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News for May 2002

30 May 2002

Managing Knowledge Networks
	Managing Knowledge Networks for Sustainable Development (PDF file) and other publications of the International Institure for Sustainable Development contain excellent thinking, including a strategic emphasis on the "engagement of decision makers who are to be the targets and recipients of the work of the network." Posted: 5/30/02; 11:14:10 PM #

The Lie Detectors
	I've long believed that most nonprofits have a powerful ally in the truth, even when they are afraid of it. Wolff Olins' The Lie Detectors (PDF file) says that new communication technologies will make truth telling all the more powerful and inevitable. Posted: 5/30/02; 11:13:55 PM #

The SPIN Academy 2002
	The SPIN Academy 2002 is a five day workshop on media relations for activists, to be held in August. I have a lot of respect for the SPIN Project. Posted: 5/30/02; 11:13:36 PM #

29 May 2002

Learning from Our Mistakes
	I'm in Toronto this morning, delivering the keynote to the Voluntary Sector Technology Summit. The subject of my talk is "Learning from Our Mistakes" and I will focus on what the Canadian sector can learn from the mistakes made by Americans. Here's an exciting bit: My talk will be broadcast live over the Internet starting at 8:45 Eastern Time. Posted: 5/29/02; 3:53:13 AM #

27 May 2002

Current battle over fair use
	Nonprofits thrive in an environment that allows the fair use of information. That is why our sector must get involved in the current battle over fair use and copyright that threatens to destroy that environment. Unfortunately, galvanizing the sector around any issue that doesn't affect next year's budget can be very difficult. Posted: 5/27/02; 1:27:41 PM #

Strategic Creativity
	It's hard to go wrong (from a marketing perspective) with a name like Strategic Creativity, but the innaugural issue of this new online journal for nonprofits looks pretty fun. Posted: 5/27/02; 1:27:21 PM #

2002 OD Network Conference
	The 2002 OD Network Conference will have as its theme "Cultivating Adaptive Systems", which I believe is of particular importance to the nonprofit sector in these times of changes and networks. The conference will be in Montreal in October. Posted: 5/27/02; 1:27:00 PM #

Preferred media of politicians and opinion leaders
	Mindshare Internet Campaigns conducted a survey of politicians and opinion leaders (PDF file) in Washington DC. Their findings include a preference of nearly five to one in favor of postal mail over email. I'm not sure about the signficance of this preference, but it's certainly worth knowing. Posted: 5/27/02; 1:24:41 PM #

Practicing (OD Network Magazine)
	Practicing, the Organizational Development Network Magazine, accepts submissions for cutting edge and thought provoking content. Posted: 5/27/02; 1:24:21 PM #

Civil Society After September 11: Any Change?
	CIVICUS, the World Alliance for Citizen Participation, is conducting a survey called Civil Society After September 11: Any Change?. I encourage your participation. Posted: 5/27/02; 1:23:57 PM #

24 May 2002

Theory and Practice of the Virtual University
	Neil Pollock & James Cornford report on UK universities use of new technologies in Theory and Practice of the Virtual University. Posted: 5/24/02; 9:26:59 AM #

What is a Journalist?
	Gina Barton asks a question I find myself asking quite a bit these days: What is a journalist? Posted: 5/24/02; 9:26:48 AM #

16 May 2002

MacArthur Foundation goes on wild endowment binge
	From The Onion comes this wonderfully satirical romp: MacArthur Foundation goes on wild endowment binge. Posted: 5/16/02; 12:57:19 PM #

Demise of a Terrific Web Site
	In the latest issue of Jayne Craven's Tech4Impact, she pens a short "Demise of a Terrific Web Site", which could describe the fate of many a nonprofit site. Posted: 5/16/02; 12:57:02 PM #

14 May 2002

Trainingpoint
	I'm pleased to learn of the launch of Compasspoint's TrainingPoint site, a repository of curricula for nonprofit organizations. Posted: 5/14/02; 9:54:56 AM #

Grants Research and Proposal Resources
	NetAid, still known for its inaugural attempt to solve world hunger through online concerts, maintains a nice collection of annotated links on the subject of Grants Research and Proposal Resources. Posted: 5/14/02; 9:54:45 AM #

13 May 2002

Voluntary Sector Technology Summit
	I've been confirmed to deliver the opening keynote at the Canadian Voluntary Sector Technology Summit in Toronto on May 29th. I hope Canadian readers and folks from nearby U.S. cities will consider joining me there. Posted: 5/13/02; 11:29:21 AM #

Building the Electronic Commons
	In Building the Electronic Commons (PDF file), Peter Levine gives an update on a partnership to explore a Public Telecommunication Service. Posted: 5/13/02; 10:40:27 AM #

Strategic Usability
	There are a lot of people throwing around the word "strategy", but often it means very little. In Scott Berkun's piece on Strategic Usability, we get a sharp sense of distinction between strategy and tactics. Posted: 5/13/02; 10:40:16 AM #

Top Ten Guidelines for Homepage Usability
	Nielsen offers his Top Ten Guidelines for Homepage Usability. As usual, I have as much to learn as anyone from this advice. Posted: 5/13/02; 10:40:01 AM #

9 May 2002

Hidden costs of free time and talent
	In The Hidden Costs of Free Time and Talent, Nick Cater says that "if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing without volunteers". Thought provoking point, at the very least. Posted: 5/9/02; 9:45:08 AM #

