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To inform, inspire and advocate… |
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Sector strength
comes from a collaborative voice… NZFVWO is an active
network of social service organisations. We offer a unique opportunity to be
involved in strengthening community & voluntary services & increasing
the influence & the sector. |
Issue 23—July
2008 |
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You may reproduce items, provided you acknowledge the source
and, where identified, you also acknowledge the writer. We welcome contributions—the next edition of New Dialogue
will be published in September. |
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In this issue… The
digital world is upon us. All of us are by now familiar with the term IT
(information technology)—or more simply stated, computers, the internet and
all that. A more recent term—which we adopt throughout this
issue—is “information and communication technology” (ICT)—meaning that
connection, communication and networking are now integral to information
technology. The speed of technology developments means that we
are experiencing a veritable wave of opportunities, initiatives and issues
for using ICT in our sector. The costs in terms of money, time and skill that
are required to use it effectively, present us with considerable challenges. We have been thinking a lot about ICT things at
NZFVWO. We see our role as making connections—particularly between the big
picture and the operational reality for people at the flax roots or
operational end of social services. To make those connections, this issue of New Dialogue concentrates on ICT in
the community and voluntary sector—what’s on offer, what’s new, what people
are doing along with some inspiring initiatives in the sector involving ICT. We include
networking and collaboration tools (including Web 2.0) as well as collaborative
initiatives, online fundraising, and thinking about where ICT might fit with
your organisation, both now and in the future. This will enable you to see ICT in action in the
sector, and hopefully make you curious enough to go and explore more, to
discover what’s on offer and of use to you and your organisation, as well as
connect you with others for mutual benefit. |
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·
The trouble is the future is not what it used to
be— ·
What on earth is Web 2.0?—with the help of CommunityNet ·
Starting on the ground floor—our survey results
of ICT in the sector ·
How the times are a’ changing!— Nigel Sanderson, Managing
Director of FundraiseOnline, a New Zealand-based
web solution focussed on the not-for-profit sector writes about the
capability of the internet to seek & receive donations online ·
e-Engage Your Community—Jenny Patching, Community Advisor.
Social Services Waikato, attended the E-engage Your Community mini-conference
at ·
Sector IT managers get together—
Alistair Vickers, Information
Systems Manager from the Royal ·
TechSoup arrives in
New Zealand— This is an exciting programme providing
donated software from companies (such as Microsoft) to eligible voluntary and
community groups to assist them to save significantly on software costs. ·
e-Rider—Lindsay
Hunter writes about e-Rider, an IT service to community and voluntary
organisations throughout the ·
CommunityCentral is
just a round the corner—coming soon, CommunityCentral
is a friendly space on the internet for Tangata Whenua, the community and voluntary sector, public health
workers, advocates and others to come online to converse, share and work
together. ·
Taranaki voluntary and community sector gets
ICT service—Simon Cayley, CEO, Bishop’s Action
Foundation in Taranaki writes about Making IT Work Sector News ·
Two new publications on refugee & migrant
settlement Federation
Focus ·
Managing poor performance— From our President, Fran Hoover ·
Engaging with Government—From our Executive Director, |
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This
is an indispensable guide to being online for community and voluntary groups
and is fully supported by a website at Authored
by Miraz |
Looking for inspiration, ideas and learning in your
community organisation? Why not consider the Unitec
Diploma in Not-For–Profit Management!
