Good Enough Technology
How Small NGOs can build capacity with IT
June 4, 2008
Edward Granger-Happ
CIO, Save the Children
Chairman, NetHope
Executive Fellow, Tuck/Dartmouth
What I’m Doing at Tuck
• Learning
– Auditing class on Comparative Leadership Models
– One on Social Entrepreneurship
– And one on Business Ethics
• Advising
– Independent study on disruptive innovation
– Team project on tech collaboration for small nonprofits (NGOs)
• Writing
– NTEN/J. Wiley Book
– Blog: http://granger-happ.blogspot.com/
• Lecturing
– Leadership
– Future of Technology
– Good Enough Principle
2
Three Take-Aways
1. Tech matters - it can move mission
2. Collaborate or perish - small NGOs can't win
without collaborating
3. Collaborating is about trust - more than
sharing info
3
1. An IT Strategic Framework
Our business is delivering programs that have impact
Clients
How do we
Grow
impact?
Beneficiaries
Results
Products
Impact
Programs
Donors
Revenue
5
To Build Capacity We Need to Do Seven Things
More Effective Impact
At Greater Scale
Standards
Processes
Tools
Advocacy
Partnering
Training
Hiring
Effective, Efficient, Scalable Programs
Systems Impact
Funding Support
6
In US rural communities more children are reading at grade level
Children Reading at Grade Level-% change
from Beginning to End of School Year
5.5%
6%
5%
5%
4%
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
% change-2004
Source: Save the Children
% change-2005
% change-2006
7
Jones Fork Elementary School, Mousie, KY.
8
In Bangladesh PDAs are delivering capacity gains
Comparison of Three Processes
For Food Distribution
39% Efficiency gain from Manual to PDA Process
250
192,000
Beneficiaries.
200
200
150
164
144
100
50
0
Source: Save
the Children
Manual only process-8
hr day
Manual+laptop
process-8 hr day
PDA process-8 hr day
9
Food distribution center in Bangladesh
10
In Bolivia the gain is 57%
Minutes Expended for Transcription Per
Beneficiary Per Month
57% Efficiency Gain using PDAs
0.500
0.460
0.400
0.300
0.197
0.200
0.100
0.000
Manual
Source: Save
the Children
18,000 beneficiaries
PDA
11
Bolivia Food Distribution Records
12
Connectivity is Foundational
•
•
•
Network infrastructure: NetHope
Connecting the field workers (inward)
Connecting the poor (outward)
–
–
Bangladesh - pay cell phone cottage industry
that Muhammad Yunus’ Grameen Bank has
incubated among poor women
Costa Rica - elimination of fraud by connecting
farmers to the on-line port of export prices.
13
There is an interesting relationship between connectivity & poverty
For Most Regions Increasing Bandwidth
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Bandwidth
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
So
ut
h
Su
As
bia
Sa
ha
ra
n
La
Af
tin
ric
Am
a
er
ica
&
Ca
Eu
rib
ro
b.
..
pe
&
Ce
nt
ra
lA
si
a
Popluation < $2/day
is correlated with decreasing poverty
U.S. Census Bureau
and Telegeography
Global Bandwidth
report
2001 Population
GBPS
14
Increasing Strategic Leverage
Leveraging IT at Save the Children
e.g., US Literacy
Program; Bolivia
Education Program
New
Program
Venues
1. Child-facing
Work Flow Application
Program Delivery
2. Field-facing
Program Mgmt, Supply Chain, M&E., etc.
Work Flow Applications
Revenue/Donation Delivery
3. Donor-facing
Grant Mgmt, Web Donations, Donor Mgmt
Infrastructure:
4. Supporting
“Keeping the Lights On”
Desktop PC’s, Email, Internet, Servers
15
Increasing Strategic Leverage
The Strategies Change at Each Level
New
1. Child-facing
Pgm Venues
Pilot, Build
Work Flow Application
Program Delivery
Connect, Deliver
Work Flow Applications
Revenue/Donation Delivery
Buy, Co-op
Infrastructure:
2. Field-facing
3. Donor-facing
4. Supporting
“Keeping the Lights On”
Drive out costs, Outsource
16
Increasing Strategic Leverage
And the Good Enough Boundary is High
Innovative,
value-added
Technology
“Good Enough”
Commodity
Technology
New
1. Child-facing
Pgm Venues
Pilot, Build
Work Flow Application
Program Delivery
Connect, Deliver
Work Flow Applications
Revenue/Donation Delivery
Buy, Co-op
Infrastructure:
2. Field-facing
3. Donor-facing
4. Supporting
“Keeping the Lights On”
Drive out costs, Outsource
17
2. Survey Findings
Upper Valley NGOs IT Survey Key Findings
•
•
•
•
•
•
Spending too low to meet tech aspirations
Lack of IT knowledge is a barrier
Financial barriers real, but affordable
alternatives exist
Everyone should support online donations
Fundraising software can catalyze
donations
Backup data more frequently
19
The IT Spending Picture is Dismal
Average IT Spend per Seat
$14,000
$13,000
$12,000
$11,000
$10,000
$9,000
$8,000
$7,000
$6,000
$5,000
$4,000
$3,000
$2,000
$1,000
$-
5x
18x
4x
Small NGO
Large NGO NetHope
Members
Corporate No. America
20
Selected Resources
Discount Software and Hardware
– Tech Soup: Offers a wealth of IT resources, including discounted product catalog,
including name brand software and recycled hardware. www.techsoup.org/
– Tech Foundation: Sells discounted hardware for non-profits.
