The term "community" in the context of the Internet is more inclusive than the traditional community as a group of people in a particular geographical area. It refers to any group of people with a common interest and may include university communities, library communities, archival communities, etc. The Internet potentially eliminates the distance factor that once was the primary defining factor of work teams.

1. Many of the collections created under this program are community-related and of community significance. Many have been previously compiled or developed to some degree by departments, agencies or organizations in a particular community.
2. Involving the community in your project builds a support base for the project and eventually a support base for the finished product. Members of your community will feel some sense of ownership and involvement in the project and will use and promote it with much greater energy.
3. Community involvement opens doors to resources. Completion of a Canada’s Digital Collections project requires a number of resources. These include a development site, computer equipment, an Internet connection and usage privileges, office supplies, etc.
4. Involving individuals and groups within a community often enhances the information collection process. Project teams should surround themselves with those people in their community who have an interest in or specific knowledge of the subject matter. In many cases, previous compilations on a particular subject can be used in a project.
5. Involving the community in your project will lay the groundwork for long-term partnerships and relationships between your company or agency and the project partners. Often these relationships will lead to further co-operative projects.
6. When a project nears completion, it must be reviewed very carefully by all of the stakeholders and contributors. It is best to involve these individuals and groups early on in the development process.

There are, of course, resource implications involved in partnering: some partners bring resources to the table and give them freely to the initiative; others require resources, typically financial, for their participation. Examples of the latter include space rental, administration fees, copy charges, Internet usage fees and overheads, such as electricity. As well, if the partners in a project are not in close geographical proximity, other costs should be planned for, such as telephone charges, travel, etc.

A CDC contract is very similar to a purely private sector contract in terms of compensation arrangements. Costs are somewhat "front loaded" in the sense that all equipment and most travel costs, etc., are incurred in the early part of the project. Payroll costs begin immediately as well, and continue for the duration of the project. If you are part of a small company or organization with limited cash flow, one of the partners you recruit to take part in the project should be a financial partner.

Below is a chart that may help you to decide on who the partners should be for your project.

This CDC website tells the story of Father Jimmy and his strides towards community economic development. Detailed below are a description of the various partnerships formed and the organization of the project team.

Since Father Jimmy was stationed in the two communities of Canso, Nova Scotia, and Reserve Mines on Cape Breton Island, the project team was divided into two groups. Three students worked in Glace Bay while another three worked in Canso. Development was co-ordinated largely on-line by the contractor in Canso. Partners in the project included the Centre for Enterprise and Community Networking, University College of Cape Breton (UCCB); Canso Community Access (CAP) site; Glace Bay YMCA Enterprise Centre; Glace Bay Community Access Site; Beaton Institute (UCCB) and Saint Francis Xavier University Archives.

Some specifics of how the project was conducted are detailed below:

1. Employees were interviewed and selected from each community.
2. Development sites were set up in a CAP site in Cape Breton and a private business in Canso.
3. The University College of Cape Breton (financial partner) was contracted to perform the payroll function.
4. An initial planning and training session was held and all participants were brought together. During the project, three other such sessions occurred.
5. Participants spent approximately two weeks skill building, three weeks material gathering and the balance of the contract actually coding and developing the site.
6. Daily e-mail contact was maintained with all of the participants. Essentially the participants sent questions and completed code to the contractor, who in return sent answers to their development questions, design guidelines and suggestions. In this way, the contractor was able to provide timely, constructive evaluation of the site content as it was developed. With the autonomy and independence this model fostered for the participants, creativity flourished.
7. When it came time to get the approvals of all the partners, an open house was held in each of the communities. Text versions of the site were also made available upon request.