*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** Speaking of "just in time" research, check out the CNRG information exchange network among young non-profit/government professional in Portland, Oregon <http://www.egroups.com/group/CNRG>. To promote the use the Internet in solving public problems we need to network and build online spaces for "communities of practice" at the local and global level. Steven Clift Democracies Online Newswire From: http://www.pew-partnership.org/newsroom/press_release.html News Release Nonprofits Come of Age in the Information Age Research takes the pulse of knowledge management in nonprofit sector For Immediate Release Contact: Carole Hamner December 6, 2000 804-971-2073 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Charlottesville, Va.Despite the fact that leaders of nonprofit organizations are enthusiastic about online sources of information, many use the Internet primarily for e-mail and not for research. Nonprofit leaders are eager for the real story of community change, blemishes and all, but admit that they would rarely disclose this kind of information about their organizations. One-on-one conversation is still the way professionals in the nonprofit sector prefer to learn. These are some of the findings that the Pew Partnership for Civic Change reports in Coming of Age in the Information Age, a new study about how the nonprofit sector manages knowledge. Though a series of focus groups in three cities, the Pew Partnership tapped the eagerness and frustration nonprofit leaders feel as they grapple with the challenges of demonstrating results, running an organization, and keeping abreast of new strategies in their fields. While nonprofit leaders want to create a climate of continuous learning in their organizations, they admit that just-in-time learning is the typical way that they access and share information, says Jacqueline C. Dugery, Director of Program Research at the Pew Partnership and the principal author of the report. Limited time, staff, and open-door policies for clients often frustrate the best efforts of nonprofit managers to create environments where systematic learning can occur. The focus-group findings reveal that a climate of outcome-based funding has arrived without necessarily bringing with it the resources and capacity to measure results. When asked about their information needs, nonprofit leaders most often interpreted information to mean data for tracking outcomes. Effective data collection and outcome measurement are significant challenges for many nonprofits. The research also struck a nerve in terms of nonprofit leaders attitudes to the Internet. Focus group participants initially claimed that the Internet was a boon to the information needs of their organizations. However, when pressed to name specific uses, many nonprofit managers admitted that they personally used the Internet mainly for e-mail and often came up empty-handed when they did try to search online for specific information. The Internet is a promising tool for knowledge management but as yet offers no panacea to nonprofit information needs. In light of these challenges, the report recommends future directions for improving knowledge management in the nonprofit sector. For example, focus-group participants suggested that a knowledge broker, an individual or organization providing a credible and succinct source of information about program and evaluation strategies, could meet a critical need in the field. The research reports on the findings from a series of focus groups in three citiesBaltimore, Md., San Antonio, Texas, and St. Louis, Mo. Focus-groups participants were executive directors or senior staff at nonprofit organizations of varying sizes and addressing a wide range of issues, including affordable housing, job training, healthy families, and substance-abuse prevention. A copy of the report, Coming of Age in the Information Age, is available free of charge from the Pew Partnership for Civic Change ([EMAIL PROTECTED] or call 804-971-2073). The report will also be available after December 15 on the web site of the Pew Partnership, www.pew-partnership.org. The Pew Partnership for Civic Change is a civic research organization whose mission is to identify and document promising solutions crucial to strong communities. Located in Charlottesville, Va. the Pew Partnership is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by the University of Richmond. *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE *** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage *** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
