Aggregated Nonprofit Software Knowledge Mashup

Challenges Entered:

The mashup will segment aggregated knowledge into â€œchannelsâ€ focused on specific software areas such as Managing Websites, Reaching Constituents via Email, eAdvocacy on a Shoestring, Managing Client Data, and more.Each channel will provide software comparisons and reviews, case studies, best practices, conversations, software tool listings, self-assessments, and consultants, as well as info on how to use specific tools. The platform will help visitors choose the most useful resources for them, and then route them to the site that can provide those resources.Each channel will include aggregated feeds and content, which is then moderated by team members or community editors to bring the best resources to the front, and ensure visitors can easily navigate through the information. Visitors will also be able to browse by tag, by source, and user-supplied rankings. A central goal of the mashup will be to help users discover the individuals, companies, online communities, and local groups that are most able to answer their questions.Mashup users will also be able to contribute their own knowledge and opinions to the aggregated resources, and rank individual items as a way of recommending the most valuable ones to others. The mashup will ideally act as a catalyst to encourage further knowledge sharing.The nonprofit software knowledge mashup will offer context and and assurance to users that they've fully explored their software options.

What else have you done in this area of work?

Aspiration publishes Social Source Commons to inventory the universe of nonprofit software, and let nonprofit users learn who's using what tools. Aspiration's eAdvocacy Training Library is a valuable resource to those seeking to understand best practices for online engagement and campaigning.

Idealware has published a rich array of software reviews and tool guides, from detailed comparisons to high level case studies and best practices. They also currently monitor a wide array of websites, blogs, and discussion lists related to nonprofit software, and provide editorial summaries on their blog.

Leland Design has provided web and database solutions to nonprofits for over 10 years. Founder Eric Leland contributed extensively to TechSoup publications and has helped create resources such as Consultant Commons.

TechSoup is a trusted name in nonprofit software, and has a long history publishing strategic content to support nonprofit tech efforts.

Project Details

Project url:

http://www.aspirationtech.org/answr

Project video:

Supporting organization:

Aspiration

Project Assessment

Financial support:

Project has financial support

Project goals:

Nonprofit organizations and social change activists will spend less time struggling and searching for software solutions, and more time applying appropriate tools to magnify their mission and impact.A digital divide exists for nonprofit organizations wanting to effectively use software to support their programs and operations. Plenty of excellent information exists, but itâ€™s distributed on a range of web sites, mailing lists, and online groups that make answers, especially comprehensive ones, hard to find. Even when organizations know the URLs, they have to check a number of sources and also browse voluminous Google listings to research a specific software need or a technology area. And those not familiar with the organizations that provide this type of information find themselves lost in a sea of information about software, without any way to find the best starting places or to separate credible from not-so-credible sources. There needs to be a better model for empowering nonprofits to effectively find and use software rather than search for answers.The Nonprofit Software Knowledge Mashup will provide a well-maintained central source of the available nonprofit software knowledge resources, pulled together through a combination of smart aggregation and knowledgeable moderation. It will link to content from websites and blogs, as well as relevant conversations from a range of mailing lists and discussion forums. The mashup will serve as scaffolding to tie together the amazing but disparate resources located at various points across the net.The platform will provide more than aggregated information, however. It will allow individuals and organizations to create their own â€œchannelsâ€ which map the best resources in a particular area. A nonprofit organization focused on GIS tools might use the platform to link to the best available articles, case studies, best practices, software tools, and consultants that will help a nonprofit get started in the area.The ability to easily find the answers to software questions will help close the organizational digital divide experienced by so many nonprofit organizations, and will bolster the ability of small and medium sized organizations to use software effectively while focusing more time on mission and impact.

Identified Obstacles:

Rich feeds and APIs are enabling better aggregation and integration of knowledge content spread across the internet. But there are no standards among nonprofit software knowledge sources for tagging and adding metadata to support â€œsmartâ€ content aggregation and re-use. We need help figuring out: How to manage and aggregate the universe of available contentHow to deal with â€œflatâ€ content which lacks any metadata or feedsWhat markup or metadata standards to propose to content publishersWhich tools to use in aggregating, filtering and moderating the vast array of feeds already in playWhich existing code and widgets are available to prototype our mashupHow to publish our API's so that our mashup content is reusable and republishable by othersHow to integrate collaborative tools into the mashup to support user-supplied contentHow the aggregation strategy works at scale