Tech Planning

RE: Do you really need a technology plan?

webb — Thu, 30 Sep 2004 03:15:00 GMT

Coming back to this topic a little late in the game...

I agree with Zac, Dennis. The technology plan won't resolve your arguements. However, the process of developing a technology plan might. The process -- surveys, consultations with appropriate stakeholders around visions, partnerships and budgets, a presentation to relevant staff with feedback, clearly tying the define technology needs to the presenting problems in your organization -- all that process can get you to a point of agreement. It might do that by highlighting, articulating and resolving the underlying issues that are leading to the arguments.

-webb

RE: Do you really need a technology plan?

ZacMutrux — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 18:02:00 GMT

Having a plan won't resolve your arguments, but working together as a team to develop a technology plan may help you all to come to consensus on what your top needs are.

Zac

RE: Do you really need a technology plan?

dfischman — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 14:01:00 GMT

At our organization, managers get into arguments over whether we need to:

1. upgrade our hardware & software,
2. get everyone's machine to do what that person's job requires AND to generate documents that other machines can read,
3. train everyone to use the capacity they have, or
4. motivate staff to do what they've already been trained to do, like check their e-mail!

I've suggested that creating a technology plan would help us resolve these arguments. Am I right?

RE: Do you really need a technology plan?

Arcwake — Mon, 12 Jul 2004 12:39:00 GMT

a fellow "accidental techie" posted:

"As the de facto tech person on staff (which, believe me, is a scary thing), I think the main ingredient necessary to achieve strategic technology planning at a small nonprofit (we number about 20) is to have a legitimate IT person on staff."

While I heartily agree with this sentiment, the problem for us is that, without a technology plan or even a line in the budget for technology, there isn't room in the budget for IT staff, or even for paying for professionals if things break down. I (the secretary/bookkeeper with a computer background) and my husband (with several certifications) keep things running as smoothly as possible. Unfortunately, when things are running well, noone sees the need for money to be put aside for when something breaks - causing a panic when, as is inevitable, something does.

Also, a major problem is that donors don't want to donate $ for technology - it's not "warm and fuzzy." We have a network (MS Internet sharing) and about 7 computers.

RE: Do you really need a technology plan?

sarac@nclnet.org — Fri, 02 Jul 2004 13:53:00 GMT

Keeping the gears greased, being a resource in the planning process, including helping management understand why a plan would be useful (and the implementation worth the money!).

RE: Do you really need a technology plan?

webb — Fri, 25 Jun 2004 00:08:00 GMT

Hi and thanks for posting.

You said:

I think the main ingredient necessary to achieve strategic technology planning at a small nonprofit (we number about 20) is to have a legitimate IT person on staff.

I want to understand a little more about your comment. Do you feel that the in-house dedicated IT person is the person to do the strategic planning? Or do you think that someone keeping the gears greased, as it were, can provide the organization the room to move from disasters and into strategic planning?

Or are you thinking of a hirer level IT person than maybe I understood. . .

-webb

RE: Do you really need a technology plan?

sarac@nclnet.org — Wed, 23 Jun 2004 18:24:00 GMT

This question was raised:

Any nonprofits reading this thread? What do you think is necessary to integrate strategic technology planning into your organization?

As the de facto tech person on staff (which, believe me, is a scary thing), I think the main ingredient necessary to achieve strategic technology planning at a small nonprofit (we number about 20) is to have a legitimate IT person on staff. As much as I appreciate the value of the disasters that don't happen, it isn't possible to give technology concerns the attention they need without the staff hours to do it -- both in terms of the day-to-day work and making the argument for the required investment.

RE: Do you really need a technology plan?

webb — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 18:30:00 GMT

Thanks for adding your thoughts, ArcAtlantiic.

You wrote: "...so maybe it's a plan that is developed on a as needed basis for some non profits."

I'm thinking more and more that you need to separate tactical and strategic technology planning. That trying to create a single document or process that does both can be unwieldy and create a document that doesn't quite do the job for either purpose. Tactical planning, it seems to me, can be prompted by case -- such as the example you used of moving offices and merging two locations. Tactical plans also seem to be some of the planning that happens by email; someone surfaces a specific problem and then, in solving that, an organization may discover a need for a new bit technology practice (lost information may lead to back-ups, for example, or a virus may need to a new software purchase).

