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DisruptingPhilanthropy:Howcrowdsandcloudsare
changinghowwedeliveronthecommongood
LucyBernholz,Ph.DOxfordInternetInstitute
14April2010
twitterhashtag#oiiphil
Thankyouforhavingmeheretoday.ThankyouDameStephanie,Professor
Dutton,allofthewonderfulstaffoftheOxfordInternetInstitute.Thanksto
theHANDFoundation,NewAmericaFoundationandStanfordUniversity
whichmakemyworkpossible.Thankstoallofyouforcoming.Iparticularly
wanttothankmyfatherforjoiningusheretoday–it’saspecialhonorforme
tohavehimhere.
Now,Iwanttoaskyoutodosomethingthatisabitunusualatthestartofa
speech.Pleaseturnonyourmobilephones.Thisisbothatestandan
experiment–atestofatheoryI’mworkingonandanexperimentbecausethis
willbethefirsttimeI’vetriedthisoutsideoftheStates.Iwantyoutoturnon
yourmobilesbecauseI’mwillingtobetyoutheywon’tring.Why?Becauseno
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oneusesmobilesformakingphonecallsanymore.Weusethemfortexting
andtwittering,messagingandemails.Butphonecalls?Heck,thereoughtabe
anappforthat.
WhydoIbringthisup?Tomakeapointabouthowquicklytechnology
changes.Here’satechnologythat’sgonecompletelymainstreaminthelast
decade–allofyouhaveamobile,asdoabout4billionofthe6billionpeople
ontheplanet.Andwhilethesedevicesweredesignedforphonecalls,weuse
themforsomethingelse.
Oncethetechnologyisinourhands,westarttoadaptit.Weadaptour
behaviorstowhatitletsusdo.Wedothisonanindividualbasis–thinkfor
exampleofanotherwayinwhichourrelationshiptophonehaschanged.
Aboutadecadeago,whenthephonerang,youwouldn’tknowwhoitwas
untilyouhadansweredit.TherewasnocallerID.Butassoonasyouknew
whoitwas,youalsohadaprettygoodchanceofknowingwherethatperson
was–becausetheywerelikelycallingfromalandline.Soifitwasyourmum
shewasathome,yoursisterwascallingfromwork,yourbrotherfromhis
office.Onceyouknewwhowascalling,youhadagoodchanceofknowing
wheretheywere.
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Nowadays,weknowwhoitistheminutethephonerings–callerIDtellsus
who.Butthefirstquestionweaskis“whereareyou?”Simplyknowingwhois
onthecalldoesn’ttellyouanythingaboutwheretheyare–theycouldbeat
work,athome,inthecarorinanothercountry.Wecannolongerpindown
ourfamilyorfriendsbytheirphonenumber.Ihaveahunchthatthisiswhy
geo‐locationservicesandapplicationsarebecomingsopopular–especially
amongyoungpeoplewhohaveneverbeentetheredbyalandline,butthat’sa
differentspeech.
Sotechnologyadaptstousandweadapttotechnology.Itiseasytoseethison
thepersonallevel.Theorganizationallevelisalittlebitharder.Andthisis
wherewecanbegintotalkabouthowtechnologyisdisruptingphilanthropy.
But,beforeIdothat,afewquestionsforyou:
• Whorememberswheretheywereatabout10pmlocaltime,January
12,2010?
• HowmanyofyoufirstheardabouttheearthquakeinHaitiviayour
computerormobilephone?
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• Howmanyofyoufirstheardaboutitviathetelevision,newspaperor
radio?
• Howmanyofyousharedinformationabouttheearthquakeviamobile,
twitter,emailorIM’ing?
• Howmanyofyoumadeadonationonyourmobilephone?
[Synthesizeanswers.Noteresultsforthisaudiencelikelyverydifferentfrom
Californiaresultsbecauseoftimedifference–itwas2pmonaTuesdayin
California,10pminUK]
Mypointhereisthatweareallpartofthenewsecosystemnow.Ourmobiles
letustalktoourfriends,sure,buttheyalsonowmakeuspartofsharingnews,
trackingstories,andinteractingwithevents.Whatwe’llseeinthestoriesto
comeishowtheyalsochangehowwedefinesocialsolutionstoshared
problems.
