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Virtual Change: Indicators for Assessing the Impact of ICTs in Development

Most of the time, we really don't know how well we're doing. One important reason for this is that, whether we are activists or business people, we tend to invest more in the tools for changing the world than in the tools for understanding it. That's why I celebrate when I read publications such as this latest one from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations: Virtual Change: Indicators for Assessing the Impact of ICTs in Development (50 page PDF). The report identifies 18 indicators which are organized into six well-conceived categories. Evaluation methodologies are explored for each of them. I highly recommend that you read this report if you are in any way involved in using ICT in social change. To pique your interest, here are their 18 indicators: (1) The ICTs are increasingly used for dialogue and debate. (2) Policy and programme knowledge is increasingly communicated through the ICTs. (3) There are increased levels of access to the ICT processes. (4) The opinions and ideas expressed through ICT channels are increasingly those of the people most affected by development issues in any given context. (5) The people most affected by development issues in any given context increasingly dominate the physical use of the ICTs. (6) Technical experts on ICT for development increasingly respond to and implement the technical requirements voiced by those most affected. (7) A minimum of 40 percent of the people involved in the management are directly affected by the development issues that the ICTs being mobilized are designed to address. (8) There are x (the number inserted here depends on the scale and nature of the programme being evaluated) examples in the last 12 months of the use of the ICTs for engaging people directly affected by development issues in overall programme management and/or policy development. (9) The ICTs are increasingly used to draw relationships between different development issues. (10) The ICTs are increasingly used as a communication platform to identify and negotiate the specific strategic and technical support that development organizations require. (11) The ICTs are increasingly used as the source for the core information needed to better inform individual development activities. (12) The ICTs are increasingly used as the gathering point for like-focused organizations and groups. (13) The ICTs are increasingly used to highlight emerging symbols and images related to action on the development issue(s) in question. (14) The ICTs are increasingly used to multiply strong symbols and/or images that are emerging from the struggle. (15) The ICTs are increasingly used to both convey meaning and deepen debate and dialogue through the symbols and images presented. (16) The ICTs are increasingly used to build working strategic and/or operational partnerships with other organizations that have similar vested interests. (17) The ICTs are increasingly used to participate in networks of like-focused organizations. (18) The ICTs are increasingly used to both provide support to others involved in compatible action and to receive support from such organizations. Posted: 5/5/09; 5:51:37 PM #

Five Clues That Your Project is Headed for Trouble

Are you worried about funding drying up for the work you do? Fortunately, budget cuts are not as random as they appear and there are plenty of early warning signs. Writing in Computer World, with lessons that apply universally to any project, Paul Glen offers Five Clues That Your Project is Headed for Trouble: (1) Management direction is inconsistent or missing. (2) Project management and business management seem disconnected. (3) The team lacks a commitment to clearly articulated and commonly understood goals. (4) Team members don't listen to one another. (5) The team is in a state of discord. Posted: 5/5/09; 5:33:27 PM #

Nonprofits Need to Know Their Givers Better

I feel like a lot of organizations respond to the message to "scale up listening" with a shrug and think to themselves that listening is an abstract value that they cannot afford. The evidence says otherwise. In Nonprofits Need to Know Their Givers Better, Todd Cohen and Adrian Sargeant point out how increasing donor retention by just 10% can double the lifetime return of your fundraising list. Posted: 5/5/09; 5:29:53 PM #

What's the Point of a Nonprofit Board, Anyway?

I have long been concerned that the corporate structure of most nonprofit organizations, entrenched as a result of the tax code in the U.S. and other countries, does more harm than good. Witness the incredible number of consultants who earn a good living (as I once did) addressing issues that arise from board-staff relations. Given my point of view, it's really great to see someone like Jan Masaoka offer a positive alternative in her latest piece at Blue Avocado: What's the Point of a Nonprofit Board, Anyway? Posted: 5/5/09; 5:22:35 PM #

How To Live Blog (Or Twitter) An Event Effectively

I watched a number of my friends and colleagues cover the Nonprofit Technology Conference last week on their blogs and elswhere. They are all better at this than I am. Thus I appreciate Rohit Bhargava's ten guidelines for How To Live Blog (Or Twitter) An Event Effectively. He expands on each of these: (1) Have a purpose. (2) Focus on the 1st take. (3) Create realistic targets. (4) Publish nuggets, not manifestos. (5) Have a point of view. (6) Share the real pulse of the event. (7) Offer an insider perspective. (8) Get help on content promotion. (9) Represent the virtual attendees. (10) Do a recap. Posted: 5/5/09; 5:19:18 PM #

Merck Published Fake Journal

As the publisher of The Journal of Networks and Civil Society and The Journal of Information Technology in Social Change, we've been thinking a lot about the business model for future editions of these journals. One of the models we will not be considering is the one used by high profile publisher Elsevier. Seems like Merck paid them to publish an entirely fake academic journal to support their pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately, whether it's in academic journals or in professional conferences, most of the time such sponsorship and influence isn't nearly this obvious. Posted: 5/5/09; 8:23:02 AM #