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A Brief History

  1. Origins. The Community Information Network grew out of three activities during 1994:
    • A study by Coro Fellows funded by the Danforth Foundation, Ralston Purina and other community minded organizations.
    • The Empowerment Zone planning process recommendation for a computer-based network to meet citizen demand for relevant information.
    • The advent of the World Wide Web on the Internet.

  2. Feasibility Study. The design of CIN grew out of a study that brought many interested organizations to the table, who developed consensus about priorities, and helped legitimize the overall concept. A consulting team consisting of Arthur Andersen, Connexus, and WHG Engineering & Management Consulting interviewed representatives of more than 25 community-based organizations, conducted consensus building sessions, and made policy and technical recommendations.

  3. Prototype Development. With support from the academic community, student interns from Washington University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a prototype of the St. Louis Community Information Network.

  4. Washington University Partnership. In August 1995, CIN with the technical assistance provided by the School of Engineering, unveiled the City of St. Louis web site.

  5. Coro Midwestern Center. A team of Coro Fellows conducted the first major restructuring of the City home page in January, 1996. They gathered additional information on city government agencies and departments, educational resources, and social service agencies. They informed many service organizations about CIN and collected useful feedback on the potential uses of CIN. The project concluded with the unveiling of the enhanced home page in front of an audience of community members, city officials, and representatives from area non-profit organizations.

  6. MORENet. In the Summer of 1996, the St. Louis Development Corporation and MORENet executed a contract to provide community networking services. MORENet is a branch of the University of Missouri, and is charged with bringing the State of Missouri, public schools, libraries, and communities on-line. The MORENet Community Information Networks (CIN) division purchased our access and web servers. MORENet continues to maintain the web server on behalf of the St. Louis Development Corporation and the Enterprise Community.

  7. Civic Networking and Ounce of Prevention Grants . In October 1996, CIN received a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office Of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) for civic networking, geographic information systems, and youth service provider support.

  8. Operations. Operations. In November 1996 the home page moved from Washington University to MORENet. Work began on connecting several departments in City government.

  9. Missouri Express. In March 1997, the St. Louis CIN is designated a Missouri Express project. The designation makes St. Louis CIN a part of the statewide network of community information networks, and allows it to receive enhanced technical support and assistance through MOREnet. CIN began providing dial-up access to users.

  10. By April 1997, most major City Departments, Agencies and Divisions were represented on the CIN web site.

  11. Community Development. January through May 1997, planning for the Neighborhood Web Fair began in earnest. A Project Steering Committee formed to direct planning for the Neighborhood Web Fair. A total of 77 community meetings took place to prepare for the Neighborhood Web Fair.

  12. Neighborhood Web Fair 1997. In May 1997, the Neighborhood Web Fair attracted 120 neighborhood participants, 60 volunteer trainers and resulted in the creation of more than 40 neighborhood web pages.

  13. Training. In August 1997, a five-tier training curricula began. The CIN Help Desk became operational.

  14. Strategic Plan. In October 1997, the CIN launched a strategic planning process. This effort resulted in five areas of focus and 19 specific goals for the next three years. Monthly "hits" on CIN reached 30,000.

  15. Neighborhood Web Fair 1998. On April 26th, 1998 the second annual neighborhood Web Fair took place. Neighborhood web pages maintained by neighborhood residents and organizations increased to 69 out of a total of 79 in the city.

  16. In June 1998, FOCUS St. Louis "What's Right With the Region" award program recognized the St. Louis CIN's contribution to improved service delivery through the use of technology.

  17. Not-for-Profit Web Fair. In September 1998, CIN hosted the first Not-for-Profit Web Fair to assist organizations to learn about the Internet, to get connected, and to create their own web pages.

  18. In June 1998, St. Louis CIN partnered with Community Connection, a statewide initiative that aims at making information about human services and other resources easily available to people via the Internet.

  19. In 1998, the Ford Foundation and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University recognized the St. Louis CIN for its innovative strategies in fostering government and community collaboration.

  20. In November 1998, St. Louis CIN unveiled its new dynamic database capability by posting election results live on election night. The new functionality allows users to find their elected officials and polling places by typing in their city address.

  21. In March 1999, St. Louis CIN expanded its services by bringing on-line an additional server dedicated to geographic information.

