Nonprofit leaders who have led advanced tech-for-good projects share their advice for organizations that want to start similar efforts.
Before embarking on an ambitious project, make sure the idea hasn’t been tried before. “I keep seeing the same things invented over and over again,” says Jim Fruchterman, chief executive of Benetech, a nonprofit technology group.
Look for potential downsides
Technology can lead to unintended consequences, says Nathaniel Raymond, director of the Signal Program on Human Security and Technology. One example he points to: Nonprofits can use satellite imagery to monitor conflict zones, but releasing the pictures could help war leaders figure out how to target civilians.
Pick the right tools for the setting
A lot of well-meaning people want to donate inappropriate technology, says Thomas Snitch, a visiting professor at the University of Maryland who runs a program that uses drones and big data to help national parks in South Africa fight poaching. Mr. Snitch says the project was once offered an expensive, highly sophisticated drone that required compressed nitrogen. “Where in the world am I going to get compressed nitrogen in the African bush?” he says.
The key to choosing the right technology is to weigh both cost and performance and know what’s most important for your project, says Jon Hoekstra, chief scientist at the World Wildlife Fund: “Where is that sweet spot between affordable and sufficiently capable?”
Consider unexpected partnerships
Sometimes new tech projects require skills your organization—and your regular collaborators—may not have, says Mr. Hoekstra. When the World Wildlife Fund created a program that uses technology to fight poaching in Namibia, the nonprofit turned to an expert from the military intelligence field to analyze where national parks were most vulnerable to poachers’ trespassing.
Involve potential users early
Failing to get feedback from the people who are going to use the technology can slow down, or even scuttle, its adoption, says Amie Batson, chief strategy officer at PATH, an international health group. “If you just do your innovation and then say, ‘OK, it’s all done,’ ” she says, “you may have made a number of decisions along the way that weren’t the best ones for getting to scale.”
There are a lot of savvy people who want to be part of something meaningful, says Jon Schull, founder of e-NABLE, a network of volunteers who use 3-D printers to make low-cost prosthetics. Mr. Schull says, “You can find thousands of high-tech, high-touch, good-hearted people who will make considerable donations of their time and do things that you cannot get at any price.” —Nicole Wallace
