In this session, Sharon Groom offers five good ideas on copyright and intellectual property law.

Download the handout of Sharon’s presentation.

A cautionary note

The foregoing text and video is provided for general information purposes only. It is neither intended as, nor should be considered, legal advice and readers and viewers are cautioned against making any decisions based on this material alone. Rather, a qualified lawyer should be consulted. © McMillan LLP 2010.

Five Good Ideas

1. Familiarize yourself with the different types of intellectual property (“IP”) protection available to you.
2. Before choosing a trade-mark for your business, do some searches to see if it, or one similar, is already in use for similar services/wares.
3. Once you have chosen a mark, register it with the Canadian Intellectual Property office, either yourself or through an IP professional.
4. Use proper markings for your copyright and trade-marks to put others on notice of your rights.
5. Have an internal process in place to periodically review new IP that is being used in your business, whether it is protected, and properly marked.

Five Good Resources

1. Canadian Intellectual Property Office
2. Canadian Trade-marks database
3. Filing a trade-mark application
4. Intellectual Property Institute of Canada
5. Creative Commons

This Five Good Ideas session was made possible by the generous support of McMillan LLP.

The media are partly to blame. But so are non-profit leaders who don’t understand why their efforts are not considered newsworthy or how journalists choose among the many stories competing for space and airtime.

Carol’s good ideas offer five bridges across this communication gap.

She hopes her presentation also generates a thoughtful exchange about how the media and the non-profit sector can do a better job of showing Canadians how essential a well-developed network of non-profit organizations is in creating strong communities and a healthy, inclusive society.

Read Carol’s speaking notes.

Five Good Ideas

1. Why is your message important to the public?
2. Journalists aren’t publicity agents.
3. Get to know who covers your sector.
4. Talk about the lives you’re changing and the difference you’re making.
5. Remember that reporters ask questions.

Five Good Resources

1. Pew Foundation’s code of journalistic ethics
2. York University Library – non-profit management guide
3. Any daily newspaper, community newspaper, ethic newspaper, local television or radio station. Try to identify who, if anyone shows a consistent interest in social justice, the environment, culture or amateur sport.
4. Here are a couple of recent examples of effective storytelling in the Star by Carol Goar:
   • One woman’s crusade for affordable justice – Feb. 1, 2010;
   • Sharing a passion to make a difference – Jan.15, 2010.
5. Pitching Your Story to the Media: This workshop with Jennifer Lewington and Julia Howell explored distilling complex stories into effective news items. Learn practical tips for speaking to media.

Why do important ideas to improve public policy seem to rarely get implemented? Is signing another petition going to achieve the results you want to see? Free and democratic societies need the active and vigorous participation of individuals and non-governmental organizations in order to thrive. We all benefit from greater involvement by civil society in the public arena of ideas in an increasingly digital world. Most of us have experienced the fact that impacting public policy requires more than just a passion for a cause and good research.

Five Good Ideas

1. Building coalitions of people with diverse backgrounds
2. Identifying champions and opinion leaders
3. Developing an effective online presence
4. Focused media and communications strategies
5. Being prepared to act at key moments of change

Resources

1. The Art of Possible (a handbook for political activism),
   Amanda Sussman, 2007 McClelland & Stewart
2. What is Policy?, Sherri Torjman. Ottawa: Caledon Institute
   of Social Policy, 2005.
3. Memorandum To Cabinet (Templates) by Privy Council Office, Government of Canada.
4. Writing for Government: How to Write a Briefing Note, Susan Doyle, University of Victoria.
5. Taking It to Hill Complete Guide, David Mcinnes, University of Ottawa Press

While it sounds trite, the hallmark of any successful relationship is communication. Sometimes we forget that the employer-employee relationship is no different; disputes that arise in the workplace are often the result of poor communication on both sides of the relationship. Employers have to realize that in order to effectively manage their employees, they have to get out in front of issues that could arise and understand that their employees are looking to them for answers.