Stategic planning though takes as its catalyst the long-term mission and goals of the organization. This isn't just about stability, as I'm understanding it, it's about proactively examining solutions that help the organization move to new level of service or efficency.

It may be too easy to say that all organizations need, want, or can support a strategic planning process (even with the things that have been identified in this thread as being a necessary part of success). It may be that organizations can only take this on when they have a good tactical planning process in place.

What do others think? Are these really two distinct processes?

:mw

RE: Do you really need a technology plan?

webb — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 18:19:00 GMT

Brian and Dom,

I think that both of these posts contain the blueprint for getting technology considered, at a strategic level, within the organization.

So, thinking about this in combination with the Technology Traige idea, I'm seeing that Technology Triage can be a strategy that an organization uses to help alleviate pain. A parallel process, however, has to be about getting strategic about technology planning. The small wins, techie on the board, pramatic approach to technology are all a part of doing just that. I'd add having people within the organizations as advocates of technology planning (and the resulting time commitments) is also important. I'd argue that there should be a exectuvie level staff member -- the ED or Financial Officer, for example -- who is willing to be an advocate for technology planning (and, often, technology itself). I also think having an advocate at the program level can be helpful.

Any nonprofits reading this thread? What do you think is necessary to integrate strategic technology planning into your organization?

-webb

RE: Do you really need a technology plan?

ArcAtlantiic — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 12:25:00 GMT

I have read the above discussions and I am pleased to see that this has become a major issue for us "techies." I attended a conference last fall where this was one of the seminar discussions. It was common among the group in that seminar that none of the non profits had a tech plan. All had strategic plans and plans for fundraising, but a technogoly plan was no where in sight. In my case I report to the Chief Financial Officer, where we go over technology planning on a monthly basis. For example we are moving and merging two of our other locations into one building. This will require a tech plan in the coming months, so maybe it's a plan that is developed on a as needed basis for some non profits. I feel that if you have at least one techie and one officer, that plans can be developed from that.

RE: Do you really need a technology plan?

dgieras — Sun, 13 Jun 2004 22:03:00 GMT

webb wrote:
"However, not all nonprofits have a board or other leadership that provides them with the kind of support necessary to integrate technology planning into the fiber of their organizations. Do you have any recommendations for those organizations on how to get their board leadership involved?"

brian wrote:
"I agree with you that not every NPO has leadership pushing them towards utilizing technology to its fullest capacity for the organization. My suggestion for organizations is to add at least one techie to their board.

Techies are too often overlooked as a source of leadership for boards, but I think their input is critical in today's economy. Having just one technology minded individual is enough to get the ball rolling. That person should instincitvely question the organization's technlogy plan (or lack of) and begin to push the agency towards alignment with current best practices."

I think we can all agree that there is no simple one-step solution for this problem BUT

1) Having a technologist or a "techie" serving in a leadership role either on the Board or in an advisory capacity is a good first step. Unfortunately, a lot of "techies" don't have the patience to deal with Boards made up of "non-techies", so an advisory group may be a better choice.
2) Working on the "Little Picture" items like setting-up PC's and solving file storage quandaries can help get the organization's staff management on your side and works toward addressing some of the "Big Picture" items.
3) Being realistic...as noted above....Boards of small NPO's are not interested in "true" Strategic Planning for Technology....solving the operational technology issues is often their first priority...right up there with fundraising which consumes most Boards. I call this "guerrilla" tech. planning...put together a plan that addresses the tech. issues that have been "triaged" and sneak in a bit of strategic tech. issues like dealing with the quality of data in the donor database or developing a Communications Plan that addresses electronic communications.

This is a great discussion thread and it would be great if we all could get in the same room and hash out all the ins-and-outs....I find that at many NPO technology support conferences that the assumption is made that NPO Boards are scrambling to get into technology..."it ain't necessarily so"...some (but not all) see it as just one more expense and headache to deal with....we need a practical and sustainable vision (and support model) of how technology can help an organization with mission accomplishment that can "engage" the folks on these Boards.

