One of the toughest but best things a person or an organization can do is say, "We got it wrong and we need to start over." That's exactly what ICC is doing in revisiting how best to provide an online, professional message board. ICC convened a focus group of stakeholders who met in Denver to hear ideas and brainstorm a new beginning.

The meeting allowed ICC staff to hear members and nonmembers concerns and questions on the previous discussion board and the direction of a new board.

The first day began with participants expressing the accomplishments they wished to see by the end of the meeting. Some of these discussion goals were for the new Forum to be open and viewed by all visitors to www.iccsafe.org, an easily searchable forum and an overall cleaner, quicker and more user-friendly Forum.

This set the groundwork for the next part of the discussion, which included topics within the Forum, how to moderate the Forum and how to share information.

A brief demonstration of the new discussion board was then displayed to the participants. Participants pointed out issues they saw and, including positive aspects of the new version. A quick vote showed most participants were pleased with the overall look and feel of the new discussion board.

The second day was highlighted by discussing more details about specific sections within the Forum. Participants shared their views on how to create specific "discussion groups" within the Forum, to share documents with other professionals in their area of expertise.

We were gratified that during a couple of days a new dialogue began and we laid the foundation for a fresh start. Look for changes as we move into the final phases of our website upgrade.