I’mgoingtomakeonebasicargument–dataarethenewplatformforchange.
Wenowregularlyaccessanduseinformationatanentirelydifferentscaleand
pacethaneverbefore,duetothedevelopmentofrobustdatabases,search
engines,mobileaccesspoints(e.g.phones),andgeolocationservices.Inthe
courseofadaptingtothisrealityseveralthingsarebecomingclear:
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• Dataasnewplatformforchangeallowwholenewformsofenterpriseto
producesocialgoods.
• Weareonlyjustbeginningtoseethesenewforms–thinkabout
UshahidiandCrisisCamps,theroleTwitterplayedinthe2009Iranian
electionandKyrgyzstan’sonedayrevolutionandtheemergenceof
protestgroupssuchasPricedOuthereintheUK.
• Todate,wehavethoughtaboutphilanthropyandtechnologymostly
fromthefundraisingandcommunicationpointofview.Dataasanew
platformforchangeisaboutusingthetechnologytodefinethe
problemsanddevelopthesolutions–technologyaspartandparcelof
missionachievement,notjustforfundraising.
• Thedataasplatformviewshiftseverything–notjustenterpriseform.
o Itshiftswhereexpertiseandinformationlies–itiseverywhere,
notwithinanorganization.
o Byshiftingwhereexpertiselies,andallowingnewformsof
enterprise,italsodemandsnewformsofgovernance;
o Newformsofenterpriseandnewformsofgovernancedon’tfit
withinourexistingfinancingandregulatorystructures;
o Thisisonereasontheriseofsocialenterpriseandnetworksis
happeningnow.Thetwomajortrendsofthismoment–
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technologyandsocialenterprise–arenotcoincidental,theyare
linked.
o Newenterprises,newgovernance,newfinancingandnew
regulations–thosearethedomainsofinfluencewhere
technologyisfundamentallyshiftinghowphilanthropyworks.
Onecaveat.Knowledgeexpertsandinformationscientistsgetalotof
discussionoutofthedifferencebetweendata,informationandknowledge.I’m
notgoingtogothere.Iusedataandinformationinterchangeably.I’mtalking
aboutquantitativedataandqualitativedata–numbersandstories.I’mtalking
aboutbothrawdataandinterpretedandanalyzedinformation.Oneofthe
thingswe’llseeisthattheincreaseindata–numbers,patterns,trendsand
datasources–RSSfeeds,twitter,emailandblogs–hasonlyincreasedour
needforstorytelling.Weneedtomakesenseofthedata,weneedtouseit,we
needtotakeadvantageofittomakechangehappen.Datadon’tmakechange,
peoplemakechange.
Dataasthenewplatformforchange(slidetwo)
Thecurrentcommonmodelforchangeisbasedonorganizations.Nonprofits,
registeredcharities,multi‐lateralfundingagencies,governmentbodies,
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politicalparties.Theyarethedriversofchange,theissuersofmanifestos.
Theydooutreachtobringpeopleinorprovideservicestoclientsorpresent
arttoaudiencesordoresearchforothers.
Seeingthedataastheplatformchangesthis.[Slidethree]ConsiderUshahidi
asthecurrentoptimalexampleofthis.Ushahidigotitsstartintheelectionsin
Kenyaafewyearsback.Protestsbrokeoutinthecities,andactivistswanted
tobeabletotrackandreportonwhatwashappening.Theyrealizedthatthe
verypeopleinvolved,theprotestorsandbystanders,werealsothedata
source–usingtheirmobilephonestheycouldeasily“report”whatwas
happening.Theactivistssimplygatheredtheirtextmessagesintoasingle
repository–awebpage–thatcouldbeusedbyanyonetoseewhatwasgoing
on.Thosesendingtextscouldalsoseethemessagesfromothersinthearea.
Thoseoutsidetheregioncouldscrollthroughthemessagesandseewhatwas
goingon.Userswerereadersandtexters.Differentpeoplesawdifferent
patterns–buttherewasnocleardividinglinebetweentheoutsideandthe
inside–thepeoplesendingthemessageswerebothdatasourcesanddata
interpreters.
