TakingITGlobal

Activating Online Communities to Maximize Impact

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ActivatingOnlineCommunitiestoMaximizeImpact 3 ExecutiveSummary Formorethanadecade,TakingITGlobalhasbeen workingtosupporttheuseoftechnologyto drivecivicengagement,andhashelpedtoraisetheprofileofmorethan25,000non profitsacrossthe globetomorethan40millionusersofthetigweb.orgonlinecommu nity .In2012,TakingITGlobaland theGlob alYouthActionNetworklaunched YouthMovements ,aninitiativeaimedatincreasing collaborationandknowledgesharingamongstyouth ledandyouth servingorganizations ,through sharinggoodpractice ,modelsofchange,andcollectivelyshowcasingyouthpr ogrammingat youthmovements.org . M orethan25organizationshavebecome YouthMovements Net workPartners . AsanextensionofYouthMovements,TakingITGlobalcollaboratedwithEngineersWithout Borderstoconve nethe ActivatingOnlineCommunitiestoMaximizeImpact gatheringinJanuary2014. Thisevent brought together 12 organizati onsintheGreaterTorontoArea,aimingtounderstandhow they(1) Connect (2) Consult ,and(3) Collaborate withoneanother,withfunders,andwiththe more than30,000youngpeopleand communitiestheyserve . Thetopicunderwritingthedialoguewas technology,withafocusonidentifyingcommonopportunitiesforknowledgesharingandmobilization, from'bette rpractices'totoolsandtechniquesaroundplatforms,mobiletechnologyandcommunity engagement. Theeventwasorganizedaroundthreeprocesses:anEngagementPathwaysActivity,to understandeachorganization'smethodology,asurveytocollectinsights ondigitalengagementtodate, andOpenSpaceTechnology,all owing groupstoformamongsttheparticipantstomoredeeplyexplore ideas basedontheirinterests . FollowingtheToronto basedevent,TakingITGlobaldistributedthesurveytoitsglobalnetwo rk oforganizations, receivingmorethan200responsesfromavarietyoforganizationsacrossmorethan20 countries.Overall,therewasastrongagreementthatitwasimportanttocollaboratewithinthesector, andmostgroupswerenotconfidentintheir capacitytousetechnologyplatformstoaddresstheir stakeholders'needs,especiallyamobilestrategy,whichwasagreedtobecrucialtofuturesuccess. ToplineInsights 1. ' NoYouGoFirst … ': Organizationsare willingtoexchangetheirowntoolkitfortec hnologyin exchangeforinsightintothetools beingused effectively byotherswithinthesector 2. ConversationtoAction : Even whenthe techtoolsareknown, thereisconsiderableinterestin knowledgesharingtohighlig hteffectivetacticsthatwork tosupport theinvolvementofyouth frompassiveformsofparticipationtoactiverolesofco creationandleadership 3. ' Thegroundisshifting ': Technologyplatformsareviewedasafoundationalpartofservice deliveryandwillincreasinglyinformandc onstrainprogramefficacyacrossthesector,creatinga needforinformationaroundlow cost,flexibleand'tested'solutions 4. Volunteering3.0 : Sustainabilityinthemajorityofcaseswasdriven inpart by volunteerism,with recruitment andretentionstrat egiesbeinginfluencedbybothonlineandofflineexperiences 5. TopFeaturesforatechnologyplatform: Dynamic,Beautifuland Measurable a. ' Adaptablemainpagetof eaturehighlights, actio nsummariesandstoriesofvolunteers ' b. ' Monitoring,evaluationandle arningtooltocollectoutcomeindicators ' c. ' Embeddingof multimediacontentsuchas YouTube,VimeoorFlickrimages ' Thegeneralperspectiveontechnologyisthatitcreateschannelsthroughwhichnewand engagingopportunities forlearning,contributingandworking canbeco created,promotedand explored byyoung people . Thisrepo rtbeginsanexplorationofthe trendsand insightssurfacedbyour outreachtodate,whichwehopetostrengthenanddevelopprogrammingtorespondt ointhefuture.

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