected]
Background
 Used by 400 public organizations
 Used by BoE: Cranbrook, Kamloops, Gold Trail
Features
 Simplified meeting agenda generation
 Has meeting templates for easy creation of new meetings
 Has built in tracking components – board correspondence, board decisions, strategic
priorities
 Minutes are generated directly as the meeting is built
 Agenda packages come in html or pdf
 Councillor Notes in pilot – ability to add comments to agenda package
 Works with Elluminate, just add pdf to whiteboard or share out application (just agenda
package, not tracking)
Consideration
 Cost – see partnership offer below
 No direct integration with DocuShare, need to duplicate files in FilePro (iCompass
document management solution)
 Sophisticated solution for our agenda package needs (given that we only have 9
meetings a year)
 No voice over IP (VoIP), but can use Skype or conference call line
Partnership Offer
 $10K, for setup, training & implementation
 No annual fee, 3-year minimum contract
 Promotion obligation
 Reference letter upon satisfaction of implementation
 Case study of BCSTA use
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Paperless Meetings Solution
Solutions Comparison
SOLUTION 4 – eBoard Solutions by Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA)
Contact
Diane Sandifer, EBS Account Executive
eBOARDsolutions, Inc.
770-822-3626
Email: [email protected]
Consideration (not viable at this time)
 Content will be stored in the US
 Advised that they are not ready to
conduct business with Canada at this
time
Features - eBoard modules:
Strategic Plan
 Monitor, track manage and report on the organization’s strategic plan to all
stakeholders
Strategic Plan Demo
 Have strategic improvement plan template
 Create specific action items that support strategic plans
 Filter action list, communicated to others in assn, determine progress
Meetings
 Streamline agenda preparation and enhance the effectiveness of all meetings (not just
board meetings)
 Can be used for any groups within the association/school district
Meeting Demo
 Left menu - agenda
 Goal scorecard – how each piece of the agenda item ties back to the strategic plan
 Supporting link and documents on every page
 Right menu
 Add sticky notes on each agenda item
 Reports – meeting packet can be downloaded and printed
 All web based – download meeting
 Meeting minutes – attendees recorded, publish minutes right from the
navigation bar
Policy
 Publish policies, regulations and exhibits for easy access by all stakeholders
 Keep existing policies and manage policies
Communications
 Improve communications with all stakeholders
Documents
 Build an online library for easy access to important documents
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Paperless Meetings Solution
Solutions Comparison
Evaluation (to come in late 2009)
 Board self assessment and superintendent evaluation
Support
 Telephone support
 Live chat
 User forum
 eLearning Portal - self paced training, free
 webEx training
 newsletters
 customer tools – assessment and checklist, cost savings
Questions
1. Is the eboard website a duplication of a regular website? How do we integrate the two
if we have an existing website?
 eboard not designed to replace, but to compliment
 add and take away from modules as needed
2. Where are all the documents kept? On our server?
 Maintained by eBoard solution server.
 Don’t have any one managing the data remotely.
3. The first example, is that an administration view? Or is it the Board view? Do all the
Board keep track of mover/seconder?
 Can toggle between different modes which have different security and permissions
(admin, board, public, staff)
4. Do board members have laptops?
 Paperless board meetings
 Yes, can have personal laptops
 Can view on screen – projected image
 Can conduct meeting in conjunction with Elluminate or WebEx
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Paperless Meetings Solution
Solutions Comparison
SOLUTION 5 – Electronic School Board by InterCom Network
Contact
Matt Smethurst, Solutions Consultant
InterCom Network
P: 703-449-0101
Email: [email protected]
Background
 Used by Abbotsford Board of Education
Features
 Role based – your role on the board or as staff dictates product functionality, e.g.,
building agenda items, view agenda package
 Date driven – calendar with upcoming meetings
 Product can be run on local server (e.g., on BCSTA server)
 When revised agenda items are uploaded, they are highlighted when the board member
logs in to view package
 Comments area allows board members to write notes that are not viewable by others
 Can print out agenda package (but not any attachments)
 Only need internet access to get to agenda package and conduct meeting
 No voice over IP (VoIP), but can use Skype or conference call line
 Voting (over and above what is available in Elluminate)
 Captures how each board member voted for each action item
 Has automated minutes builder, automatically captures voting results for minutes
 Public view of agenda and voting results can be displayed via 2nd laptop and projector
 Cruise control - User screens are “synced” as the meeting progresses
 Cruise control can be disabled by members to explore other parts of the agenda.
 Members can resume cruise control to “sync” back to current agenda item with one
button
 Staff “author” agenda items directly into the system
 Has meeting templates for easy creation of new meetings
 Built-in approval process to move agenda item through workflow (staff generates, ED
approves)
Consideration
 Voting features are a superset of what is available with Elluminate
 Not sure about scalability – may have limitations (e.g. for PC)
 Cost – in USD, 4-tier pricing available (Premier, Classic, Basic, Lite)
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COST COMPARISON
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Paperless Meetings Solution
Cost Comparison
Solution
Cost
Acrobat PDF Writer by Adobe
$0
 Acrobat PDF Writer
already used by BCSTA
 Acrobat Reader is free
DocuWorks by Xerox
Pros
$1,590* for 10 client license
$286.80/year for support
 DocuWorks Reader is free

is 



Cheap solution

Annotation available
Virtual binders similar to
paper agendas
Similar solution as Acrobat
PDF Writer but offers
virtual binder metaphor


Templated meetings
Tracking capabilities

Annotation features under
development
Cost
Training required for Board
(end users)
Promotion obligations


* Costs in CAD

eBoard Solutions by GSBA
initial template creation for
meeting preparation
does not have annotation
features



*Costs in CAD
Meeting Manager by iCompass $10,000 implementation fee
Technologies
no annual fee
 3-year contract
Cost = $0!
No training
existing solution
Cons
Advised that they are not ready to conduct business with Canada at this time
Electronic School Board by $18,900 implementation fee 
InterCom Network
for Basic (tier 2) option
$2,500/year for support

 4-tier pricing available

 Reviewed features and
selected Basic which best
fits our needs
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Program and data can be 
kept onsite on our server

Voting feature available
Annotation available
Cost
Solution exceeds our needs
(only 9 meetings per year)
RECOMMENDATION
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Paperless Meetings Solution
Recommendation
On the low end of the cost spectrum, two similar solutions are the Acrobat PDF Writer and
DocuWorks. They can both produce PDF files, while the DocuWorks product offers the benefits
of a virtual binder, which is a paperless version of our agenda packages and the ability to
annotate directly in the virtual binder using post-its and highlighters.
On the high end of the cost spectrum, two viable solutions are Meeting Manager and Electronic
School Board – both appear to be great solutions for school boards who have 2-3 meetings per
month. Each solution has features which simplify the creation of meeting packages, minutes
taking, and tracking of decisions during a meeting.
Given the current fiscal climate and the low volume of BCSTA board meetings, we recommend
that BCSTA Board continue to use the Acrobat PDF Writer solution. At no additional cost,
Acrobat PDF Writer meets the needs of the Board to conduct paperless meetings and it is
compatible with Elluminate, the teleconference software for our remote meeting options. If a
virtual binder is appealing to board members, we would also recommend DocuWorks.
As the association evolves technologically, the Board may want to reconsider the more
advanced paperless meeting solutions to conduct committee meetings and Provincial Council
meetings. Out of the solutions evaluated, Electronic School Board provides the scalability and
diversity that could be suitable for our other governance meetings such as Provincial Council.
However, this solution would require all councillors to have access to a laptop or netbook in
order to participate in the meeting.
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