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Index of Subjects On Mon, 31 May 1999 aa935@chebucto.ns.ca wrote: > Quoting George White <aa056@chebucto.ns.ca>: > > [...] > The discussion on fees has been raised because some of our members cannot > justify the current fee schedule to current and potential IPs. A flat fee of > $200 or $400 is not defensible to many. While larger IP organizations can > easily absorb the cost, the vast majority of our IP base or small, non-profits > like ourselves. > > A fee structure that lists and valuates the services provided allows the IP to > select the services required. Unlimited disk space may be of no consequence to > a small organization. They may be satisfied with 1gb. A VDN may be of > substantial value to a small firm, but how can one justify to $200 levy. One > possibilty is through the 'cost' of other services provided. > > Doug M Some months ago I posted a summary of an experiment my wife and I conducted with just such a small NPO. In short, we funded a one-year trial and asked in return that they monitor the cost savings in terms of phone calls and postage. By removing the financial risk, the NPO was able to determine whether the cost could be justified. For CCN, a program by which donations were sought to fund such experiments would a) help establish connections with small NPO's that should be the bulk of CCN's IP's, b) minimize risk to the NPO, and c) establish a fee level. I agree that each potential IP may have different service requirements, but may not have a good estimate of the real requirement until they have some experience. Determining the service needs should be incorporated into the initial trial, so both the IP and CCN understand the needs. In general, a base account should be designed to satisfy 95% of the IP's so only a few exceptions would require negotiation of separate fees. In some cases, the IP might prefer to make special arrangements (e.g., via equipment donation or hiring a prof. system admin. for setup) in lieu of increased frees. -- George White <aa056@chebucto.ns.ca> Halifax, Nova Scotia
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