8 May 2002

Exploring partnerships for sustainable development
	The International Institute for Sustainable Development is sponsoring an online exploration of partnerships for sustainable development, including discussions of planning processes, tools, and evaluation. Posted: 5/8/02; 10:17:04 AM #

Foundation Performance Metrics Pilot Study
	The Center for Effective Philanthropy has released a short bulletin about their Foundation Performance Metrics Pilot Study. I rather wish we were involved in this research! Posted: 5/8/02; 10:16:48 AM #

Kramer review of 2002 GEO conference
	Mark Kramer of the Center for Effective Philanthropy wrote a short review of the 2002 Grantmakers for Effective Organizations conference. Posted: 5/8/02; 10:16:32 AM #

Eighth Politics Online Conference
	The Eighth Politics Online Conference will be held this month in, of course, Washington, DC. Looking at the agenda, it feels like this field is starting to mature a little. Posted: 5/8/02; 10:16:12 AM #

6 May 2002

Online Museums in First Monday, May 2002
	The May 2002 edition of First Monday is devoted to the exploration of museums online. Take your time. There is a lot of content here, as usual. Posted: 5/6/02; 7:24:57 AM #

From Lifelong Employment to Lifelong Learning
	It's clear that one of the goals of knowledge management initiatives is the organization's need to deal with turnover and the capture of what normally resides in the heads of individuals. Gerry McGovern offers the employee perspective on knowledge management in From Lifelong Employment to Lifelong Learning. Posted: 5/6/02; 7:24:39 AM #

Nonprofit Management Knowledge Hub
	The Milano Graduate School of New School University maintains the awkwardly named Nonprofit Management Knowledge Hub, a collection of annotated links to various nonprofit resources. Most of the usual suspects are listed, but even I found some surprises. Posted: 5/6/02; 7:24:25 AM #

5 May 2002

U.S. Federal Grant Streamlining Survey
	OMBWatch is conducting a survey of nonprofit organizations to gather input for the U.S. federal government's process of streamlining government grant processes. Posted: 5/5/02; 10:13:39 AM #

Neural Networks

This is going to seem completely unrelated to nonprofit organizations. I have been thinking lately about neural networks. Since deep down I'm really a biologist, I often drift back to ecological and cellular metaphors for understanding complex systems. The nonprofit sector displays all the signs of such complexity and I'm musing about the pattern recognition possibilities of applying neural networks to the incredible mass of data that is now available online about the sector. Posted: 5/5/02; 10:13:26 AM #

National Business Plan Competition for Nonprofit Organizati
	The National Business Plan Competition for Nonprofit Organizations sponsored by The Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures is now open. Posted: 5/5/02; 10:13:13 AM #

The Stockholm Challenge 2002
	515 projects from around the world have been accepted into the 2002 Stockholm Challenge for the use of information technology to improve everyday life. I like this project, though I would love to see its reverse as well, looking at projects (or more likely trends) that harm everyday life. Not likely to bring on a lot of applicants, however. Posted: 5/5/02; 10:12:57 AM #

The Top Ten New Mistakes of Web Design
	Jakob Neilsen is back, with his Top Ten New Mistakes of Web Design. Posted: 5/5/02; 10:12:39 AM #

Top Ten New Copyright Crimes
	To illustrate the complete absurdity of some current extremist trends among copyright holders, LawMeme offers their Top Ten New Copyright Crimes. Beware! Posted: 5/5/02; 10:12:26 AM #

3 May 2002

Why Boards Micro-Manage and How to Get Them to Stop
	In Why Boards Micro-Manage and How to Get Them to Stop, Hildy Gottlieb offers some of the best advice I've seen in years. Having served on over 30 boards and having had to report to several of them, I'm delighted to see this. Posted: 5/3/02; 11:15:47 AM #

After the Meltdown

In After the Meltdown, J. D. Lasica looks at online news after the dotcom meltdown. He sees six trends: (1) Increased emphasis on the basics that we know work. (2) Careful experimentation. (3) The rise of digital news networks. (4) Consolidation. (5) The bloodletting leaves the strongest standing. And (6) the future is now. We can already glimpse the outlines of the wired landscape a few years out. Posted: 5/3/02; 11:15:37 AM #

Donor Readiness
	Terry Axelrod offers her perspective on donor readiness to give. It's something I often forget myself, but the importance of cultivation cannot be over emphasized. Posted: 5/3/02; 11:15:23 AM #

2 May 2002

Hodgkinson Research Prize
	The Independent Sector is accepting nominations for its Virginia A. Hodgkinson Research Prize until June 15, 2002. The purpose of the award is to recognize "outstanding published research that furthers our understanding of philanthropy, voluntary action, nonprofits, and civil society in either the United States or abroad". Posted: 5/2/02; 10:55:44 AM #

1 May 2002

GrantCraft
	The Ford Foundation has launched GrantCraft, a web site offering guides, videos, and case studies that present the practitioner's view of philanthropy. Posted: 5/1/02; 10:06:58 AM #

Commonspace
	Mark Surman and Darren Wershler-Henry have made half the chapters of their book, Commonspace, available online. It explores a great many basics of the implications of online communication on nonprofit work. Posted: 5/1/02; 9:39:30 AM #

beliefs and attitudes about science and technology
	The (U.S.) National Science Foundation has an excellent page looking at people's beliefs and attitudes about science and technology. I find it to be a fascinating mix of blind optimism and ignorance, although in many cases I was pleasantly surprised. Posted: 5/1/02; 9:39:12 AM #