Resources like Tech Soup, organizations like N-TEN and folks like you, who are devoting time to these issues, are doing a lot to address / solve these complex organizational, cultural and "political" problems.

RE: Do you really need a technology plan?

dpugrad01 — Fri, 11 Jun 2004 20:09:00 GMT

webb,

I agree with you that not every NPO has leadership pushing them towards utilizing technology to its fullest capacity for the organization. My suggestion for organizations is to add at least one techie to their board.

Techies are too often overlooked as a source of leadership for boards, but I think their input is critical in today's economy. Having just one technology minded individual is enough to get the ball rolling. That person should instincitvely question the organization's technlogy plan (or lack of) and begin to push the agency towards alignment with current best practices.

Brian

RE: Do you really need a technology plan?

webb — Fri, 11 Jun 2004 16:10:00 GMT

Dom Gieras wrote

The "Best Practice" lesson that I have learned while working with this NPO is that it is extremely important to understand how "business" is conducted in the organization BEFORE making any strategic technology recommendations / decisions. Understanding and documenting the underlying "business processes" that make an organization go is the first step to any longterm meaningful changes in organizational behavior.

I agree with that. I'm just not always sure that it's possible. Your position on the board has set up an excellent probability for success (you can see more about the link between the board and technology in Fall 2002 and 2003 Technology Survey Results from the Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management).

The link you describe between the organization's management and the technology team -- a type of technology advisory council -- is critical. Setting that up can help nonprofits find ways to not get into a technology pit that they have to dig themselves out of. Rather, it can make sure that they are making planned decisions.

However, not all nonprofits have a board or other leadership that provides them with the kind of support necessary to integrate technology planning into the fiber of their organizations. Do you have any recommendations for those organizations on how to get their board leadership involved?

-webb

RE: Do you really need a technology plan?

webb — Fri, 11 Jun 2004 16:00:00 GMT

That there are different catalysts for plans is an excellent point, oekosjoe.

We often provide plans for organizations so that they can use them in fundraising. I think that's an entirely different purpose -- and sometimes an entirely different plan -- from the type that is being used as an action plan for implementation. In addition, we sometimes do planning so that organizations can incorporate it into their strategic plan, present the information to the board so that they can gather support for a budget that includes an increase in technology-related expenses.

What are the other catlysts for nonprofits seeking technology plans?

-webb.

RE: Do you really need a technology plan?

dgieras — Fri, 11 Jun 2004 11:44:00 GMT

My experience tends to agree with the comments of EvilNetworkOverlord on this topic and I'd like to respond to the further questions raised by Webb as follows:

"I like how you've simplified the Technology Triage idea -- particularly involving yourself in their planning processes. I'm curious about that. Do you mean their budget or strategic planning processes?"

As technology becomes more important to small NPO's...it becomes so interwoven and linked in the organization that it is often difficult to separate Technology Planning from ALL the other planning that any organization should do, e.g. Strategic, Operational, Tactical. Limited time and resources often prevent an organization from doing all the "Best Practice" planning.

In the case of the NPO I am working with...we have created a Technology Planning and Support Team(composed of "techies" and "non-techies") that meets monthly to discuss technology issues....as the Technology Advisor to the NPO, I manage the Team, setup the agenda, facilitate meetings, etc. AND as member of the Board of Directors I serve as a communications link between the Board and the Team AND the Team and the Board.

The organization lacks a Strategic Plan (as I suspect a vast majority of the small to medium sized NPO's do) so our Team efforts are primarily aimed at the operational / administrative organizational "systems".

An outgrowth of this effort is an increased awareness of the need for a clear and consistent Mission Statement, Vision Statement AND an increased overall awareness of the need for better planning whether it be for events or for mission critical decision making.

The "Best Practice" lesson that I have learned while working with this NPO is that it is extremely important to understand how "business" is conducted in the organization BEFORE making any strategic technology recommendations / decisions. Understanding and documenting the underlying "business processes" that make an organization go is the first step to any longterm meaningful changes in organizational behavior.