ICT Management. > Strategy & Planning

Increasing impact through technology

By Louise Brown

Louise Brown, ICT Development Officer at NCVO, reports for Computanews on the outcomes of recent technology seminars she’s been running for chief executives and trustees.

Setting the scene

Many organisations face unprecedented challenges over the coming year: Massive cuts in public spending, increased requirements for transparency and accountability, the move from grant funding to contracted public service delivery, and an increased need for collaboration. At the same time as all this, technology is changing around us, giving more power to the individual and changing the traditional role of organisations. Any one of these happening would cause an organisation to stop and reassess, but all at once means it is vital to take stock in order to guarantee your future survival.

Supported by the City Bridge Trust I’ve been running seminars for Chief Executives and trustees to help them think more strategically about their ICT, to consider these high level challenges, and to look at how technology might be a solution for the practical issues they’re facing.

The processes that people want to make more effective include:

• volunteer recruitment
• demonstration of impact
• remote working
• effective campaigning
• collaboration in delivering services
• internal and external communication
• funding and money management. 

When you actually look at the nitty gritty of what people want to do better, a small number of technological solutions suggest themselves.

Is it too simplistic to say that it all comes down to coordinating and managing information effectively using databases; cloud computing to facilitate more joined up working; and engaging and sharing using social media?

Databases

If you do only one thing to maximise the effectiveness of your organisation then it has to be improving how you manage your information using databases. If you can track your contact with clients or donors, and understand which of those contacts has the biggest impact, then you can target your resources more effectively. You may manage your data using a set of interconnected applications (such as email and a spreadsheet), a single database or something more complex – each of these has its own benefits and drawbacks, but complexity usually comes at a price.

If reviewing your databases is something you are considering then start by talking at board level about what information you need to know in order to effectively manage your organisation.

Carry out an audit of the information you already collect for your board and funders: where does it come from? How is it used? What information do you need to extract in order to produce reports or funding bids?

Having a database that quickly gives you what you need in order to do your job will save both time and money.

Cloud computing

Cloud computing is probably one of the biggest opportunities for voluntary organisations to do more with less. At its heart is a flexibility which allows organisations to be more responsive with their offering, taking little adaption to offer new or different services or to scale up or down.

The online, interconnected nature of the tools mean it is easier to work across locations, to work collaboratively with other organisations, and to access resources when out of the office.

Of course there are concerns over cloud computing, as with anything, and it’s important to work with organisations to assess them realistically. Yes, information is online so technically anyone can access it - but with effective password management the risks shift in focus and not necessarily in size.

As a management board, think about whether or not your current technology is meeting your needs and whether or not it will meet the needs of your organisation after 1 April. If it does then fine, but if not, treat it as an opportunity to review how you use ICT in your organisation. Make sure cloud computing is one of the options on the table.

Social media

Social media, when done well, can help with so many areas of your work. Social media is about stories and connections - if you can talk passionately about what you’re doing and connect with the public then you can ask those people to support your campaign, volunteer their time, promote your services, join your discussions and respond to the impact of your work through donations.

Getting involved with social media doesn’t take money but does need the support of managers in time and staff. Find someone who is already using social media well in their personal life and charge them with trialling it in your organisation. Try out one tool to start with, such as Twitter, and evaluate what value it brings.

Tomorrow’s hot social media tool will almost certainly be different to today’s so make sure you’re driven by a clear strategy rather than following the crowd. Think about what allows you to connect with the people you’re trying to reach and say what you want to say.

The leadership role

What’s the role of the organisational leader in this? Your technology strategy needs to be driven by an organisational mission so it’s no good handing the job to your techie with their eyes on the shiny boxes.

Start with a discussion at your next management or trustee meeting about what’s going to be expected of your organisation over the next year and whether you have the tools to be able to do that.

If you have the time and resources, audit your organisational processes (not just the ones currently done using technology) then consider each in turn and whether or not they could be done more effectively.

Don’t panic and try to do all of this on your own - an IT volunteer can help to take you through this process: contact iT4Communities for more information.

Further reading

NCVO seminar handouts Increasing Impact through Technology (PDF)

Knowledebase section on databases

Cloud Computing 101

An introduction to social media