The First Step on our Journey to Support the Digital Transformation of the Social Purpose Sector
We all have first-hand experience of the devastating human and economic impact that COVID-19 has had on the lives of Canadians, let alone the world. The social purpose and nonprofit sector have not been spared.
Over the next six weeks, the Digital Transformation Collaborative Corporate Service Corps team will be working to deliver an action plan that supports the digital transformation of the social purpose sector including charities, NPOs, social enterprises, and more. Our ultimate vision is to enable a rejuvenated and more resilient social public sector that is positioned to support social and economic recovery efforts across Canada.
Service to Society. Service to the World.
For more than 100 years, IBM technology and its people have positively impacted society and the world — a legacy that continues to this day. The IBM Service Corps gives employees the opportunity to use their professional skills to help people and communities tackle complex issues. Small squads of IBMers partner for several weeks with nonprofit, government, educational and civic leaders to address high-priority issues in education, sustainability, health and economic development. It’s an immersive experience designed to benefit communities, culturally enrich its participants and support IBM’s global leadership development. We are motivated to be citizens of the world, to apply expertise to help others learn and to grow.
A Human-Centred Approach.
The Digital Transformation Collaborative team will be working alongside a consortium through a six-week engagement intended to help them achieve their engagement objectives through a human-centred approach by applying Enterprise Design Thinking. This growing coalition of concerned corporate and public sector partners have come together to accelerate the digital transformation of the Not For Profit sector. Our ultimate vision is to work together to enable a rejuvenated and more resilient sector that is positioned to support social and economic recovery & rejuvenation efforts across Canada.
Ultimately, we will create a vision prototype and action plan that addresses the following questions:
- What are the needs of the social purpose sector as they relate to technology and digital transformation as part of their COVID-19 recovery?
- What are the interventions that can be implemented to effectively address these needs?
The Digital Divide.
This global crisis requires two cures — one to keep people safe and healthy from COVID-19, and the other to enable the world to work, mostly by using technology from home. Social change in the digital era requires an investment in technology. This investment is more than tools alone; it’s a commitment to building digital skills, capacity, and new platforms. For both nonprofits and funders alike, COVID-19 has demonstrated the insufficiency of the sector’s investment in the technology skills, tools, and staff needed to keep up with soaring demand and pivot to remote work and services in addition to maintaining basic operations.
“An economy needs roads, bridges, and train stations to thrive. A community needs schools, parks, and houses of worship to ensure the flowering of human potential. And civil society needs infrastructure to ensure that nonprofits and foundations can act with integrity and impact.”
Most nonprofits in 2020 use technology in some form to deliver on their mission, but many work in poorly connected areas and rely on the office to share power, computers, scanners, printers, applications and connectivity. Today, in the middle of a global pandemic, this digital divide is clearer than ever. Nonprofits that are able to continue working right now are doing so by leveraging personal resources rather than organizational ones. The COVID-19 pandemic underscores an urgent reality: the baseline of digital preparedness at many nonprofits is lower than we imagined and requires new funding and support.
The next step.
This challenge is complex and involves a diverse group of stakeholders. Our first week on the project involved a lot of planning, preparation and learning. Next, we will begin interviewing stakeholders from across the sector to better understand the current pain points and identify new opportunities. In addition, the team is currently planning a Design Thinking Workshop to better understand social purpose sector needs, assets, and to identify potential interventions. These key research insights will start to inform the direction for a vision prototype, action plan and written recommendations for the Digital Transformation Collaborative consortium.
As design thinkers, we have been trained to address uncertainty, work within constraints, and create human-centred solutions. Primed to solve problems together, with empathy and humility.
