Key Questions for Beginning e-Advocacy

By Jillaine Smith and Teresa Crawford

With the introduction of tools and techniques such as blogs, podcasting, and cell phone activism, many nonprofits are examining their use of technology, and wondering how best to use these tools for organizing and activism.

We'll be provocative here and say, “It doesn't matter what tool you choose!” Because frankly, it's not the tool that's going to make a difference.

That's not to say that the new tools for engaging your community are not powerful. They can be and they are. But it is far less critical that your organization choose the most appropriate tool than it is that you are able to make appropriate decisions and take effective action no matter which new tool comes on the market.

Before you write that RFP for a new contact management system, or sign that contract for the most amazing online community-building tool you've ever seen, take a moment (or two) to assess a few things:

How will your Mission be served?

Instead of making your decision about the range of new tools on the market by weighing the different tools against each other, use your organization's shared understanding of its general priorities to assess each tool. For example, a voter registration program should ask itself not whether to use a wiki or a blog or a message board, but: “What are the best technologies to use to double voter registrations of 18-30 year olds?” The folks at the global management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, recently wrote: “IT projects must be subjected to business-case assessments before launch.” Once you've clarified your organization's general priorities and specific objectives, all other decision-making, including decisions about technology solutions, will be much easier.

Who do you want to reach, to engage?

Your choice about which new tools to use should also be informed by an understanding of the people you want to reach and influence. Who are the specific types of people who can help your organization achieve its goals the most effectively? What do you need to know about them in order to make the best choice of tools used to engage them? Such an understanding will help not only with your message development but with decisions about which new tools are best for engaging your audience.

Do you have what it takes?

Technology use does not reside in a vacuum, but within the context of your organization's and staff's goals, hopes, dreams, fears, realities and challenges. Successful choices about technology must be informed by a careful examination of the environment in which that technology will be used and what it will take, organizationally, to sustain such an effort.

In our consulting work with nonprofits, we have found time and time again that if the human infrastructure and organizational culture are ignored and not supported when choosing and implementing a new technology, then even the most cutting-edge tools can fail to meet the expectations of those who use them. For example:

• At least some staff and other constituents involved in the initiative must be ready, willing, able, and supported to make this new tool work.
• The greater the staff involvement in the selection and implementation of technology solutions, the more likely such solutions will be successfully implemented.
• Last, but hardly least….In order for technology change initiatives to be successful, leadership must be fully supportive of examining and exploring how technology can achieve the organization's mission. Not only that; senior level executives must take responsibility for technology's success in the organization. McKinsey & Co. goes so far as to warn that technology initiatives should not be implemented without senior-level accountability. We agree!

If the behavioral changes necessary to implement and sustain your new technology initiative are not addressed, you are courting failure and a wasted investment. Engaging in the kind of thinking described here builds the likelihood that your organization will experience successful technology change initiatives no matter which tool you choose. Use our worksheet to assess your e-advocacy readiness [PDF] and lead you on the path to making the best decisions for your organization.

Jillaine Smith consults with and coaches nonprofit and foundation leaders in the area of communications strategy and organization development.

Teresa Crawford has helped advocacy organizations around the world build their technology capacity since 1998, and is a leader in the Global eRiders movement which is spreading the model of highly personalized nonprofit technology assistance.