Initially, we address the situation of the College or University.

An ideal stage would be a board of faculty to address underlying issues, and a coordinator (with intimate knowledge of both the mathematics curriculum and community organizations) to create and maintain a stable link between the campus and the community.

 Within the context of this manual, a resource is defined as a community organization which makes available data to be utilized by the students to further their analytical techniques. These include "baseline" data sources which can not only have various applications in the course but can also be used to enhance other analytical techniques. An example of this would be climate data.

Example :
Here at UMM, we receive this data from the West Central Experiment Station. This consists of high/low temperature, precipitation, and ground temperature (among others). Here we find an application to statistical time series data analysis theory which is taught here at UMM in Math 3690. After the rudimentary techniques are taught, a project involving well water depths was brought in. Using chronological readings, a model was created to determine well depths dependent upon the time of year, the ground temperature, and precipitation.

This example show how one must find theory which has appropriate applications in the various courses.

Benefactors can be any organization in your target area. For UMM the target area is West Central Minnesota. The region contains predominantly rural industry and low wages. For that reason we have broadened our availability of services to include government agencies, whether they are at the federal, state or local level.

At times, a resource can also become a benefactor of the final analysis. Here a breakdown of benefactors is necessary. A Direct benefactor is any organization which requests specific research to be completed by the Mathematical Services. A General benefactor is any organization which asks to receive the reports generated by the students.

The research which is proposed could easily be completed by a consultant in the area. One issue which now arises is that of jobs. In the past, community service was just that - a service to the community. Here, it is believed that the service would not be taking away someone's job. Now this becomes of utmost concern. We cannot encourage "free" analysis to any organization which asks. Therefore, a qualifying determination must be made. In the Community Based Resources questionnaire, it is asked :

Would this proposed assistance normally have been completed by or through your organization?

This is the final determination. If the answer is "yes", the assistance is denied, yet methodological assistance can still be provided.

The benefactors know what projects are occurring within their organization, and the College or University personnel best know their course objectives - it is bridging this gap that can prove to be the deciding factor. It was found here at UMM that once the community projects are understood by the coordinator, that person can then best apply this to the coursework, assuming the coordinator has fairly intimate knowledge of the topics being addressed. One now asks - why not have the faculty do this work? One answer - time. Making contact with community organization (especially the primary contact) and determining the projects which would best suit student research is not an easy task. At times, the data collection techniques have been distorted - making the data unreliable altogether. A clear explanation to the community agency of the applications and estimated results that are possible by the course is also deemed as necessary, so as the agency can better understand in what respect assistance can be tained. This is also important, for the reason that future projects can then be recognized by the agencies - which will prompt future requests to Mathematical Services. However, this conclusion is only drawn for agencies which have had previous contact with the Mathematical Services. For this reason, models should be created to allow agencies with no previous contact to understand the scope of possible assistance.