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Thissystemwasquicklyadaptedtootheruses–electionmonitoringin
dozensofcountries,forexample.ItgotitsbiggesttestfollowingtheHaiti
earthquake–thevolunteersworkingtostrengthentheUshahidisystem
realizedthattextmessagesfrompeopleinHaitiwouldbethemostvaluable
sourceofreal‐timeinformationtoguidereliefefforts.
Theyquicklyestablishedacommandcentertomanagethefloodoftexts,a
singletextcodeforpeopletouse,andletthenetworksofvolunteers,
newswatchers,mobilephoneusers,andreliefagenciesspreadtheword.
Withinhoursthesystemwasinplaceandreal‐time,ontheground
informationwasfloodingin.Watchingthepatternsofinformationdisplayed,
volunteersaroundtheworldorganizedtoproduceCreole–English
translationapplications,realtimemappingupdatesshowingthedamage,and
coordinationsystemswithgovernmentagenciesandnon‐governmentalrelief
organizations.
Expertiseandinformation–outsideandinside
WhoisUshahidi?ThevolunteersinKenyaandMassachusettswhostaffedthe
dataandwebsystems?ThepeopleonthegroundinHaiti,bothquakevictims
andaidworkers?Thegovernmentagenciesandrelieforganizationsthat
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startedusingthedatafromthesystemtocoordinatetheirwork?Theanswer
isalloftheabove.Ushahidiisalsoanadaptabletool–sincetheHaiti
earthquakethesystemhasbeenusedtopowerthe“SnowmaggedonCleanUp”
websitefortheJanuarysnowstormthatshutdownWashingtonDCandthe
“SudanVoteMonitor”forthenationalelectionsthattookplacethispast
Monday.
Otherorganizations,suchasWATCH,whichtrainscitizenstomonitorcourt
proceedingsortheDisasterAccountabilityProjecthelppeopleusetext
messagesandmobileemailstotracktheongoingworkofaidagencies.
Ushahidi“crowdsourcescrisisinformation.”Allovertheworldactivistsare
alsocrowdsourcingaccountabilityefforts,marketconditions,election
outcomes,andneighborhoodwatches.
Asaplatformforchange,thecrowdsourcedcrisisinformationmodelthatis
Ushahidishowsthatusersandusesforthesystemareasdiverseasthe
imagination.Ratherthananorganizationfocusedondeliveringasetof
services,Ushahidiisasetoftoolsthatcanbeadaptedtosituationsand
possibilitiesbyalmostanyone.Expertiseisinternalandexternal.Everyoneis
potentiallybothaproviderandaclient.Datapowerthechange.Themany
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differenteyesonthedatawillseedifferenttruths,actasself‐correcting
mechanisms,andalsoofferupthenext“aha”momentforanotherapplication
ofthetoolsandthedatadisplays.
Ushahidirepresentsmorethanjustthesocialapplicationsoftechnologyand
dataforusesotherthantheiroriginalintendedpurposes.Italsoshowsa
fundamentallynewwayofthinkingaboutsocialchallengesandproblem
solving.Themodelreliesontheendbeneficiaries–thequakevictimsorthe
voters–tomakethesystemwork.Itoperatesonasenseofscalepreviously
unimaginable–whilebothHaiti’searthquakeandtheDCsnowstormwere
fundamentallylocalevents,theprovideroftheservicewasremoteinboth
cases,andtheusersofthedatadisplayswerebothlocalresidentsand
interestedpartiesfromallovertheglobe.
[SlideFour]Recognizingthesesubtlebutimportantwaysthattechnologyhas
alteredourbehaviorandourexpectationsaboutinformationiskeyto
imaginingthekindsofnewsolutionsthatUshahidirepresents.Itmaybeas
sharpasshiftingfromapushtoapullmindset.Ratherthanorganizationsas
sourcesofexpertise,funding,andprogramsthatgetdelivered,or“pushed
out”intocommunities,beneficiariesandactivistsdrawtogether–are“pulled
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in”bytheirsharedinterestsandneeds,theyfundtogether,developsolutions
together,anddeploytoolsthatcanberepurposedandredeployed.
Thechangethatreallymatters–thedisruptivechange‐isabouthow
technologyshiftsourdefinitionsofproblemsandimaginationsofsolutions.