  22. On June 6, 1999 the third annual neighborhood Web Fair took place. The CIN unveiled the Real Estate Database, an application which allows people to enter basic information about for-sale property and for others to search for property by neighborhood, ward, zip code, and price.

  23. In June 1999, FOCUS St. Louis "What's Right With the Region" award program recognized for the second consecutive year the St. Louis CIN's contribution to improving communication between government and the public.

  24. In August 1999, St. Louis CIN received the Missouri Express Enhanced Services grant. The grant was offered through the State of Missouri Office of Administration.

  25. In May 2000, St. Louis CIN unveils a new and improved Development Section on the web site including the St. Louis Development Corporation web site.

  26. In November 2000, the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council (EWGCC) in collaboration with CIN is awarded an EMPACT Metro grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. The grant will help build an on-line system to help citizens learn about the environmental problems in their neighborhoods, how these issues are changing over time, and what is being done about them.

  27. In March 2001, St. Louis CIN in collaboration with the City of St. Louis Cultural Resources Office is awarded a grant from the State of Missouri Historic Preservation Office to develop a prototype for an historic preservation website that will display information about historic buildings, people and events.

  28. In March 2001, the St. Louis CIN working closely with the City of St. Louis Assessor's Office goes live with the Assessor's Office Property Database.

  29. April 2001, St. Louis CIN unveils its new and updated map server and publishes 2000 Census data hours from its release.

  30. In May 2001, St. Louis CIN publishes an on-line "Web Fair Toolkit" to assist other communities in building local content in partnership with multiple stakeholders.

  31. In August 2001, St. Louis CIN unveils a new and improved Housing section on its website. Progress was made possible through the help of Coro Midwestern Center Fellows and a broad-based advisory committee.

  32. In September 2001, St. Louis CIN hosts "America Connects: A Discussion on the Digital Divide in St. Louis" in partnership with America Connects. A Consortium of eight partners, working with community technology centers nationwide to improve programs, support community development, and eliminate the digital divide.

  33. In October 2001, The Missouri Chapter of the America Planning Association chooses the St. Louis CIN to receive the 2001 Excellence in Planning Award, Outstanding Planning Award for a Project, Program, or Tool.

  34. In April and May 2002, St. Louis CIN, in partnership with America Connects and the St. Louis Technology Collaborative (BTC) hosts two follow-up meetings to develop a joined strategy to address the disparity in access to computers and the internet in our region.

  35. Two Neighborhood Web Fairs were held in May and June 2002. The popular events were well attended and many neighborhood pages were update. This year the majority of participants were registred directly on-line.

  36. In 2002, CIN's efforts concentrated in assisting many City Departments developing interactive applications and updating or re-designing their web pages. Our 2002 Accomplishments provides a selected summary of our activities. The Citizens' Service Bureau "Request a city service" application and the Circuit Attorney's searchable "Case Data" application are just two examples of e-government applications developed to better serve City of St. Louis residents.

  37. On April 2, 2003, the Enterprise Community Neighborhood Web Fair was held at the Southwestern Bell Library and Technology Resource Center at Harris-Stowe College.

  38. In August 2003, St. Louis CIN completes the Community Environmental Resource Program (CERP) interactive mapping component of the EMPACT Metro grant awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency. One can access the on-line system to learn about environmental problems in their neighborhoods in the City of St. Louis and the City of East St. Louis.

  39. On November 19, 2003, St. Louis CIN unveils the map portal application at the GIS Day 2003 celebration in the City Hall Rotunda.

  40. On November 21, 2003, St. Louis CIN received an "Innovation in Local Government Award" from East-West Gateway Coordinating Council, the council of governments and metropolitan planning organization for the greater St. Louis region.

  41. December 2003, the St. Louis CIN has a productive year. Our 2003 Accomplishments provides a selected summary of our activities.

  42. December 2003 - January 2004, the St. Louis CIN becomes part of the City of St. Louis Information Technology Services Agency (ITSA). The agency established in Summer 2003 to implement the City's technology agenda.

  43. December 2004, the St. Louis CIN has a productive year. See our accomplishments for the year and our goals for the future.

  44. July 2007, the St. Louis CIN after meeting its ten year committment, ends dial-up services. The St. Louis CIN provided uninterrupted service for over ten years, servicing approximately 1200 individual users and organizations. Hundreds of youth and not-for-profit organizations were able to benefit from no-cost dial up and leverage the promise of the internet and World Wide Web.

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