Check it out and register on www.community.unitec.ac.nz
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To
advertise in the online edition of New Dialogue, please email comms@nzfvwo.org.nz
Advertising in this edition of New Dialogue is FREE to NZFVWO Members. |
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NEW ZEALAND SOCIAL WORK RECRUITMENT LTD The right Social Workers
for the right Social Work position Our purpose is to
recruit, vet and place qualified Social Workers in positions through out Director:
Kerry-Lee Probert
BSW Phone
06 355 5294 Email:
info@nzswrecruit.co.nz www.nzswrecruit.co.nz |
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The trouble is
the future is not what it used to be… David Barrow, Communications Manager, NZ
Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations |
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I recently attended the ConnectingUp
conference in There I got “taken to the social web” and now I’m sold on it—not just for
me, but what it offers community and voluntary organisations. So, I’m keen to spread the word and
naturally, I’ve enthused about preparing and editing this, my first issue of
New Dialogue—the theme for which is ICT. One powerful truth has come home to me: we can now talk to anyone,
anywhere in the world, about anything, at anytime for very little money and
not even have to meet them. The power of social networking can help our
organisations increase awareness about an issue, find signatures for a petition,
encourage supporters to take action—and donate money. By building up a network of contacts,
organisations can quickly spread messages and make an impact to a much wider
audience. When we used to think of what could be, we used to have a different perspective
on things. We have come to accept the inevitability of technological change,
but the pace of it has escalated. It’s not what it used to be—you feel a bit
lost, losing ground at times. But typically, many of us use our computers at work for hours a
day—they’ve probably overtaken the pen and telephone. I sometimes go home to log onto a
networking site or browse on the net or play games. I ‘google’
everything to learn more. Many of us have had an enormous learning curve in the last 10
years—now we use email, websites, search engines, teleconferencing,
databases, group lists, shop online and text on our mobile phones as a matter
of course. I recently heard the term ‘digital immigrant’ and thought I fitted the
bill perfectly. I now proudly think of myself as a ‘techie ring-in’ feeling
much less submerged by waves of new technology—RSS feeds, wikis
and blogs, social networking phenomena—I just pick
up and learn about them bit by byte. You can too. Remember when we used to be reluctant about email and texting on our mobiles?
I suspect that in about 3 years time, we’ll wonder what all this
latest fuss was about. |
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(Our thanks
to CommunityNet for allowing us to refer to and use
material on their website at www.community.net.nz
as a basis for this article). This is the new technology of social networks (YouTube,
Facebook, Bebo, Flikr, etc), wiki’s, blogs, news feeds and a whole raft of other new
technologies which we have all inadvertently used or became aware of
recently, including the various Google applications. Web 2.0 is essentially marketing speak for the internet that encompasses
all of these technologies enabling social interaction between consenting
individuals. Web 2.0 subtly entered our computing and Internet spaces from
about 2004. The term is often questioned as to its appropriateness, as Web
2.0 technologies use essentially the same technology that was available in
the 1990s when the World Wide Web was created. After hearing the hype about Web 2.0 and all the benefits it is
supposed to bring, many of us remain daunted by it and are still largely
unfamiliar with it, tending to think of it more as the preserve of the
younger generation. Yet, others of us are starting to wonder what impacts Web 2.0 will
have on our organisations and whether we will need to invest money (we don’t
have) in order to stay up with the play in respect of our web presence, email
and other ICT projects. The perceived good news is that many organisations are already
experiencing and using Web 2.0 features. So, what are these so-called ‘cool
tools’? Blog A blog (an abridgment of the term web log)
is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of
commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or
video. "Blog" can also be used as a verb,
meaning to maintain or add content to a blog. A blog is perfect for a group which has
little or no expertise in making and maintaining a website, but wants to
share with a wider group via the web. Wiki A Wiki is a web site that can be edited via
a web browser designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify
content on it. Wikis are often used to create
collaborative websites or workspaces. The word “wiki”
is Hawaiian for "fast". It has also been suggested that "wiki" means "What I Know Is". A wiki uses the internet to provide one
collaborative work space to streamline activity into one place. Very useful for formulating and sharing
meeting agendas, committee minutes, project documents, submissions across
organisations. One of the best known is Wikipedia. RSS newsfeeds These are a quick and easy way to keep track of updates to a website.