Newformsofenterprises
Ashiftofthismagnitude–oneinwhichexpertiseiseverywhereandmustbe
“pulledtogether,”solutionscanbeflexibleandscaleislikelytobeglobal‐is
notgoingtocomefromwithinourexistingcharitable,nonprofitor
philanthropicorganizations.Thesemightadaptsomeoftheseways,butthey
willalwaysbeapatchworkofadd‐ons.
Rather,wearealreadyseeingflexiblenetworkbasedefforts,builtforthetools
andmindsetsoftoday.CrisisCampsisoneexample.Aloosenetworkoflocal
volunteerefforts,CrisisCampstookoffaftertheHaitiearthquake.Theywere
organizedincitiesfromLondontoBogota,OttawatoSanJose.Volunteers
camefromtechfirms,marketingcompanies,lawfirms,charitiesandevery
walkoflife.Eachcampusedasharedtemplatetoidentifyprojectsofinterest,
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activitiesaccomplished,teamassignmentsandsoon.TheyworkedonCreole‐
Englishtranslationapplications,“wehave,weneed”databasematching
systems,andimagetaggingprojects.Workstartedinonetimezonemightbe
completedinanother,asthevolunteersuploadedtheiraccomplishmentstoa
sharedwebsite,passedontheirnotes,andlefttheworktothenextgroup.
Twitter,blogs,andawikikepteveryoneup‐to‐date.Donationsofspace,food
andcaffeinekepteveryoneworking.Therewasnononprofitstatus,no
fundraisingcampaign,noboardofdirectors–justthemission.
Theseloosenetworksareeffectivefortime‐limitedprojects.Howtheywill
morphoradjustforongoingeffortsremainstobeseen.Thattheywillnotall
organizeintocharitableorganizationsisasurebethowever,astheblending
ofsocialimpactwithmarket‐basedenterprisesisalreadyaviablealternative.
Itisnotcoincidencethatthisdiscussionishappeningconcurrentwiththe
SkollWorldForum–probablythepre‐eminentglobalgatheringofsocial
entrepreneurs.
Theseareindividualsandenterprisesthathavealreadybuckedthe“old
standard”fordoingthings.[Slidefive]Theirinterestsinscale,systemic
solutions,andcross‐sectorthinkingarenottechnology‐dependent,buttheir
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pursuitofdifferentsolutionstopersistentproblemshasmadethemvery
amenabletothepossibilitiesoftechnology.Fromearlyeffortssuchas
Benetech–asocialpurposetechnologycompany–tothenewestSkoll
awardeessuchasVisionSpring–whereverindividualsarelookingforlarge‐
scalesolutionstosocialchallengestheyarefindingtechnologyiscoretotheir
mission.
Inthecaseofsocialenterprise,technologyisalsocoretothefinancing
structuresthataredeveloping.Themission‐basedfocusofsocialenterprise
requiresadifferentstandardofmeasurementthanwaspreviouslyaskedor
expectedofsocialpurposeorganizations.Themeasurementsthemselvesand
thetoolsforgatheringandreportingtheminstandardizedfashionshave
reliedondatabases,cloud‐basedstorageandreportingsites,and,
increasingly,mobileapplicationsthatcanengageparticipantsasevaluation
dataproviders.
Thesetoolsareleadingtoweb‐basedexchangesthatwillallowfinancial
investmentsinsocialenterprises.Theyareafairlynaturalevolutionofthelast
decade’sriseinonlinegivingmarketplaces–data‐richrepositoriesabout
socialprojects.[SlideSix–LongTailofData]
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Wearebeginningtoseethesemarketplacesnotonlyasplaceswheredata
aboutorganizationsisusedtodrivetransactionalsupport,butasgenerators
ofdataaboutthepatternsandtrendsofthoseprojects,humanconditions,
and,yes,philanthropicsupport.Justasthephonehasbecomeahandheld
computer,thelastdecade’sinvestmentinonlinegivingmarketplacesis
beginningtoyieldfruitasthenew“infostructure”ofsocialgoods.Wearenow
seeing–inAidDataandIATI–theInternationalAidTransparencyInitiative–
effortstominethedatatrailthatthesetransactionsleavewaystoimprovethe
workitself.
