Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society

The Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society (IMPACS) was "a Canadian charitable organization committed to the protection and expansion of democracy and to strengthening civil society." 

In March 2007 the IMPACS Board of Directors announced that the group had "ceased operations and made a voluntary assignment into bankruptcy effective March 21, 2007. C. Topley & Company Ltd. has been appointed as trustee in bankruptcy and will be administering the affairs of IMPACS for the benefit of its creditors."

The board stated that the main reason for winding the organisation up was "the lack of what is often called "core-funding,"i.e. revenue sources from operations or grants from governments or foundations that can sustain what is even the modest central management function at the heart of any organization."

Personnel

 * Nancy Bennett, was the the executive director at the time that the organisation disbanded.
 * Shauna Sylvester was the preceding executive director.

Media Programs
IMPACS Media and Elections Response Centre
 * Afghanistan Media and Elections Initiatives
 * Cambodia Media and Elections Project, 2003
 * Guyana: Empowering the Media to Ease Racial and Political Tensions
 * IMPACS Media and Elections Training Seminar, Toronto, Feb. 2004

IMPACS Media and Peacebuilding Program Source
 * Afghanistan
 * Sri Lanka
 * Conflict Conscious News Management in Nepal's peace process: Lessons from Sri Lanka
 * Cambodia Journalists' Training Project

Afghanistan Media and Elections Initiatives
Project Aims : "In preparation for the first post-Taliban era elections, IMPACS embarked on a wide-scale project designed to strengthen Afghan media's capability to engage in elections coverage. The project is a long-term effort that started with media capacity building for the coverage of the Constitutional Loya Jirga (held during December 2003 and January 2004) and continues with training and content production in preparation for the presidential elections scheduled for October 2004." 

"Since August 2002, IMPACS has established four independent women-managed radio stations and a newspaper. Together they form the Parwana Media Network:
 * Radio Rabia Balkhi in Mazar-i-Sharif
 * Radio Sahar in Herat
 * Radio Zohra in Kunduz
 * Rah-e-Naw/Newi Lara Monthly Newspaper in Kabul
 * Radio Quyaash in Maimana

Partners and Supporters

 * Imagine Canada
 * Voluntary Sector Forum
 * Community Foundations of Canada
 * Volunteer Canada

Funders
Source
 * Alberta Law Foundation
 * Atkinson Charitable Foundation
 * Columbia Foundation
 * EJLB Foundation
 * Endswell Foundation
 * George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation
 * Kahanoff Foundation
 * Laidlaw Foundation
 * Law Foundation of British Columbia
 * Law Foundation of Ontario
 * Law Foundation of Saskatchewan
 * Maytree Foundation
 * Max Bell Foundation
 * J.W. McConnell Family Foundation
 * Tides Canada Foundation
 * United Way of Greater Toronto
 * VanCity Community Foundation
 * Vancouver Foundation
 * Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation

Directors

 * Gordon Floyd, Chair - Executive Director and CEO of Children's Mental Health Ontario; former Vice President of Public Affairs, the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy; cofounder of Ketchum Canada, the largest national fundraising firm; former Director of Policy for the Liberal Party of Canada.
 * Bronwyn Drainie, Vice-Chair - Toronto-based author, journalist, and broadcaster; former Chair of Communication Ethics at Ryerson Polytechnic University; editor of the Literary Review of Canada.
 * Michael Magee, Secretary and Treasurer - Principal of Convergence Communications; communication consultant to US and Canadian Foundations and non-government organizations; former Director of Communications and Development at the Sierra Legal Defense Fund.
 * Leslie Campbell - Senior Associate for Strategy and Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the Washington-based National Democratic Institute for International Affairs(NDI). Former Chief of Staff to NDP leader Audrey McLaughlin and advisor to the Premier and Cabinet in the Province of Manitoba; former Vice-president of the Canadian-American Business Council in Washington D.C.
 * Andrew Cardozo - Founder and former President Pearson-Shoyama Institute (Ottawa); former Commissioner of the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC); public commentator and writer; member of the board of the Media Awareness Network.
 * Tim Draimin - Executive Director of the Tides Canada Foundation; former senior policy advisor for the Canadian Council for International Cooperation; consultant to many non-governmental organizations focusing on international policy, voluntary sector management and social entrepreneurship.
 * Sean Moore - Partner/Public Policy Advisor, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, In Ottawa; over 25 years experience in public-policy and advocacy related to local, provincial/state and federal government affairs in Canada and the US; frequent writer / teacher / trainer on public-policy advocacy; part-time faculty member University of Ottawa, Executive MBA program.
 * Rita Morin - Director, Corporate Relations and Social Enterprise Development at PLAN (Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network). Former Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving for the United Way of the Lower Mainland. Former board member of the Vancouver Foundation and the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy.
 * Ratna Omidvar - Executive Director of The Maytree Foundation; Steering Committee Member of the Toronto City Summit Alliance (TCSA), and Executive Director of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC); Member of Prime Minister Martin's external advisory committee on Cities and Communities; Director of The Philanthropic Foundations of Canada and Board Member of The Toronto Community Foundation.
 * Ross Reid - Deputy to the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador; international consultant on human rights and democratic development; past National Director of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada; former Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister.
 * Michel de Salaberry - Former Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Iran and Egypt. Former Deputy Director, Middle East Division; Chief of Staff to the Minister for Constitutional Affairs; and Director, Middle East Relations Division.
 * Emeritus

Source Staff
 * Ed Broadbent, Board member from 1997 to 2003 - Companion of the Order of Canada; Chair, Panel on Accountability and Governance in the Voluntary Sector (the Broadbent Panel); Visiting Fellow, Political Studies Department, Queen's University; former Member of Parliament and leader of the national New Democratic Party from 1975 to 1989; former President of the International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development.
 * Katharine Pearson, Founding board member, served on the board from 1997 to 2005 - Program Manager, J.W. McConnell Family Foundation; former Senior Policy Officer, Canadian Council for International Cooperation; former senior manager for Oxfam Canada.

Related Sourcewatch resources

 * The Communication Initiative
 * Internews
 * Panos London

Contact
The Internet Archive for the groups former website can be found at:
 * http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.impacs.org/ and
 * http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.impacs-afghanistan.org/