Online Technology for Social Change: Front Struggle to Strategy

In late 2005, the dotOrganize team1 embarked on an unprecedented effort to map the current state of online technology in the social change sector. Over nine months, dotOrganize gathered input from more than 400 social change groups, technology providers, and nonprofit technology capacity builders. dotOrganize designed its surveys and interviews to identify what organizers need to support their work, what tools are currently available, what does and does not work, and what’s needed to strengthen the long-term capacity of the sector.

The goal of this report is to provide a detailed view of the sector’s present situation, to give voice to the organizers who are struggling with these issues, and to offer recommendations for filling current gaps in strategy, software development, and tool adoption paths.

The dotOrganize project targets the technology needs of social change organizers working in grassroots groups, larger nonprofits, or as individual change agents. dotOrganize aims to assist these organizers in identifying and utilizing online tools as vehicles for their vision. The project also endeavors to support technology vendors, technology consultants, and funders in their efforts to serve organizers.