Socialgoodsnowcomefromnonprofits,charities,socialbusinesses,social
enterprises,publicagenciesandinformalnonprofits.BenMetz,formerlyof
ASHOKAUK,justfinishedareportontheUKlandscapeforsocialenterprise
thatshowshowdiversethesystem–justofsocialenterprise,justinthis
country–hasbecome.Ihighlyrecommendit–it’satbenmetz.org.
Idon’twanttooverstatethis,butIthinkitisimportanttoconsiderthe
disruptivenatureoftechnologyandthediversificationsofformsfor
producingsocialgoodsasrelatedphenomena,notasdistinct,paralleltrends.
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Theybothreflectnewwaysoforganizingforchange.Theyaremutually
influential–socialenterprisesoftenfocusonsustainablebusinessmodelsfor
deliveringanewtechnologyandnewtechnologiesareincreasinglyintegrated
intothecoreworkandstructureofnewsocialenterprises.Thetwomajor
trendsofthismoment–technologyandsocialenterprise–arenot
coincidentaltheyarelinked.Andtheymultiplythedisruptiveinfluenceof
eachother.
Newformsofgovernance
Socialenterprisesandinformal,technologybasednetworksoperate
differentlythanregisteredcharitiesandnonprofitorganizations.Yes,some
nonprofitsandcharitiesareadaptingthetechnologiestotheirwork–and
yourpositionpapersforthisconferenceillustrateboththeextentand
limitationsofthoseadaptations.
Butnetworksrequiredistributedgovernance.Centralizeddecision‐making,
boardsofdirectors,andhierarchicalorganizationalformsdonotlend
themselveswelltorapidlydeploying,betaversionsoftwareforA/Btestingor
crowdsourcediteration.Messagecontroldoesn’tworkwellinanageofsocial
networks,twitter,andremixing.
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Thislackoffitbetweentraditionalstructuresandemergingpracticesmostly
explainstheepisodicpaceofadoptionsofar.Weareonlyjustbeginningtosee
actualexamplesofnewgovernancestructures–muchmorecommonare
examplesoffailedexperimentsorpatchworkhybrids.[SlideSeven–
governance]
Sofar,themostimportantshiftingovernancestructuresthatwecanpointto
arethoseunderpinnedbythecommonsmovement–andspecificallythose
poweredbytheCreativeCommonslicensingstructure.Wholenewwaysof
addressingcertainsharedproblemsarebeginningtocropupusingCreative
Commonsastheorganizingprinciple.WecanseethisintheScienceCommons
sharedpublishinganddataefforts,CrisisCommonsthatbirthedthe
CrisisCampsdiscussedearlier,andcrowd‐managedresourcessuchasthe
WeAreMediaprojectlaunchedbytheNTENafewyearsago.Eachofthese
effortswasbuiltaroundtheethosofsharingandsharingalike–usingwhatis
madepublicandcontributingwhatyoucreate–thatisattheheartofthe
CreativeCommonsmovement.
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Sowherearewe?Technologyisgivingusnewwaysofdefiningexpertiseand
newwaysofdoingbusiness.Itispromptingustocreatenewformsof
enterprise,andmultiplyingthereachofsomeofthosenewforms.Ithas
helpedusestablishglobalreachasthenewstandard.[SlideEight–Global
Reach]Anditisshiftinghowwegovernourworkandtheenterpriseswedo
create.
Ifyouarestillwithmetothispoint,andagreetechnologyhashelpedus
fundamentallydisruptphilanthropyandthesocialsector,thenIhopeyou’ll
hangonwhileIexploretheimplicationsofthisforhowwefinancethework
andhowweregulatethesector.
Newfinancingandregulatorystructures
Thesocialenterprisemovementisgrowinghandinglovewithinnovationsin
finance.[SlideNinenewformsoffinance]Fromsocialventurefunds,
advisoryservices,newfinanceresearchandnewimpactinvestingexchanges
theuniverseoffinancingoptionsforsocialgoodhasnotyetmatured,butitis
verymuchpastitsinfancy.
