I understand your concern that technology continues to be viewed by some in your organization as a back-office or support service. That requires asking some serious questions about your technology portfolio.
Most people would agree that technology helps them get their work done. But does it it move the goals of the organization forward? Is it “mission moving,” to coin a phrase?
In a nonprofit organization it is not likely you will find a program that is digitally delivered. Most are face-to-face, and with good reason; they are the person-to-person assistance at the core of humanitarian work. Can hi-touch be delivered with hi-tech?
I remember the first program at Save the Children that was delivered end-to-end with technology. It was an online learning program in New Mexico to help train youth to be ready for the workforce. The content was digital, the delivery was digital, the monitoring and the marketing was also digital. It allowed a small workforce-readiness team to reach more youth than it could otherwise do. That’s the advantage of digital. It also helped that the young people were drawn to the online experience and eager to experience it.
Notice the use of technology in this example. By delivering a program that reached children, it was moving the mission of Save the Children forward. Such use of technology doesn’t get any more strategic than this. So ask yourself, how many of your projects are closer to moving your mission versus, infrastructure or operational improvements? [1] Is that relative number growing? |