The term RSS stands for “really simple syndication”. With a feed reader you
can skim the headlines from just one site or hundreds, quickly see details and
easily visit the website itself. Anyone can read newsfeeds. A community group with a website which provides news or other
frequently updated content could think about providing a newsfeed. Podcasting This allows us to create our own radio stations and broadcast content
to a worldwide audience. Podcasting is different
from just recording an audio file on your computer and then putting it on
your website because you use a common format such as MP3 for the audio file
and then it automatically downloads for those who "subscribe" to
it. Subscribing to a site doesn't mean your audience has to pay; just that
they put the address in their feed reading software and then the software
automatically checks for new content at regular intervals. A podcast will automatically download to
your computer and may also automatically be fed into your music playing
software, such as Apple's free iTunes (Mac and Windows). You can simply play the podcast on your computer, or if you have an iPod or other MP3 player you can easily transfer it and
listen to it on the go. Facebook FaceBook.com is an online social networking website that allows users
to post online profiles (including photos, information about themselves,
messages, blogs etc.) and then connect to other
users who share the same interests and experiences. It is suggested that 50% of Facebook users
return to the site every day. The fastest growing Facebook
demographic are those aged 25 years old and older. Such factors suggest why
community organisations now successfully exploit FaceBook
as an extra support and funding avenue. There is huge, very successful
fundraising activity going on internationally, but it’s just starting to
catch on here. YouTube This is a video sharing website where users can upload, view and share
a wide variety of user-generated video content. Unregistered users can watch most videos on
the site, while registered users are permitted to upload an unlimited number
of videos. Organisations can use YouTube to upload
video material, but also visual material such as PowerPoint presentations
saved as video files. Flickr This is an image and video hosting website and
online community platform. It was one of the earliest Web 2.0 applications. In addition to being a popular website for users to share personal
photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers as a photo
repository. Organisations can use Flickr to share
photographs of events and occasions. As of last November, it holds more than
two billion images. Skype Phonecalls can be expensive, especially if you have to
pay national or international toll fees. It's worth looking into using Voice
over IP (VoIP), such as Skype,
where you use your Internet connection for making effectively free phone
calls. All you need is a computer connected to the Internet and equipped with
a microphone, speaker and sound card. For more information about how to use many of
these new tools to extend your reach and impact, go to some of these leading www.community.net.nz/how-toguides/it/publicationsresources/
www.icthub.org.uk/publications
www.webguide.net.nz/2007/mini-conference-engage-your-community/
www.videojug.com/tag/social-networking
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Starting
on the ground floor—the results of our survey of ICT in the sector |
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NZFVWO recently completed a brief online survey about ICT needs in the
community and voluntary sector. Over 100 organisations replied, and the
results were remarkably consistent. The survey reveals
a current picture of ICT usage in the sector, providing a ‘ground floor’ view
of where things are now at, as follows: • There is a wide range of software used on
an every day basis—largely the expected ones. Everybody reported they use
software to write & edit documents and to access email. • Well over 80% of respondents use it to
access the internet, manage financial accounts, databases and spreadsheets
and to prepare presentations. • Less say they use project management,
website management, desktop publishing, design, and diary management
software. Even fewer listen to
streamed music and broadcasts. • About 75% of respondents identified a need
for upgrading software, hardware and increasing their computer training and
awareness. • Cost was by far the greatest barrier to achieving
this—but lack of time and staff were also major factors. Many said they didn’t know how to go about
upgrading and there was insufficient information about possible uses and
benefits. Others said they have to go in search of funding for computer upgrades
and time is a factor preparing funding applications. • The majority of organisations relied on an
outside contractor for their computer support needs. Others use a staff
member or friend or family member or rely on volunteer assistance. • Training and broadband were seen as the
most important priorities for our sector in the government’s revised national
Digital Strategy. Some contributors remarked that volunteer agencies could
work much smarter and easier with better technical tools, but lack the time,
training and skills to get there in the first place. Another said that using
ICT to communicate more effectively is the overall priority, but at the
moment efforts are seriously hampered by the mixed levels of capability and
hardware capacity. Some other comments
from the survey about ICT: “It’s a huge ask
with little support. We want to develop our knowledge and skills in a
language we can all understand.” “We are very
excited about it, but rather overwhelmed by the possibilities.” |
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Nigel Sanderson, Managing Director of FundraiseOnline—a New Zealand-based web solution focussed
on the not-for-profit sector writes about the capability of the internet to
seek and receive donations online. |
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The internet has delivered many things over the last 5 years. The Web 2.0 revolution is now upon us. We can instant message. Talk to anyone around the world—for
free. Buy things in our pyjamas, at
2am or 2pm, from a shop in That’s great. And this real
power of the internet—and Web 2.0 in particular—is now coming to a
not-for-profit organisation near you. Its impact within the sector is really
starting to be realised and acted upon.
