ICT - A Management Challenge
Greetings from Adelaide in Australia.
Today is my last day in Australia. This morning I participated in a panel discussion during the annual conference of the Australian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE) which focussed on technology issues in the non-profit sector.
AuSAE was established in 1954 as a membership organisation for non-profit association executives in Australia. Its diverse membership includes representatives from religious, educational and other interest associations, as well as non-profit financial institutions.
The Australian association industry is a distinct section of the non-profit sector, estimated at having an annual turnover of between $27 billion and $43 billion. AuSAE was created to provide support, networking services, industry information and generally increase the effectiveness and skills of association managers.
Following on the “Connecting Up”, conference of the previous two days, the objective of the panel discussion was to create awareness among participants about non-profit technology issues in different parts of the world.
The other panelists included Doug Jacquier, CEO of Community Information Strategies Australia (CISA), Amith Nagarajan, CEO of Aptify and Nicola Thompson, General Manager of the ICT Hub.
My presentation focussed on SANGONeT's work in general, an overview of the South African NGO sector and ICT trends in the sector. In addition, I focussed on three ICT-related issues that non-profit executives in South Africa and Australia need to think about in the context of their organisations’ work.
The first issue relates to the importance of maximising the opportunities that technology presents non-profit organisations in strengthening their work, especially in relation to fundraising, advocacy, communication and information-sharing. The Internet, mobile applications and new online tools such as blogs provide non-profit organisations with many exciting new opportunities.
The second issue relates to the internal challenge of how organisations manage the introduction of technology. This is ultimately a leadership and change management issue, which requires leadership and an understanding of how technology will inform the learning organisation of the future.
The third issue relates the responsibility of non-profit organisations to be in the forefront of influencing national ICT policy issues and ultimately, how we build and shape the Information Society.
I hope to elaborate on some of these issues in future postings.
Today is my last day in Australia. This morning I participated in a panel discussion during the annual conference of the Australian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE) which focussed on technology issues in the non-profit sector.
AuSAE was established in 1954 as a membership organisation for non-profit association executives in Australia. Its diverse membership includes representatives from religious, educational and other interest associations, as well as non-profit financial institutions.
The Australian association industry is a distinct section of the non-profit sector, estimated at having an annual turnover of between $27 billion and $43 billion. AuSAE was created to provide support, networking services, industry information and generally increase the effectiveness and skills of association managers.
Following on the “Connecting Up”, conference of the previous two days, the objective of the panel discussion was to create awareness among participants about non-profit technology issues in different parts of the world.
The other panelists included Doug Jacquier, CEO of Community Information Strategies Australia (CISA), Amith Nagarajan, CEO of Aptify and Nicola Thompson, General Manager of the ICT Hub.
My presentation focussed on SANGONeT's work in general, an overview of the South African NGO sector and ICT trends in the sector. In addition, I focussed on three ICT-related issues that non-profit executives in South Africa and Australia need to think about in the context of their organisations’ work.
The first issue relates to the importance of maximising the opportunities that technology presents non-profit organisations in strengthening their work, especially in relation to fundraising, advocacy, communication and information-sharing. The Internet, mobile applications and new online tools such as blogs provide non-profit organisations with many exciting new opportunities.
The second issue relates to the internal challenge of how organisations manage the introduction of technology. This is ultimately a leadership and change management issue, which requires leadership and an understanding of how technology will inform the learning organisation of the future.
The third issue relates the responsibility of non-profit organisations to be in the forefront of influencing national ICT policy issues and ultimately, how we build and shape the Information Society.
I hope to elaborate on some of these issues in future postings.
posted by David Barnard at
9:34 AM
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