Connect IT- Success factors for NGO capacity building for use of Information Technology

Speech delivered at the The ConnectIT Day", a conference on ‘Harnessing Information Technology for Not for Profits’, organised and conducted by NASSCOM Foundation- 2nd June 2011

Thanks for the introduction. Frankly speaking I am not an Information Technology (IT) person. What I will try to do today is speak from my experience of being involved first as a service provider for NGO’s in the IT sphere and second as a receiver and as a consequence a sufferer like many in this room of what IT can do to our lives.

I co-founded an organization called MITRA Technology Foundation way back in 2000. As some of you might recall, it was the time when every one prophesided doomsday of the personal computer by the so called Y2K bug. It was also the dot com boom with the bust. We felt that although there was a lot of action happening in the commercial sphere, there was a huge potential to be tapped in the NGO sector. There is a buzz amongst NGOs about leveraging IT for effectiveness. We felt that there is a market potential.

MITRA’s mission was to leverage Information Technology for the Development sector. After interacting with a number of organizations we realized that the first thing that we need before even do a sale pitch for any products is do a IT needs assessment. NGOs were not sure as to what they want and how much they need to budget.

Today after 11 years the situation almost remains the same.

Let me take the example of my current organization, SEWA Trade Facilitation Centre (STFC). As some of you are aware we are into the business of selling handicrafts made by women artisans. It calls for an efficient supply chain and ability to track every activity so that we are able to take our products to the market on time and with certain level of quality.

Way back in 2005, it felt the need of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Based on consultant’s advice, Navision by Microsoft was implemented. Since we also had retail outlets so there is a need for a Point of Sale (POS) software. Again based on consultants advice, Retail Pro was implemented. Today you will be surprised that we have gone back to using Tally 9. Both Navision and Retail Pro are lying unused and unutilized.

So why this happened? There are a number of reasons-

1.     No proper need IT need assessment was carried out.

2.     Staff were never trained properly leading to wrong data entry

3.     No customization was carried out leading to confusing amongst operators as to what data to enter where.

4.     Synchronisation between Navision and Retail Pro was not possible- so duplication of efforts.

NGOs operate in a very complex environment. Especially organizations like STFC which have to compete in the market place and at the same time deliver on its social mission. So technology can play a critical role in creating efficiencies. I have noticed that it’s not budget that is a constraint amongst NGOs. But  the way you identify your needs and allocate proper resources. Based on my learning’s I would like to list down 10 most important aspects that NGOs needs to keep in mind before implementing any IT processes.

1.     Is there a need? Do every one in the organization feels that there is a need- from the Board to the line managers and has this need been properly documented.

2.     If Yes- has a need assessment exercise being done and an IT policy in place which fits into our mission and vision.

3.     Do we have the necessary resources- both financial and human to implement it?

4.     Customised vs Proprietary- Although there are a lot of proprietary software’s available, does it serves the purpose.

5.     Have we identified a good vendor who fully understand our business model and has a good team.

6.     Does a reference check of the vendor being carried out.

7.     Phase out your implementation plan- it helps us in two ways. Staff gets used to it and so next phase implementation gets easier. Based on user experience proper customization in the remaining phases can be implemented.

8.     Have an inhouse IT team in place

9.     User access- who will have access to what

10.  A proper payment schedule for vendors linked to deliverables and a clear exit clause.

We cant deny the fact that all organizations need some IT systems and process in place. But how we implement it and derive value out of it is the key to its success. Entities like NASSCOM can play a meaningful role if you can create a database of approved vendors which NGOs can tap. I think the biggest frustration is when you spend so much money and your vendor is not able to deliver what you want.

Thanks.