Non-Government Organisations are critical roviders of services that promote sustainable growth, development aid and support humanitarian issues. In this feature we look at the technologies that NGOs are using; enabling them to be more efficient and effective, and increase their reach.
Bridging the digital divide
It is often assumed that the digital divide is a developing world problem only. This is not true. It is a big issue in developed countries, too, as interviews with IT specialist Non Government Organisation (NGOs) in Hong Kong, Australia, India and the Philippines reveal.
Andrew Maher is the
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Non-Government Organisations are critical roviders of services that promote sustainable growth, development aid and support humanitarian issues. In this feature we look at the technologies that NGOs are using; enabling them to be more efficient and effective, and increase their reach.
Bridging the digital divide
It is often assumed that the digital divide is a developing world problem only. This is not true. It is a big issue in developed countries, too, as interviews with IT specialist Non Government Organisation (NGOs) in Hong Kong, Australia, India and the Philippines reveal.
Andrew Maher is the Executive Director of
Infoxchange Australia, the largest not-for-profit IT organisation in Australia. Infoxchange has two main missions. First, to ensure that everyone in society who wants access to new technology has it, irrespective of cost, location or ability. Second, to work with NGOs and community services to improve efficiency and effectiveness in being able to distribute the services they provide.
On the digital divide, Maher says, “Governments and corporations are going headlong into putting all their information online. Their intention is to be more efficient and save costs. But unless we ensure that everybody has access to that information we will have a society that is not divided by just the rich and poor financially, but by the rich and poor information-wise.”
Similarly, Lainie Thomas f rom the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) talks about the willingness of ADB’s partners to use technology to increase efficiency. However, many of the project beneficiaries “are remote or have very limited ICT infrastructure or irregular power supply”.
ADB’s Information Communication Technology (ICT) strategy is geared towards developing member countries (DMCs) with ‘hard components’ such as IT networks, software and equipment, and ‘soft components’ like ICT policy, strategy and capacity building. A key factor that ADB considers when implementing projects is access to IT. “ADB’s assistance in ICT takes into consideration the different levels of ICT usage and penetration within the DMCs,” says Thomas.
So how do you go about reaching people in rural communities, or those who do not have the means to own a computer?
Dr John Fung, Director of the Information Technology Resource Centre,
Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS), wants to solve this conundrum. An alliance between the HKCSS and ‘District Cyber Centres’ is an important first step, says Fung. These centres provide a facility with computers, internet connectivity, training and technical support. The aim is to educate and provide access to online services to young people from low-income families and other needy members of the community.
The NASSCOM Foundation in India is another NGO which aims to bridge the digital divide. The foundation has initiated programmes that make technology accessible at a lower cost and provides space in their offices where people can get access to computers. NASSCOM also acts as a facilitator “bringing together implementing agencies, industry, government bodies and people at the grassroots, for integrated development through the use of ICT,” according to Rumi Mallick Mitra, National Programme Manager at NASSCOM Foundation India.
How do NGO’s use IT?
The use of email is, as you would expect, as prevalent in NGOs as in any other public and private sector organisation. Without fail, email is cited as a technology that allows for far quicker communication between NGOs and their partners. But what other technologies are NGOs using to work more efficiently and engage with civil society more effectively?
Most NGOs have to collaborate with many other organisations – governments, fund-raising groups and other NGOs they assist and share resources with. HKCSS is an umbrella organisation containing over 370 agency members. Similarly, ADB is owned and financed by 67 members from around the globe. Collaboration is crucial in ensuring that these organisations offer services quickly and efficiently.
HKCSS has deployed
SharePoint “for better collaboration between staff,” explains Dr Fung. They also use instant messaging programmes like Microsoft Live to improve communication at work.
Social media tools are also becoming more common for NGOs to get their messaging out to the public. ADB uses Facebook, Scribd, YouTube and blogs as well as online chats to stay in touch. NASSCOM is also a big social media user.
