What is EBIS?
No, it’s not an African bird with a curved bill.

EBIS is a managed-, e-mail-, rapid-response system. It stands for EMAIL BROADCAST INFORMATION SERVICE and is one of the Institute’s most popular services. It allows you to share the expertise of colleagues who have faced similar problems, quickly and easily.

How does it work?
Step #1—Email your question to EBIS
Step #2—EBIS broadcasts your question anonymously to over 200 Virginia local governments
Step #3—EBIS receives the responses and reviews them
Step #4—EBIS sends only the relevant responses back to you

Let’s say you have a question like, “Which other Virginia localities of similar size have a deputy police chief?” And let’s say you need the answer for tomorrow’s board meeting. But you don’t want other localities to know that you need this information. Just email your question to EBIS and you’ll receive a number of examples by meeting time.

If you need examples of forms or policies, you’ll receive them in the mail or as an attachment to an email.

How long does this take?
Questions are usually posted on the same day they are received. Responses start arriving within minutes. The majority are received within 48 hours.

What is piggybacking?
As a participant in EBIS, you’ll receive each inquiry via email. If you would like to see the responses to a particular inquiry, let EBIS know.

How much does it cost?
EBIS is free to Institute members.

Recent inquiries cover many issues, including policies on out-of-office use of laptop computers; rental fees and ordinances for boat slip/wharf space; major disaster compensation for extra work hours; transportation policies for mental health case workers and clients; and tipping/collection fees for refuse collection.

Through EBIS, Virginia has the most networked local government community in the nation.
Over 220 Virginia localities have joined the EBIS network. EBIS fields questions on about 300 new topics each year; its library includes information on over 1,750 topics. EBIS has developed a list of over 2,650 contacts.


Contact: Tedd E. Povar, tep3e@virginia.edu, or 804/371-0202