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Allofthesefinancingformsrequiredifferenttypesofmeasurementand
reportingthannonprofitsproduce.Investorswanttobeabletotrackand
comparesocialimpactaswellasfinancialreturn–thisdemandhassparked
twodecade’sworthofinnovation,iterationandexperimentationintracking
anddocumentationofsocialreturns.
Themostrecentandrobustofthoseexperimentsandprototypesarefully
technology‐enabledandweb‐designed.Whetheryouaretalkingabout
AcumenFund’sPulsesystemorBLabs’auditsystemthesesystemsfor
measuringsocialreturnaredatabasedrivenandarestoredinthecloudfor
globalsharingandaccess.Individualswhoareworkingontheseearlyefforts
havelong‐termdesignsonestablishingindustrystandards,impactindices,
andagloballynetworked,datadrivensystemforinformingentrepreneurs,
investors,andportfoliosofsocialpurposeenterprises.
Theinvestmentexchangesareparticularlynotablefortheirassumptionsand
usesoftechnology.Morethanjusttransactionprocessingplatforms,these
exchangesaredesignedtouseandgeneratethekindsofsocialreturndata
thatcanchangehowwefinance,deliver,anddistributesocialgoods.They
integrateexistingindicesandknowledgesourceswithfinancialtransactions
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andportfoliotools,allowforanalysisofaggregateddatasobenchmarking
becomespossible,andwill–ifsuccessful–generateindustryspecificmetrics
aboutquantityandqualityofsocialreturns.
Newenterprises,newgovernance,newfinancingandnewregulations
Whetherornottheseeffortswillsucceedisthebigquestion,ofcourse.While
wecan’tknowtheanswerforsurenow,weknowthatthisisthedirection
theseeffortsareheaded.
Alongtheway,theymayfaceplentyofresistance.Inmyopinion,themost
likelybarriertotheirsuccessisnotinstitutionalsluggishness,sector
skepticism,ormarketdownturns.Itisregulatoryresistance,uncertaintyand
stasis.
AlmostalloftheexamplesIhavehighlightedinthispresentation–allofthe
storiesI’vetoldtoillustratemydata–havetakenplaceatthemarginsorin
theloopholesoftheexistingregulatoryframeworksthatguidephilanthropy.
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• Ushahidifacedamajorobstacletogrowthwhenitcouldn’traise
foundationfundsbecauseitwasn’taregisterednonprofit.
• SocialenterprisesintheUKhavesucceededbecauseofpolicyand
governmentsupport–intheStates,incontrast,theeffortstoaccredit
socialpurposebusinessesisjustgettingofftheground.Asthesenew
formstakeholdinthecorporatecode–BcorporationsandL3Cssofar
beingthemostsuccessfulintheStates–thenextstepwillbethetax
code.Astoughasthecorporatecoderevisionshavebeen,trustme,the
fightwillgetuglyandpoliticalasitshiftstotheissueoftaxexemptions
anddeductions.
• Fromagovernanceperspective,thecommonsmovementhasmuch
moresupportandrecognitionaroundtheworldthanitdoesyetinthe
States.
• Opendataaccessandnetneutralitymaywellbethekeypolicyissues
forthesocialsectorinthenextfewyears–andveryfeworganizations,
atleastintheStates–areevenawareofthesedomains.
Whatisveryclearisthatthediversityofenterprisesandthenewtypesof
financingthatnowshapeoursocialsectordonotfitneatlyintotheregulatory
boxesthatwehavebuiltoverthecenturies.Thenumberofpolicydomains
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thatmatterhasexploded–fromtaxandcorporatecodestoinvesting
regulations,intellectualpropertylaw,governmentdataaccess,andglobal
exchangerates.[Slideten–policiesthatmatter]
ThismapshowsaninitialbraindumpthatIdidwithseveralcolleagueslast
yearattheSocialCapitalMarketsconference–itisonlineandopenforediting
byanyone.I’musingthemaptotrytocreateaUSversionofBenMetzUK
map.MycolleaguesandIatStanfordUniversityintendtouseittolauncha
globalnetworkofpolicyactors,eachofwhomwouldcontributethedomain
informationfortheirnationorregionintoasingle,combined,open,global
resource.Thisisnottosaywecanshapethepoliciesonaglobalscale‐but
wedoknowwedon’tyetevenknowwheretobegin.Ourintentionisthatthe
globalpolicy‐mappingnetworkwillatleastgetusorientedintheright
directions.