This Five Good Ideas session focuses on five ways that employers can improve their communications with employees and by extension, improve their employee relations. We will begin with thinking about what employers can do before the employee starts work in order to lay the groundwork for effective communication. We then talk about why employers and managers hesitate in communicating with employees. Finally we talk about ways to improve communications with employees throughout the employment relationship.

A cautionary note

The foregoing text and video is provided for general information purposes only. It is neither intended as, nor should be considered, legal advice and readers and viewers are cautioned against making any decisions based on this material alone. Rather, a qualified lawyer should be consulted. © McMillan LLP 2010.

Five Good Ideas

1. X Doesn’t Actually Mark Anything
2. Walk the Floor
3. Constant Chatter and Reinforcement
4. Meaningful Recognition
5. Listen, Investigate, Respond

Five Good Resources

1. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher
2. “The Office” (British and U.S. Versions)
3. Then We Came to an End by Joshua Ferris
4. Sexual Harassment: A Guide to Conducting Investigations by Neena Gupta
5. Employment Policies That Work by Joan Bolland and Ellen Mole

This Five Good Ideas session was made possible by the generous support of McMillan LLP.

At this Five Good Ideas session, participants found out more about what the Daily Bread learned over the years (and is still learning) about how to run a successful volunteer program.

Five Good Ideas

1. Good communications across the volunteer organization
2. Understanding and forecasting your need for volunteers in your organization
3. Clear and concise position descriptions and volunteer attributes required
4. Effective training for staff in volunteer management
5. Formalized volunteer recognition process

Five Good Resources

1. Volunteer Canada Resources
2. ServiceLeader.org: For Volunteer Managers
3. Professional Administrators of Volunteer Resources Ontario PAVR-O
4. Energize Inc.
5. Daily Bread Food Bank Volunteer Handbook (work in progress)

But who wants to spread a virus? When we connect with a message, a video, a website – we automatically engage with it, and want to share it. We don’t even have to be asked, because it’s automatic. At this Five Good Ideas session, participants discovered five things your organization can do to grow an automatic marketing culture – and have your messages exponentially spread by your constituents.

Link to Automatic Marketing presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/DonnieClaudino.

Five Good Ideas

1. Encourage honesty and creativity
2. Know your community very well
3. Discover and communicate your “stickiness”
4. Be very good to your Ambassadors
5. Track and reward successes

Five Good Resources

1. A suggestions box, and community animators
2. A telephone, and a good database
3. The internet, and charisma
4. Your email inbox, and spokesperson(s)
5. A calculator, and recipe book

Viral videos presented

• “Sons of Maxwell – United Breaks Guitars”
• “The Michael Gungor Band “White Man”
• “Tourism Queensland Seeks Applicants for ‘The Best Job in the World ‘ – Island Caretaker”
• “Peace One Day – Get Involved and Lives Will Be Saved”
• “Stephen Harper Sings Beatles Song with Yo Yo Ma”

Contact
Donnie:
donnieclaudino@gmail.com
@donnieclaudino (Twitter)
http://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Cause-to-Market-Meetup/

Five Good Ideas

1. Support infection prevention and control (The Public Health Good Idea)
2. Plan for a “best guess” and don’t forget that it is a guess (The Planning and Improvising Good Idea)
3. Develop your own plan and partner in your response (The Community Collaboration Good Idea)
4. Clarify organizational priorities and roles during an outbreak (The Business Continuity Good Idea)
5. Talk with your staff and your community about their concerns (The We are People First Good Idea)

Five Good Resources

1. Planning Guide for an Influenza Pandemic – Association of Ontario Health Centres(2008)
2. “Non-profit response to catastrophic disasters.” Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol.6, p551-561, Naim Kapucu (2007)
3. The Flu Pandemic and You: A Canadian Guide, Vincent Lam and Colin Lee (2006)
4. Understanding Voluntary Organizations in Health Emergency Management, Susan Phillips & Christopher Stoney (2006) – Public Health Agency of Canada
5. “Emergency health care workers’ willingness to work during major emergencies and disasters.” The Australian Journal of Emergency Management, vol.22(2) p21-24, Erin Smith (2007)