From: <David_Ward_at_(domain_name_was_removed)>
Date: Mon Jun 16 2008 - 20:02:27 PDT

Greetings,

I recently sent you an email announcing a survey I am conducting. I am following up on that email.

I am a graduate student at California State University Monterey Bay in the Management and Information Technology program. I am currently conducting research in support of my masters thesis.

An important aspect of my research is understanding the perspectives of elected city officials with regard to open source software in municipal government. Don't worry about feeling qualified to take the survey. The survey can be taken by all city employees, managers, or officials.

Please take the time today to complete the survey. Your input is very important to my research.

The survey can be accessed at http://etao.csumb.edu/softwaresurvey . The survey consists of 38 questions and can be completed in less than 10 minutes.

Please pass this survey announcement to your colleagues, city manager, information technology managers and support staff, and city staff.

I have included the original announcement email for your reference (below).

Thank you,
David
---

David Ward
Graduate Student
David_Ward@csumb.edu
Management and Information Technology
California State University Monterey Bay http://csumb.edu/

Original survey announcement:

---

California State University Monterey Bay invites mayors, city council members, city managers, municipal information technology managers, technicians, support staff, and city employees to participate in an online survey of open source software use by municipal government.

The survey can be accessed at http://etao.csumb.edu/softwaresurvey . The survey consists of 38 questions and can be completed in less than 10 minutes. Participants in this survey are entitled to receive a free (downloadable) copy of the final research report.

This survey is part of my graduate research at the California State University Monterey Bay in support of my Masters Thesis under the guidance of Dr. Eric Tao. If you want to know more about this research project or have questions or concerns please send email to David_Ward@csumb.edu or call me at 831-521-6531. You may send email to Dr. Tao at Eric_Tao@csumb.edu, tel: 831-582-4222.

The results of this research may provide insight into how cities with populations less than 500,000 can reduce the annual costs of information technology management and support by using open source software as an alternative to commercial software.

This research project has been reviewed and accepted by California State University, Monterey Bay. If you have questions about CSUMB’s rules for research, please call the Committee for Human Subjects Chair, Chip Lenno, CSUMB Technology Support Services, 100 Campus Center, Building. 43, Seaside CA 93955, 831.582.4799.

This survey has been announced in Next American City Magazine (1/2 page AD), American City and County Magazine (http://americancityandcounty.com/news/cau-student-open-source-0805/), and by several municipal associations (see below).

More information about the survey and research is provided below.

Please take the time today to complete the survey. Your input is important to my research.

Please pass this survey announcement to your colleagues, information technology managers and support staff, and city staff.

Thank you,
David
---

David Ward
Graduate Student
David_Ward@csumb.edu
Management and Information Technology
California State University Monterey Bay http://csumb.edu/

---

The following organizations have announced this survey to their members:

   Arizona City/County Management Association (ACMA)    City Managers Association of Oklahoma (CMAO)    Florida City and County Management Association (FCCMA)    Government Management Information Sciences (GMIS)    League of Arizona Cities & Towns
   Maine Municipal Association (MMA)
   Maryland Municipal Information Technology Association (MMITA)    Municipal Information System Association (MISA) California    Municipal Information Systems Association (MISA/ASIM) Canada    Nebraska City/County Management Association (NCMA)    New York State Local Government Information Technology Directors’ Association (NYSLGITDA)    New Hampshire Municipal Management Association (NHMMA)    North Carolina Local Government Information System Association (NCLGISA)    Ohio City/County Information Technology Association (OCITA)    Southwest Illinois City Management Association (SWICMA)    Virginia Local Government Management Association (VLGMA)    Utah City Management Association (UCMA)    Washington City/County Management Association (WCMA)    Wyoming Association of Municipalities (WAM)    Wisconsin City/County Management Association (WCMA)

---

Other places to find this survey announcement: Next American City Magazine 1/2 page AD
http://americancity.org/
-

American City and County Magazine
http://americancityandcounty.com/
http://americancityandcounty.com/news/cau-student-open-source-0805/
-

---

About the research:
This research investigates if it is possible for small to medium sized cities (population less than 500,000) to provide services and conduct business using only open source software. The results of this research may provide insight into how cities can reduce the annual costs of information technology management and support by using open source software as an alternative to commercial software.

Gaining an understanding of the factors that influence the adoption of open source software by municipal government is a key part of this study. Three areas have been determined to be of interest in this study; software availability, technical capability, and cultural affinity. From these three areas of interest the following research questions were developed:

1. Are there open source alternatives to commercial software currently used by city governments?
2. Do city governments have the technical capability to deploy and support open source software?
3. Does a city’s organizational culture encourage the adoption of open source software?

Much research has been done into whether particular open source software products can be used as adequate alternatives to commercial software. While this research answers fundamental questions of usability about the target software, it has not addressed questions of what capabilities and characteristics an organization may require to successfully deploy and support open source software. This study seeks to answer some of those questions.

---

About the survey:

This survey is being administered by David Ward in support of his Master's Thesis research under the guidance of Dr. Eric Tao at the California State University Monterey Bay.

• This survey is completely voluntary, there is no penalty for not completing it.
• This survey does not identify you through any personal identification and only collects data about you as it pertains to demographic information.
• Your answers will be kept strictly confidential and will not be released in any form that can be identified with you individually.
• This survey is only for individuals who are at least 18 years of age.
• This survey has been approved by the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects at the California State University Monterey Bay (CPHS #08-072).
• Results of the survey may be published in aggregate form only, without identifying any individual or organization.

If you want to know more about this research project or have questions or concerns, please send email to David_Ward@csumb.edu or Eric_Tao@csumb.edu.

This research project has been reviewed and accepted by California State University, Monterey Bay. If you have questions about CSUMB’s rules for research, please call the Committee for Human Subjects Chair, Chip Lenno, CSUMB Technology Support Services, 100 Campus Center, Building. 43, Seaside CA 93955, 831.582.4799. Received on Mon Jun 16 20:02:44 2008