The Access 2007 runtime is available again. I had some problems installing this over the previous version. If the installation seems to hang up try deleting the existing version and then reinstall.
Access 2007 file formats are different, and new, and not entirely backward compatible.
Here is a help file which explains how they work.
Two items related to health care:
1. There is an interesting discussion which is a follow-up of a Paul Krugman column on health care. This may be behind either a registration log in, or the Times “Times Select” subscription. I was jolted this morning when buying a copy of the physical paper that the price had gone up a quarter from $1.10 to $1.35. Ouch. Still, considering it is maybe an hour of informed reading, plus an hour of the crossword puzzle for the Spousal Unit, it is pretty cheap entertainment.
2. Over at Changemakers there is a series of competitions for funding of disruptive changes in health care. There are some very interesting projects, from all over the world.
The Grantsmanship Center’s signature Grantsmanship Training Program is coming to Troy, New York, September 17-21, 2007. The program will be hosted by the Commission on Economic Opportunity for the Greater Capital Region (CEO).
The Grantsmanship Training Program covers all aspects of researching grants, writing grant proposals and negotiating with funding sources. More than 100,000 nonprofit and government personnel have attended this comprehensive 5-day workshop, which now includes a full year of valuable membership services.
During the workshop, participants learn The Grantsmanship Center’s proposal writing format, the most widely used in the world. In addition to practicing the most advanced techniques for pursuing government, foundation, and corporate grants, they develop real grant proposals for their own agencies.
Upon completion of the training, participants receive free follow-up, including professional proposal review, access to The Grantsmanship Center’s exclusive online funding databases, and an array of other benefits.
Tuition for the Grantsmanship Training Program is $875 ($825 for each additional registrant from the same organization).
To ensure personalized attention, class size is limited to 30 participants. To register online, to learn about scholarship opportunities for qualifying organizations, or for more information, visit http://www.tgci.com/gtptraining.shtml. Or call The Grantsmanship Center’s Registrar at (800) 421-9512
Never Mind. Here is the post on Erik Rucker’s blog.
The Microsoft Access 2007 runtime is now available at this link. Hooray!
You also need to download and install the Developer Extensions to allow you to build an Access 2007 solution that includes the Access runtime.
After installing these, I was a little nonplussed, as I couldn’t seem to find any of files to start the Packaging Wizard…which is the wizard to step you through the creation of a set of installation files for your Access application. This is now tucked under the “Developer” tab within Access 2007. There is no separate menu item off the Windows start menu.
Eliminate the Macro Security messages when opening Access projects.
Here is a fix for a perennial problem, which appears to work.
I’ll spare you the rant.
You need to run this on every workstation which uses your application, so in a networked situation, this needs to be part of the installation routine on each workstation.
From Clint’s blog… the runtime will be available as a free download on May 15th. Hooray!
The State Science and Technology Institute is a source of white papers and resources for background material about technology transfer. I’m about mid-way through their Resource Guide for Technology-based Economic Development. They also have a searchable database for whitepapers and guides. You can search by keyword and country or state.
The Small Business Innovation and Research program (SBIR) has been effective for Microdesign as well as our state’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program. Together these two programs provide funding in “phases”:
Phase 0 – EPSCoR – $10,000
Phase I – SBIR – $100,000
Phase II – SBIR – $750,000
Each phase depends on help from the previous phase, and the assumption is that each combination of phases 0-3 consists of a single technology product or service, probably funded by a single federal agency.
Much of the SSTI discussion is about synergies between research universities, a skilled workforce, availability of venture capital, and an attractive working environment. Think Silicon Valley, Boston’s Route 128 and the Research Triangle of Raleigh-Durham. Can this be replicated on a smaller scale in other places? Think Burlington Vermont, Portland, Maine, and Albany New York.
A few days ago I wrote about potential holes in non-profit record-keeping systems, specifically the problem of tracking program outcomes or client outcomes. Today I started looking around and with a quick Google search I quickly found a discussion of just this problem at TechSoup. Several people commented on the article, and gave examples of the systems they use. A quick click and I found myself at Track Records Software. This package, Track Records CM (client manager?) was designed for a service provider who provides counseling and training and assistive technology for clients recovering from brain injuries.
This is an unreview, I didn’t actually run the software. Instead I walked through the online screencasts which give a pretty good idea of what the package can do. Some impressions:
Things I’d like to know…
The same vendor also has a payroll/staffing package.
Some months ago I created a four page introduction to databases, Database 101 which explains basic database terminology. I found this was useful as background for discussion. But I think it is perhaps even more useful to take a longer view and think about the number and role of databases within an organization.
Perhaps we should even dispense with the word “database”, and replace it with something a little less nerdy like “knowledge”. We could ask several questions:
Data systems are usually built with one of two aims, either to report statistics from existing data, or to give real-time assistance in the daily running of a business (management information). Although funders and regulators have a myriad of reporting requirements, these may not be useful or helpful in the day-to-day running of your agency. Management information is not the same as statistical reporting. And yet the data system is often driven by the regulators and funders to the detriment of management information.
There are at least three kinds of data which are useful in managing an organization:
Financial: Income and expense accounts, grant and fund accounting, payroll, and purchasing
Donor and Constituent Management: These systems track friends and contributors outside the organization. Of course donations eventually are fed back into the accounting system…somehow…automatically, one would hope.
Service: Information on your service delivery is vital to understand and track the evidence of your effectiveness as an agency. This area is the weakest in terms of available low-cost and open source systems, partly because of the diversity of agencies, practices, and clients. While you may choose from several offerings that cover both the financial and fundraising areas, a service database may be more difficult to locate.
Do you provide training? Then you will want to have a training database which covers courses or seminars and which allows you to track instructors and students.You may need a registration function which tracks payments, and can accept credit cards.
Do you sell merchandise? Perhaps you need a web storefront.
Do you provide health care or counseling? You’ll need a patient management and case management system.
Do you host events? You’ll need to register participants, set up workshops, create “packages” which include combinations of paid and free sessions, prints schedules and account for the VIP luncheons, the gala banquet, and everyone’s dietary restrictions and their hotel assignments.
Do you have equipment? You may need an inventory system which allows you to lend equipment to staff or clients.
Do you provide affordable housing? You may need to track housing projects, local grantors, real-estate and land transactions, easements abatements, and federal and funds which is being channeled through your organization to your grantors and builders.
Most of these ideas feed back into the service classification above, but all of them will have funds attached, and so they eventually feed into the financial system.
Since donor management and accounting systems are well represented by commercial offerings, we’ll take a look at a few service applications in the upcoming weeks.
tfnp 