Data management prototype yields mixed results from non-profits

Author Sharlene Gandhi

The results of a pilot program designed to improve digital and data capacity at non-profit organizations have been released by the Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Digital Resilience, in collaboration with Imagine Canada, The Dais, Blueprint, and the Digital Governance Council. 

Seven Canadian organizations tested the prototype, which maps workflow related to employee tasks and responsibilities, providing feedback about data use, management and quality.

The eight-week-long trial period is the basis of the most recent installment of the Futureproofing the Community Service Workforce report.

Most participants found the proposed workflow accessible, but only two organizations were able to commit to the full process. Those that could not commit cited “competing priorities, staff turnover, and limited capacity” as the main reasons for not being able to complete the program.

These issues were all the more pronounced at smaller non-profit organizations. 

The final report, which is expected to be published this summer, will explore how best to support different types and sizes of non-profits through policymaking as they embark on digital transformation.

In previous research, the group found there were limited technology-centric roles in the non-profit sector. Those that did exist paid significantly less than technology workers in the for-profit sector. 

The research also found that little funding is available for digital upskilling in Canada. 

Tell us this made you smarter | Contact us | Report error

  • Sharlene Gandhi is the Future of Good editorial fellow on digital transformation.

    Sharlene has been reporting on responsible business, environmental sustainability and technology in the UK and Canada since 2018. She has worked with various organizations during this time, including the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business at Lancaster University, AIGA Eye on Design, Social Enterprise UK and Nature is a Human Right. Sharlene moved to Toronto in early 2023 to join the Future of Good team, where she has been reporting at the intersections of technology, data and social purpose work. Her reporting has spanned several subject areas, including AI policy, cybersecurity, ethical data collection, and technology partnerships between the private, public and third sectors.

    View all posts