Looking beyond IT for communication, collaboration and education, NGOs take great pride in the programmes they have implemented outside their organisation. HKCSS has developed, in cooperation with other NGOs, applications that are tailored for the welfare sector. Client management and donation management systems are particularly popular and the systems HKCSS has helped to create are “used by more than 500 social service agencies and centres, and the number is increasing steadily,” says Dr Fung.
The HKCSS has also implemented the Information Portal for the Social Service Sector. This programme, which is financially supported by the Hong Kong Government, is a knowledge-sharing platform that social workers, students and other relevant organisations and individuals can access to share knowledge and expertise.
An example of technology use, shared by Thomas of ADB, is that of a group of women in the western regions of China who make traditional handicrafts and use technology for order, inventory and supply chain management. This allows them to benefit from the business opportunities arising from the increasing number of tourists travelling along the Silk Road which ADB has helped rehabilitate, explains Thomas.
Maher says a benefit IT brings to his organisation is “absolutely significant. We wouldn’t be able to do the things we currently do; manage the number of enquiries without the technology at all! Our work wouldn’t happen without technology.” As for the future, Maher believes cloud computing holds the future for NGOs. By allowing for greater collaboration and cost savings, having systems in ‘the cloud’ will allow NGOs to deliver better services.
Private Sector Support
All the NGOs interviewed for this article highlighted the role that the private sector has to play in helping NGOs achieve their goals. By providing free training in the use of computers, common software and the internet, IT vendors are empowering individuals to find greater outlets for selling their products and increasing their job opportunities.
Software companies, also provide discounted or even free licences to use their software. This is not just for NGOs to use themselves and so reduce operating costs, but also for individuals to use and make technology more accessible. For example, Infoxchange has distributed more than 30,000 end-of-life computers donated by governments and the private sector. When they first started this programme of distributing ‘green PCs’ (personal computers that are refurbished, cleaned of existing data and reused) they realised that they needed to get licensed software. A new operating system meant the price of a refurbished PC tripled. So Infoxchange approached Microsoft and now, as a
Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher, they get licences for
Microsoft Windows 7 for use in refurbished machines at a discounted rate.
The NASSCOM Foundation runs two projects supported by the private sector. Its
BiGTech and
Big Bridge programmes deliver donated software and tech support, and donated hardware and e-waste management respectively. The aim is to “make technology accessible at low cost and provide technical tools to overcome barriers that hamper progress,” explains Mitra. “Our corporate partners not only provide technology at low-cost through software donation, but also support in terms of active participation – they provide space in their offices to carry out such programmes,” Mitra adds.
Thomas of ADB points to
TechSoup.org, an online resource for the technology requirements of non-profit organisations. Through their website, registered organisations can receive free and discounted software from companies like Adobe, Cisco, Symantec and Microsoft.
As part of its ongoing commitment to support NGOs with their technology needs and to promote the use of IT as an empowering tool that can help underserved people and businesses realise their potential, Microsoft has been running NGO Connection Days since 2005. NGO Connection Days were started in Asia after Microsoft observed many NGOs did not seem to truly grasp how much benefit they could get from using technology.
According to Clair Deevy, Microsoft’s Regional Citizenship Manager,
Asia Pacific Region, “No matter how small an NGO is they can benefit from technology, it can make them more efficient, assist with managing relationships with donors and make it easier to promote their work.“
At first glance supporting NGOs may not seem core to addressing the issue of closing the digital divide, however, according to Deevy many NGOs themselves are on the wrong side of the digital divide. “It is not just about bringing them up-to-date, by helping them make better use of IT their reach and impact can increase dramatically – ultimately benefiting more people.”
“NASSCOM Foundation believes that ICT helps underserved communities access information, services and opportunities that collectively build their capacities to realise their goals,” concludes Mitra.
That’s something we can all agree on.
Useful links:
www.techsoup.org
www.microsoft.com/unlimitedpotential
www.nasscom.in
www.hkcss.org.hk
www.adb.org
www.serviceseeker.com.au