Every Non-Profit is an Open Government Non-Profit
- Written by
- Clay Johnson
- Date
- 02/19/2010 1:39 p.m.
Often times at Sunlight the non-profit community looks at us strangely. Here in Washington, DC we've probably made more investments in technology than any other non-profit or advocacy organization I've run across. Certainly our mission is focused around the use of technology, so that makes a lot of sense-- we're focused on getting data out of government, doing interesting things with it, and letting you see what happens in Washington better. That means technology investment.
But one question I struggle with is: why doesn't every non-profit do this? It may be a little hyperbolic, but I have a hard time figuring this out. Every single non-profit stands to benefit from OpenGovernmentDataRightNow(tm).
Doesn't Charity Water stand to benefit from some form of data coming out of the United States government? Whether it be data from the EPA on water quality and saftey, or aid spending on water for Africa from the State Department? That data is there. It's waiting for you to ask for it.
Wouldn't the Leukemia and Lymphoma society do well to advocate for the opening of raw data from the department of Health and Human Services? I wonder if the Center for Disease Control tracks rabies data for the Humane Society? Wouldn't open data help Katrina or Haiti relief organizations not only fight waste and corruption on the ground, but also make better decisions on where resources should be provided? That data's there. It's waiting for you to ask for it.
With the exception of increased 403(b) caps or other forms of financial tax incentives, I can't think of a more common issue than open government data that the non-profit community stands to benefit from. Open data can help a non-profit make more informed decisions on how to allocate its very scarce resources, more effectively help those in needs, make better decisions, and drive down a whole bunch of costs.
We spend a lot of time talking about how open data can create billion dollar industries like GPS, but in the case of non-profits the gains are far more immediate and likely both to the organization's bottom line and to increase its impact.
So if you're working at a non-profit I invite you to think about how you stand to benefit from open government data. If you think of some ideas, you should be submitting them to the government. You should join and support our campaign too. You'll be doing your organization a great service and making the world a better place, too.
Discussion
What are Your Thoughts?
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Great post Clay. You raise excellent points.
I think a large part of the reason nonprofits don't invest in data and technology resources as they should is due to their funding sources and the way foundations fund nonprofits in general.
Most foundations want to see metrics like how many people are on your email list, how many wrote their congressperson about xxx issue, or signed xxx petition. So as a result nonprofits have to point investment towards things that maximize those metrics - which tend to be things like marketing, consultants, maybe a CRM provider.
While open data and apps that use open data can ultimately increase those metrics - they tend to take a lot more time and thus get ignored in favor of things that can further an NPs funding.
Clay, great post! One of my clients, Water.org, is thinking along these same lines. Openness and transparency is vital to government and non-profits, so you can't let non-profits off of the hook. Supporting transparency helps those who are participating in the non-profits see where they are being the most efficient with their donations. For a lot of people, both in government and the non-profit space, that level of transparency is uncomfortable.
As someone who consults in the open gov, non-profit, and activist space, I see all of these people doing the exact same things with slightly different desired outcomes. It takes someone who's forward thinking to see this way. I'm fortunate enough to have found great partners in the space who have the forethought to see the bigger picture and realize the vital role that openness plays.
Important post, clay. I'm going to retweet this heavily.
In an earlier era (80s/90s), I was involved in organizing non-profits around getting active for similar goals, long before your standards and tools were even thought possible. It was always the unpredictable costs and training that were the show-stoppers, and I sense things are not all that different now.
Perhaps your team could request proposals from a few dozen NGOs, offering to help one or two of them to deploy some NDC datasets within their existing websites or programs, in return for making the whole design and implementation process public. The right example could show orgs how, with Sunlight assets and tools, and a few low-cost steps, such apps can translate into big benefits for real world mission management and fund raising. Maybe later it could grow into some kind of formal apps/API incubator.
Just putting it out there. For all I know, this is--and has been--the plan of your gifted team :)
As stated previously, I believe the focus on market metrics is going to be the greates barrier to entering open data initiatives, though data has proven itself as a great marketing tool. I would cast my vote for a venture project like CodeForAmerica.com geared for non-profits, specifically the consumption and use of these data sets would be a catalyst for more organizational participation.
Clay,
Have you seen this initiative?
10 Tactics.
http://www.informationactivism.org/
Very much in line with what you are thinking.
Shaun
Most of the nonprofits I've worked with have been running on empty. The few that can afford employees have workers on the verge of burnout. The majority that can't are run in the few hours a week that people can spend between fulltime jobs.
At the same time, many of the nonprofits that I've worked with haven't had technical staff. Even if they had the money to spend on paying someone to do interesting things with data, they don't know what to do.
Although I agree in principle, it's worth remembering that most people aren't geeks, and very few organizations have much cash.
So nice to see this post. I work for an environmental nonprofit and have had the pleasure of working with state and federal fisheries management agencies for the past few years to help them deepen their capacity for data management so that everyone can gain more access to information on the health of salmon populations (a keystone animal in North Pacific ecosystems). Our program is a consumer of field observational data on Pacific salmon which is collected and curated by primarily state agencies and to a lesser extent by federal agencies and tribes. In our work we had significant trouble identifying, accessing, and evaluating the utility of available salmon abundance data so our major funder awarded us an experimental grant to help build database systems, data capture tools, and web sites for select government agencies. Our role as an ngo is to act as a vehicle for chronically underfunded agencies to access the capital they need to jumpstart their data management efforts. The projects are designed to help the agencies meet internal business needs while furthering our goals of greater information transparency. The first products are rolling out this year but my ngo colleagues are roundly unimpressed with this type of work, seeing its value primarily as a means to ingratiate oneself within the management community. Quotes received as of late include, “It’s a dead end.” and “This kind of work is a rut.” So in my corner of the nonprofit world, work in open government/open data/open science etc. is, to put it bluntly, “uninteresting.” We’re a tech-savvy group and no one’s feeling territorial about limited funding dollars. They simply don’t agree with the theory of change underlying the work. Meanwhile, I wholeheartedly disagree so the immediate challenge I face is assessing impact. If anyone has any ideas on metrics, academic colleagues, methods, etc. for evaluating impact and effectiveness of improved information access, please holler. It’s not just nonprofits that need convincing, it’s also elected officials, agency directors, research scientists, foundations, etc. I’ve got a grant proposal in to initiate some analyses in 2010 and 2011 and I’d love to prove my colleagues wrong ; ) !
Investing on new technology is not a bad option because it must create a new dawn in the future for development.In this issue we must not think about profit or not non-profit.
I was not aware that non profits were not taking advantage of government data. Maybe, that's why they're non profit to begin with.
I do agree with one point that open data can help a non-profit make more informed decisions on how to allocate its very scarce resources, more effectively help those in needs, make better decisions, and drive down a whole bunch of costs. Certainly they can do more with open government data. As rightly observed that non-profits gains are far more immediate, those who work in the non-profit have good opportunities for doing a great services to their organization as well as helping the world a better place too.
Really,? Do you honestly think anyone out there trusts in the government anymore?Unless it benefits their pocket or their puppet masters" Big Business" they dont have the time. they are busy men!One word for those who still live in that comfy bubble,,,,,,,BAILOUT!!