www.techfoundation.org/
Consulting and IT Planning
– NPower: A nonprofit network of organizations providing affordable technology
assistance to other nonprofit and community organizations.
www.npower.org/about/index.htm
Fundraising and Online Marketing Advice
– Network for Good: Provides seamless donations on-line for smaller nonprofits
www.networkforgood.org/
– Mission Fish: uses eBay-based auctions to sell items and donate the proceeds to
nonprofits. www.missionfish.org/
– Gifts in Kind: Provides product gifts to nonprofits www.giftsinkind.org
21
Top Consultants
Consultant
Company
Phone
E-mail
Ray Coffin
3rd Level Solutions
603-448-2400
rcoffin@arctac.com
Robert Maurer
MCC Consulting
516-216-4194
rhm106@ix.netcom.com
Tad Richardson
Systems Plus
Computers
603-643-5800
tad@spci.com
Eric Robinson
MapleShade
Networks
603-252-5686
erobinson@mapleshade.biz
Jo Steele
Freelance
603-795-4666
josteele@mac.com
22
Key Question
• If you doubled your IT spending, would you still
be playing catch-up for just keeping the lights on?
• There has to be a better way
23
3. Collaborating & Partnering
A story from Zaire
“The tree the tempest
with a crash of wood
Throws down in front
of us is not to bar
Our passage to our
journey's end for good,
But just to ask us who
we think we are.”
–Robert Frost
25
Building Collaboration
Increasing Levels of Trust
“Who has expertise I can trust?
Shared
Specialization
Joint Projects
The IT Coop
“What can we build together?”
Partnering
“How can we work with corporations?”
Basic Info Sharing
“What are my peers doing?”
26
What to Ask of Corporations
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Advising, coaching and mentoring
Slots in training programs
Share bandwidth (where co-located)
Donate PC & laptops at end-of-lease
Fellowship and sponsored employee volunteer
programs (skill-based and time-based)
6. Unrestricted cash
27
Top 5 things to do tomorrow (or today)
1. Sign-up for Techsoup bulletins
2. Call local companies and talk about partnering
3. Get set up on Constant Contact or
Salesforce.com
4. Sign-up for Network for Good
5. Create a Yahoo Groups list to share
technology and other information
(…and ask John and me to push for an IT coop
business plan (beyond info sharing) by next year.)
28
Next Steps
• Scope out the possibilities for an IT Coop
– Shared consulting/support
– Shared web/file server hosting & backup
– Shared fundraising systems guru
– Shared technology procurement
– Shared technology training
Three Take-Aways
1. Tech matters - it can move mission
2. Collaborate or perish - small NGOs can't
win without collaborating
3. Collaborating is about trust - more than
sharing info
30
31
Questions?
ehapp@savechildren.org
Appendix: Detailed Survey Results
Upper Valley NGOs Strongly Interested in IT
IT Survey Response Data
Surveys Sent
Completed Surveys
Response Rate
34
26
76.5%
34
Small IT Budgets a Limiting Factor
4. What is the size of your current annual budget?
Under $100k
$100k-$500k
$500k-$1M
$1M-$5M
Over $5M
Other, please specify
Total
0
10
6
8
2
0
26
0%
38%
23%
31%
8%
0%
100%
5. What is the size of your current annual technology/IT budget (including hardware,
software, and consultant/tech support)?