Many have seized upon the web’s capability to seek donations, and this
is where the real benefits of networking and collaboration are now being
delivered. In fact, the market for
not-for-profit organisations is now truly global. Fundraising for the sector has long been typified by cake stalls,
begging for money and donations, filling out forms, collecting, handling and
processing cash—and dealing with the fact that cash goes ‘missing’ sometimes.
But now the audience perspective has changed. FundraiseOnline provides the sector a new channel to
supplement donation streams. It’s an easy to use, functionally-rich and low
cost web capability for any sized charity. This kind of donation engine is about delivering cost effective, low
risk and more efficient solutions, enabling organisations in the sector to
focus on outcomes, not trying to survive. The web is bringing donors and
their support closer, and there are huge advantages in doing that in a very crowded
market. The sector is now fast learning that it needs new tools and techniques
to reach donors, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week—not just on rainy Saturday
mornings or dark weekday evenings in the hope someone will answer the door. Providing solutions
to the not-for-profit sector in New Zealand, Australia and around the world
for the last 3½ years, FundraiseOnline has enabled
hundreds of charities to raise well in excess of $NZD 5.5 million in
donations. Visit FundraiseOnline to check out some examples of mind
blowing fundraising success stories, particularly: www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/kayak4cancer/
showing how every day events can be changed into life changing experiences; www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/digdeep/
where communities of very special and local interest can do amazing things.
The two organisations concerned together benefited to the tune of $30,000
from online donations. |
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Jenny Patching, Community Advisor. Social Services Waikato, attended
the e-Engage Your Community mini-conference at |
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e-Engage Your Community offered many hands-on workshops to community
and voluntary groups centred around learning to use the internet for
fundraising, collaborating, promotion, advocacy—‘cool tools’ as they
described them—incorporating the many features encompassed by Web 2.0. Speaking another language is not one of my strong points, particularly
when that language is computers—a technical, jargon-laden, ever-evolving
one. With this in mind, I was a little
—ok, I admit, more than a little—apprehensive about attending the inaugural
E-engage Your Community conference at the University of Waikato back in
April. What if all the speakers spoke ‘computer’, but not necessarily
‘human’? What if I couldn’t get my
head around using something new in the space of a workshop, let alone
afterwards when the experts would no longer be there? As usual, my worry-motor was in overdrive. The conference provided a vast array of technical opportunities for enrichment,
and the chance to get your teeth into some of them. With my work hat firmly in place, I joined
with the 130 participants in learning more about how to work smarter using
internet-based tools and social media. After an entertaining and engaging keynote presentation from Miraz An extremely tasty lunch was followed by further sessions on using Moodle as a virtual office (no, really!!), and looking at
case studies of groups who have been using similar tools to great effect. At the conclusion of the day, I was feeling much more e-friendly,
enjoyed the opportunity to use the e-tools, and had even started to learn
some of the e-language. I eagerly anticipate the next one, and am hoping to be able to e-engage more tools, tips, and more
importantly, people. The sheer success and popularity of the |
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Sector IT
managers get together Alistair Vickers,
Information Systems Manager from the Royal New Zealand Plunket
Society, writes about the Wellington-based group of sector ICT managers. |
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I had become increasingly conscious of the challenge of economically
managing Plunket’s ICT resources. I had also encountered IT managers from the
sector at conferences where we discussed purchasing and other common
challenges. The logical question was, “Why not get together?” I didn’t have much trouble finding three other interested IT managers
and our first meeting early this year attracted representatives of 11