Conclusion[Finalslide]
Allinall,therealpotentialofe‐philanthropyisaboutmuchmorethansimply
usingemailortwittertoraisemoneyforsocialgoods.Thosechanges–slow
astheiradaptionmayseem–willcertainlycome.Ironically,onereason
nonprofitsandcharitiesmayseemsoslowinadaptingtechnologyto
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fundraisingandcommunicationsmaybebecausetheseactivitiesarerevenue‐
criticalbutnotmissioncritical.
Mostoftheresearchonsocialsectororganizationsandtechnologyhas
focusedonfundraisingandcommunicationsuses.Observersarerighttonote
thegreatpotential–mostlyuntapped–ofthesetoolsforcharitiesand
nonprofits.Thequestionsraisedinseveralofthepositionpapers–aboutthe
slowuptakeofthesetools,thelimitedreachofonlinefundraising,thelackof
realcreativitybycharitiesintakinguptechnology–areallspotonquestions.
However,theverynatureofthequestionmayholdtheanswer.Nonprofits
mayhavebeenslowertotakeuptechnologyforfundraisingthanonemight
expect,becausefundraisingisnotthecorepurposeoftheenterprises.
Thinkaboutthenewspaperbusiness,recordingindustry,andevenlibraries.
Therearethreesectorsonwhichdigitaltechnologyhasclearlyupendedthe
applecartforcorepractice.Allthreeofthemwereslowtoadapttodigital
technology–evenasitclearlythreatenedtheircoreservices.
However,onecanarguethatlibrarieshavedonethebestjobofthethreeof
fullyadaptingtheircoreservicestothedigitalage.Ironically,wheremany
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predictedthatsearchengineswouldmakelibrariansobsoleteithasonly
madethemmorenecessary.WherewethoughtInternetaccesswouldmake
booklendingpassélibrarieshaveinsteadbecomevitalonrampstothedigital
ageincommunitiesaroundtheworld.Librariansjumpedintotechnology,and
areoftenleadingtheway,becausethedigitalage’smostimmediateinfluence
wasnotontheirfinancingstreamsbutontheircoreservices.
Ontheotherhand,newspapersandthemusicbusinesshavebeenmuch
slower,andmanywouldargue,lesssuccessful,indealingwiththedigital
transition.Slowtoadapttechnologyatall,whentheyfinallyshiftedtoweb‐
basednewssitesandtheiTunesstoreitwasinresponsetorevenueconcerns,
nottothecoreserviceofnewsgatheringormusiccreation.Thesetwo
industriesareonlynow–morethanadecadepastfreeonlineclassifiedsand
freemusicsharing–beguntoinvestindigitaltoolsforbetternewssourcing
andwriting,betterstorytelling,betterartistexposure,creativeexpression,
andfanengagement.
Lookedatinthisway,the“slowness”ofnonprofitsandcharitiestofully
engagewithdigitaltechnologyislessdistinctive–theyareactuallyingood
companywithseveralmajorcommercialindustries.
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Wheretherealinnovationlies–wheretherealpotentialforchangecomes
from–isinlookingbeyondtherevenueandoutreachapplicationsofthese
toolsandtowardthoseenterprisesthataredefiningnewproblemsand
solutionsbecauseoftheworldviewthatdigitaltechnologyenables.The
potentialtobeunleashedcomesnotfromthemerefactthatwenowcarry
phonesinourpockets,butfromthewaysweusethosephones.Fromthetools
wedevelopbecausewecarryphonesthatwedon’ttalkon,knowwhois
callingbutnotwheretheyare,andfromourrecognitionthatthephones
themselvesserveasgeolocatingdevices.Inotherwords,thepotentialtobe
unleashedisnotfoundinthephoneitself,butinthebehaviorsitengenders.
Similarly,forthesocialsector,thepotentialtobeunleashedisnotfoundin
usingmobilephonestoraisemoneybutfromusinggeolocating
communicationservicestocoordinatedisasterrelief.It’snotthetechnology,
butwhatwedowithitthatisdisruptive.
Thankyou.
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