The IA Institute is a group of multinational of volunteers who supply the ideas, initiative, and energy it takes to provide services to the IA community. Join that effort by taking on a volunteer role today. Learn more about our volunteers here.

The Institute can provide assistance for volunteer initiatives with expert review, infrastructure, and money. Please contact us at volunteer AT iainstitute DOT org if you are interested in learning more about any of our projects or have you an idea of how you can help. Or choose an already defined project from below:

New and Short-term Projects

• IDEA 2008
• Networking
• Language Site Launch

Ongoing Volunteer Projects

• Website Improvement Project
• Local Groups
• Education

IDEA 2008

IDEA 2008 is coming to Chicago October 6-8, 2008. Our planning team is in place. However, look here for more opportunities closer to the date.

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Network

Volunteers with php, css, and html skills needed to translate great plan into new site! Increase the worldwide IA network and opportunities for IAI members!

Translations Team Members

Join a language team! Teams need assistance with translation, navigation, and moving translated content into the new website framework. If you aren't able to translate the words but have html/css knowledge, you can contribute to the web development.

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On-Going Volunteer Projects and Initiatives

Help Improve IAI Website

Volunteers with Movable Type and HTML/CSS experienced volunteers are needed for a sitewide redesign. IAI's new design and features will add great value to members and IA fans. We welcome volunteers at all skill levels. Project in already in progress, please contact volunteer AT iainstitute DOT org if you are interested in performing any of the following roles:

• Find the bugs
  Tell us what needs to be fixed, written, or added to the new website (http://www.iainstitute.org/en/), write to webmaster AT iainstitute DOT org with every little thing you find.
• Prevent dead links
  Help us avoid dead links when people access the old site via bookmarks or external links. We need someone to write a 404 script that will compare the entered URL to a database and return the updated page or a friendly and appropriate Page Not Found message.

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Local Groups

• Be a Local Leader — Local Group leaders needed to organize local IAI groups, including local summits, presentations, cocktail hours, etc. This is an ongoing commitment of a few hours a month to organize and attend meetings of your group's choice.

Education

• Be a Mentor — Share your experiences with beginning and seasoned IAs who are looking to develop their knowledge. We are especially looking for people who can guide new IAs through job changes, and help people moving from corporations to freelance or from freelance to the corporate setting. Visit our mentoring page for more information.
• Help Educate — Use your web research skills to update our IA related course listings and programs and web pages with the most current information. Collect data on current non-credit programs as well as professional development, web-based and other educational delivery methods. Project is open now and would be a 1-3 month time commitment depending on your schedule.
• Take Charge of Education – Become the Education Initiative Leader. Possible projects include a competency survey, progress grants, curriculum survey, and what will be the most comprehensive list of IA courses and programs available. This is an ongoing committment of nine or more months that may include working with your own group of volunteers.

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All volunteers make an impact. If you're interested in any of the above opportunities contact volunteer AT iainstitute DOT org.

If you don't have time to volunteer right now but know of tools and resources that our members may benefit from, please let us know:

• The IA Library is a repository of information about Articles and Papers, Blogs, Columns and Journals, Books, Organizations, Conferences and Mailing lists, Presentations and Web Sites and Resources. Submit library resources here.
• IA Tools include document templates, process map posters and other tools to help you in your practice. Submit your tools to iatools AT iainstitute DOT org.