Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC) Investment Program

Tips for the Completion of the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC) Investment Program Proposal Form

This document has been developed to clarify certain questions on the VMC Investment Program proposal form.

Part A IDENTIFICATION OF THE LEAD INSTITUTION

Question 3. Is the lead institution a member of the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN)?
If your institution is currently a member of the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), you are eligible to submit a proposal to the VMC Investment Program. To be a member, you must have submitted your membership form and signed agreement, and completed your Guide entry, including at least one event. Once all the steps required to be a CHIN member have been completed, a letter is sent welcoming your institution as a new member.

Should you have any questions about your membership status, please contact CHIN Member Services at 1 800 520-2446 / (819) 994-1200.

Part B DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED PRODUCTION

Question 3. Description of proposed production (maximum 600 words).
The description should help the VMC Editorial Board members visualize the ultimate product. When describing your production, remember that the Editorial Board is reading about your project for the first time. Therefore, it is useful to provide an overview of the project, in addition to one or two concrete examples of content that may be included.  It is also recommended that a mock-up or demo, available through the World Wide Web, be included in the description.

Depending on the subject matter, information related to gender and regional balance may be relevant. As well, when describing the proposed production, keep the target audience in mind.

The Editorial Board is interested in knowing what content will be included, as well as how that content will be presented. While details regarding the use of the medium should be elaborated in your response to question 4, it is worthwhile to provide some information in the description about how the technology will be used in the presentation of the content.

Please remember that the description should be no more than 600 words.

The response to this question is key in that it assists the Board in determining the level to which your proposal meets one of the primary criteria, specifically whether the proposed production demonstrates a dynamic exploration of Canada's diverse heritage in ways that encourage enjoyment and learning. Therefore, it is important to share your vision of the proposed production in your description.

Question 5. a) Identify target audience(s) for the production.  b) How will the target audience's interest be assessed in relation to the concept and content proposed? c) Identify specific measures to conduct audience evaluations during the development process.
Two mandatory criteria are the identification of the target audience and specific measures to conduct audience evaluations. The proposed content may appeal to a large audience and, therefore, the general public may be identified as the target audience. However, on-line content is often more effective when it responds to a need for information, as well as when it is geared towards a specific clientele in terms of various elements, such as language level and visuals. Target audiences are defined by various characteristics, including age, gender, education level and interest.

The audience evaluation can be formal or informal, but must include the target audience, be conducted during development (as opposed to post-development), and must provide sufficient information to determine the product's ability to meet the needs of the target audience and goals of the project.

Question 6. a) What are the communication objectives of the proposed product? b) How will the digital medium be exploited to further these objectives?
The Board wishes to understand how particular technologies will contribute to the communications objectives of the product. Rather than simply listing the software/plug-ins that will be used in the product, indicate what their use will add in terms of engaging the audience and enhancing the content. Providing information about how visitors will be able to access the material and whether they will have opportunities to respond to the material being presented, or to other visitors, will give the Board a better sense of how well this product will exploit the medium.

Your response to this question will contribute to the Board's ability to evaluate your proposal with respect to one of the primary criteria, specifically whether it exploits the digital medium to create experiences that are not feasible in physical space or analogue media. Therefore, it is important to provide information that will allow the Board to envisage how the use of technology will enhance the audience's understanding/appreciation of the content.

Part C CATEGORIES AND SUB-CATEGORIES

Question 2. a) Identify the type of production that is being proposed. If the production contains a component that corresponds to another type, please select a secondary type as well.

Collection Management Interface	A production that provides a window on the collections management system of the institution.
Curricular Resource	A production that contains educational information on a specific curriculum-related topic
Game(s)	Interactive games, quizzes, on and off-line activities.
Resource	A production that provides educational information.
Virtual Exhibition	A production with a thematic approach to the content.
Virtual Tour	A production that provides a tour of a physical space/site, such as a historical site or a physical exhibition.
Exchange	A production that allows users to exchange information, share stories, etc.

Part D PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS

Question 2. Partners
For each partner, please provide a letter of support confirming their participation and the contributions that they will make towards the production.

Part E SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

Question 1. a) Will there be a skills development component for staff and/or volunteers of the institution in this production?
The objective of this question is to determine whether those who work at the institution(s) (whether staff members or volunteers) will be involved in formal training, or any other activities, that will lead to skills development.

Part F PRODUCTION PLAN

Question 1. a) Provide a clearly developed production plan, including project milestones and timetable for the production. Providing a clearly developed production plan is a mandatory criterion. The production plan should outline all steps required to produce the on-line product, as well as indicate the timeframe needed to complete each stage of development. Elements which should be included in the production plan include (but are not limited to): research, negotiating copyright licenses, content development / writing, Web site design, digitization of content, multimedia development, translation, testing/evaluation during and after production and launch.

The production plan should clearly indicate an awareness of all the steps necessary for the successful completion of the proposed production, and a realistic approach to the time and resources required.

Part G QUALITY CONTROL

The aim of this section is to demonstrate to the Editorial Board that sufficient measures are in place to ensure the quality of the production. Generally, quality control measures should include verification by outside sources.

Part H BUDGET

The budget information provided should include footnotes to explain the basis of all calculations. One of the primary criteria relates to whether the proposed production provides value for money. Therefore, it is important to provide details to explain the basis of calculations, and provide any other supporting documentation to illustrate that the items in the budget have been included with fiscal responsibility in mind.

Categories and items in which the budget information should be divided:

Budget information format as presented once entered in the form:

Given that compliance with a subset of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (May 5, 1999) is mandatory for all VMC content, the costs associated with compliance are eligible expenses and, therefore, should be included in the proposed budget.