organisations. Initially, the main purpose of the group was mutual support and
discussion of common interests. Basically, the aim is to share learning from
past experiences, cooperate where possible with projects and other activities
as well as to pool resources if it makes sense, especially around improved
purchasing power and approaching suppliers in bulk. A lot of the organisations have similar ends in mind in terms of
infrastructure and platforms, while a lot are considering outsourcing. Also,
some are planning some mobilisation of their workforces, equipping them with
portable electronic devices to replace paper. I have a vision that eventually there will be a shared services model,
where one co-owned IT shop provides a variety of services into member
organisations, depending upon the requirements and business drivers. The |
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TechSoup is an exciting programme providing donated
software from companies (such as Microsoft) to eligible voluntary and
community groups to assist them to save significantly on software costs. The
scheme has already assisted organisations world-wide to make huge operational
savings.
We expect to begin to launch TechSoup in the
next few weeks. There will be minimum product and ordering frequency
requirements. The software itself is
donated free of charge, but there is an administration fee of only 4% of the
retail value of the product. This
amounts to a mere $14+GST per copy of Windows Vista (Business version), only
$27+GST for Office Professional Plus 2007 and $92+GST for Windows Small
Business Server 2003 Premium Edition. Some organisations have told us that they can already get this
software direct from Microsoft NZ’s Software
Donation Programme online at www.microsoft.com/nz/citizenship/giving/swd/default.mspx
. However, once TechSoup is fully functional here,
Microsoft NZ has agreed to cease its own donation programme, passing it over
to TechSoup New |
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Lindsay Hunter writes about e-Rider, an IT service to community and
voluntary organisations throughout the |
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The Wellington ICT group has a mission to
bring technology to communities. We have set up the service to help groups
get the most out of their computers and tackle common IT problems.
We offer advice and support face-to-face, by email or phone. Our principal
aim is to upskill organisations so they are better
able to use IT effectively and securely. Since starting out I have noticed the range of IT support needs from
groups has been very varied. Sometimes I need to get the screw-driver out,
and other times I scour the Internet for prices or specs. No day is the same. I enjoy the variety, and the opportunity to help
organisations to use IT as a tool to support their valuable work. Also, underpinning our IT support, the e-Rider service offers
economical solutions delivering them in a way that helps people manage their
IT needs for the long-term. Contact Lindsay at e-Rider on 04 473 5959, by email at: advisor1@e-rider.org.nz or go to www.e-rider.org.nz |
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Being aware of increasing opportunities for interaction on the web and
regularly finding ourselves involved in joint project work with other
organisations, NZFVWO has been taking the lead over the last 18 months to
develop a new web-based online space where sector groups can collaborate.
This became known as the CIMS ((Community Information Management System)
project. We were joined by four other partner organisations (listed opposite),
which, just like us, quickly saw the immediate benefits of working together
online for joint projects and networking. The project was successful in attracting funding from the Community
Partnership Fund, as well as Lottery Community and the JR McKenzie Trust. The five founding partners have been investing significant time and
effort on the project and have engaged Stephen Blyth as Project Manager. “Work is well underway,” says Stephen. “We’ve engaged a software
developer as well as a web designer.
CIMS has just been renamed CommunityCentral—this
better represents the underlying theme of people who work in communities
getting together in one place online.
A reference group (pictured)—to give input to the design process—met
for the first time in early June. They will provide feedback to ensure CommunityCentral works well for all people and that it is
accessible. CommunityCentral will be live sometime
in August. There’ll be some great features (as detailed on the opposite
page). | ||
