Stagnant councils dissolved

In accordance with recommendations included in a strategic review completed late last year the Federation of Government Information Processing Councils has eliminated some of its inactive councils and will focus more of its efforts on state and local government issues.

The FGIPC board of directors last week "deactivated" half of its 32 councils that have failed to sponsor events or to attract sufficient membership said chairman Neil Stillman deputy assistant secretary for information resources management at the Department of Health and Human Services. He said nine of those councils were permanently eliminated and the remaining seven may be reinstated "if they are able to revitalize" by FGIPC's November board meeting.

Stillman said the inactive councils were eliminated because they created an inequity within FGIPC. "Small inactive councils had an equal voice with councils that had hundreds or thousands of members " Stillman said "so we had phantom votes."

Frank McDonough deputy associate administrator for intergovernmental solutions at the General Services Administration and leader of the panel that produced the review said the inactive councils "diverted attention away from the goals and objectives of the active councils."

He added that the inactive councils played a role in creating last year's rift between FGIPC and the Industry Advisory Council FGIPC's most active member. Last April Stillman dismissed IAC's board of directors fired its executive director and took control of the group's finances claiming IAC improperly diverted funds to its account. The dispute ended with the election of new IAC leadership committed to smoothing the group's relationship with FGIPC.

IAC chairman Ken Johnson president and chief executive officer of Cordant Inc. said IAC board members were pleased with the review and the recommendations it included. "There will be a bit more focus on councils that represent FGIPC every day kind of like we at IAC do " he said.

The review said FGIPC established in 1979 has often failed over the years to alter its focus in accordance with changes in technology and government policies. It also said the group "has lost sight of its original objectives " specifically its goal to seek greater involvement from state and local governments.McDonough said FGIPC's stature as a nationwide organization positions it as a potential leader in bringing together all levels of government to cooperate on issues.

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Deactivated FGIPC Councils

* Federal ADP Users Group* Federal Government Information Processing Council of Dallas-Fort Worth* Federal Information Management Council of the Northwest* Federal Information Management Council of New England* Government Open Systems Solutions Council* Government SQL Users Group* Great Lakes Information Processing Council* Hawaii Intergovernmental Information Processing Council* Information Technology Council of the Intermountain States* Intergovernmental ADP Council of Greater Tidewater* MEAPO Microcomputer Users Group* Mid-Atlantic Government Information Council* South Texas Information Processing Council* Special Interest Group on Networked Information Discovery and Retrieval* Council on Accessible Technology* IRM College Alumni Association Council.