Under $10k
$10k-$25k
$25k-$50k
$50k-$100k
Over $100k
Other, please specify
Total
15
5
2
1
0
3
26
58%
19%
8%
4%
0%
12%
100%
35
Lack of Knowledge/Comfort a Limiting Factor
24. What, in your view, is preventing technology inadequacies from being addressed in
your organization? (check all that apply)
“Uncomfortableness” with new technology
2 8%
Lack of knowledge about technology
9 35%
Lack of organizational/managerial support
2 8%
High staff turnover
1 4%
Dependence on an IT consultant
4 15%
Overwhelmed by the array of technology options available
(don't know where to start)
5 19%
Inability to afford anything better/ prohibitive cost of
technology upgrades
9 35%
Reluctance to share IT gaps with donors for fear they
would re-evaluate our capabilites
0 0%
IT consultant doesn't recommend any changes
1 4%
Not applicable (our technology needs are met)
8 31%
Other, please specify
10 38%
Other responses included: lack of money/staff time (7), unique needs
36
Current IT Situation
23. Which phrase(s) best describe your current technology situation? (check all that
apply)
I lose sleep at night worrying about data loss
1
4%
Our IT person is knowledgeable about IT but not about how it integrates with our
program
1
4%
Our IT person does not respond quickly/does not treat us as a priority client
2
8%
Trainings take too much time and the skills are outdated too quickly
0
0%
There are only one or two people who understand how our computers work in
our office, the rest of us rely on them for help
13
50%
We have a mishmash of tech platforms that can't talk to each other
2
8%
I would fire my IT consultant if I had anyone else to hire
1
4%
We patch systems with band-aids, not real lasting solutions
If I left my job, no one else in my office would know where the critical information
lives
2
8%
3
12%
Our technology works fine and our technology needs are met
6
23%
Other, please specify
14 54%
Other responses included: outdated technology; need help with website; always wanting to do
more; reliance on outside IT help
37
Every Website Should Support Online Donations
19. Does your website currently support online donations?
Yes
15
58%
No
11
42%
Total
26
100%
38
Technology Dreams
26. What do you want your technology to do for you?
Just function reliably for basic needs (email, word processing, etc.)
14 56%
Deliver cost-savings so we can carry out programs more efficiently
13 52%
Help us grow and retain our donor base
20 80%
Transform the way we implement our goals and meet our mission
15 60%
Other, please specify
5 20%
Other responses included: volunteer growth and scheduling; client management; website
39
Fundraising Software
14. What software do you use to aid with fundraising?
Raiser's Edge
3
12%
Donor Perfect
0
0%
Giftworks
0
0%
Results Plus
0
0%
eTapestry
0
0%
Donor Vision
0
0%
Aptify
0
0%
None
7
27%
Other, please specify
16
62%
Other responses included: Exceed, Lifeline, Fundraiser Pro, FundEZ, Tixsales Box Office
software, Act, FIMS, and in-house databases.
40
Data Backup Should Be More Frequent
22. We back up our data
Never
0
0%
Rarely
1
4%
Less than we should
6
24%
Weekly
Enough so I don't
worry about theft or
computer loss
5
20%
3
12%
Other, please specify
10
40%
Total
25
100%
Other responses included: daily and/or nightly.
41
Most Satisfied with Current IT Consultant
27. How satisfied are you with your current IT consultant (if applicable)?
Very Unsatisfied
0
0%
Unsatisfied
2
9%
Somewhat Satisfied
7
30%
Satisfied
7
30%
Very Satisfied
7
30%
Total
23
100%
42
Appendix: Additional Slides
from Valley Net / EC Fiber Presentation
Positive Deviance
• Jerry Sternin’s work in Vietnam; finding the families
that were thriving in malnourished cultures and
replicating the successes by turning these “positive
deviants” into teachers and examples for the
community
• See the Fast Company article on Jerry, here:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/41/sternin.html and
the HBR article, here:
http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbsp/hbr/arti
cles/article.jsp?ml_action=get-article&articleID=F00101
• Look for where the success stories are occurring:
spotlight them!
44
Communities care about social responsibility
• Some recent data:
– WSJ report: survey of 1,800 13-to-25-year-olds
• 79% want to work for a company that cares about how it affects
or contributes to society
• 64% said their employer's social and environmental activities
inspire loyalty
– One of top 3 questions asked by Microsoft applicants:
What’s your social responsibility program?
– 50% of Tuck applicants who are accepted ask about the
Allwin Initiative for Corporate Citizenship
• What you do to support local nonprofits matters!
45
Don’t Bet Against the Network
• The case of an ADSL line in Islamabad, Pakistan
– Went from $3,000/month for 128Kbps in 2003
– To $300/month for 256Kbps in 2004
– A factor to 20 increase in 12 months!
• Conclusion: by the time it takes to work around the
network shortfalls, the network will be where you
need it to be
• As Wayne Gretsky so eloquently said: you need to
“play where the puck is going to be”
• Stay the course: The broadband fiber network
dream is the future
46