The Digital Nonprofit Skills Assessment
NetHope (2018), 25 pp.
"This Digital Nonprofit Skills (“DNS”) Assessment is the second white paper in a series of benchmarks established by NetHope’s Center for the Digital Nonprofit that provide insight into the opportunities and challenges for transforming the nonprofit sector. The first white paper, the Digital Nonprofit Ability (“DNA”) Assessment, measured the general readiness of NGOs for digital transformation by surveying respondent organizations’ progress along two axes: their connectedness with beneficiary interests, and the automation of their operations. Respondents, as a whole, achieved DNA scores that clustered just below the digital threshold, indicating they were Tech-Enabled nonprofits and approaching the point at which they were ready to become Digital nonprofits. The DNA study noted that digital transformation requires investment in three areas: people, process, and technology; and that the journey toward digital transformation starts with people changing the way they work made possible by technology. The DNA identified that the people and process categories were, on average, hindering NGO digital transformation.
This second self-assessment takes the next step for participating NGOs by measuring certain details about the skills of people for future transformation efforts, focusing on six digitally-oriented aspects of how we work. To provide a broad assessment of skills, both across the sector and within organizations, the survey was taken by over 300 people from 49 nonprofits (37 of which are NetHope members) representing $20.6 billion of annual aid, covering seven job functions and six categories of humanitarian organizations, and representing every geographical region of the world except Australia. Respondents answered 18 questions in six categories which represent the structure of NetHope’s Digital Skills Framework that is based upon research into technology trends, existing frameworks, and digital skills needed for success. Respondents answered each question twice: once on behalf of their organization according to their beliefs about the organization as a whole (the organization score), and a second time answering strictly on their own behalf as they would rate themselves (the individual score).
This second self-assessment takes the next step for participating NGOs by measuring certain details about the skills of people for future transformation efforts, focusing on six digitally-oriented aspects of how we work. To provide a broad assessment of skills, both across the sector and within organizations, the survey was taken by over 300 people from 49 nonprofits (37 of which are NetHope members) representing $20.6 billion of annual aid, covering seven job functions and six categories of humanitarian organizations, and representing every geographical region of the world except Australia. Respondents answered 18 questions in six categories which represent the structure of NetHope’s Digital Skills Framework that is based upon research into technology trends, existing frameworks, and digital skills needed for success. Respondents answered each question twice: once on behalf of their organization according to their beliefs about the organization as a whole (the organization score), and a second time answering strictly on their own behalf as they would rate themselves (the individual score).
