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information technologies can help them more effectively engage in public policy matters.
Information hubs are more comprehensive pilots that are intended to be incubators for
ongoing activities. The final pilot activity would provide demonstrations of coordination
tools described in this report.
Applications of Technology
During the NPA planning process, OMB Watch launched one pilot, in collaboration with
the Ohio Association of Nonprofit Organizations and the Donors Forum of Ohio, that
deals with devolution issues (see Chapter IV for a description of the pilot). At the beginning
of March 1997, three community briefings — kicking off an online conference —
were convened in different parts of Ohio to discuss the impact of devolution on nonprofits.
Ohio nonprofits developed a series of eight broad policy questions to debate, one question
per week for eight weeks. Staff from the White House, House of Representatives,
and the Senate participated, along with some national organizations. Since policymakers
have indicated that they want to introduce legislation dealing with “local flexibility,” it is
possible that the online conference will help them better understand the needs of nonprofits
and the challenges confronting such organizations. This online pilot will be informally
evaluated at the end of the conference, but as of this writing has not concluded.
The technology used was a listserv that allowed distribution of e-mail. All e-mail was
archived at a web site so that participants could review responses to specific policy questions
that had been discussed. The pilot was perceived by the participants as a new
application and quite innovative, while the technology was not necessarily cutting edge.
As one person said, “I am fascinated with the process.” Another commented: “I can click
onto e-mail after cleaning dishes, tucking children away, and sit down to catch up on
ideas. The Internet has replaced my casual TV viewing, and I feel I’m more productive. I
also appreciate that the dialogue is a developed project and monitored by a couple of
organizations.”
We believe additional experiments of technology applications, like the Ohio one, need
to be undertaken. It is likely that other pilots will follow steps similar to the Ohio experience
— planning, implementing, and evaluating. The differences from the Ohio pilot will hinge
on the technologies tested, the level of sophistication of the participants, and the context
for the pilot. In fact, there should be an assurance that pilots address different types of
nonprofit issues (e.g., devolution, tax issues, and competition) and incorporate different
types of technologies (e.g., e-mail, video conferencing) to tackle the issue.
Interest in these policy application pilots is widespread. Upon hearing of NPA or the
Ohio pilot, nonprofit organizations in Colorado, District of Columbia, Michigan, North Carolina,
Ohio, and Wisconsin approached OMB Watch with interest in pursuing some type of
pilot project. These organizations represent nonprofit technical assistance organizations,
nonprofit state associations, grantmakers, and universities.
We imagine that these types of pilots will be relatively short-term. From planning through
evaluation, the Ohio pilot was done in roughly seven months. Depending on the proposed
pilot, the project could last from several months to a year. We also recommend a second
type of pilot that is a little longer-term, hopefully one that will incubate an ongoing activity,
that has been called “information hubs.”
OMB Watch — May 1997
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