Taran and all --
Reading your IT Garage blog entry inspired me in a mad dash last night to pull together a much larger list of resources on NGOs and nonprofits and open source: http://techstrategy.typepad.com/emerging/2005/03/nonprofit_use_o.html and http://www.aspirationtech.org/node/40.
I was involved in the NOSI Primer as an editor and one of my board members, Michelle Murrain, was the principle author. Since the publication of this resource, there have been a plethora of articles and guides on NGOs and free and open source software. Most of them are somewhat general guides -- good and necessary for now. There are also a growing number of networks and community-building events - from Penguin Days to Source Camps -- that build capacity, relationships, and peer-support communites.
What is missing right now in this growing ecology of community and resources are resources on two critical issues that pose fundamental barriers to open source adoption within non-profits. First, there is a dearth of relevant and appropriate documentation for a non-profit/NGO audience on specific application areas (server guides for nonprofits, security guides, choosing an open source content management system, etc.).
Second, much of open source software is notoriously unusable and un-userfriendly, making adoption within NGO organizations that are (if I may generalize) often less technical with less of a technology support infrastructure, much harder. We hosted recently a first-ever free and open source usability sprint (www.flossusability.org) where we brought usability experts, nonprofit open source developers, and nonprofit users together to work intensively on six free software applications. It was an eye-opening event (that is the first in what surely will be a series) that pointed out the huge gap that exists in this realm.
If we are serious about the potential that open source software holds in its many incarnations for civil society organizations, we need to jumpstart not only the growing number of general resources out there, but address the specific gaps and needs that would realize the potential of f/oss for non-profits. It's an inspiring and exciting time to be in -- but we have our work cut out for us all.
Best,
Katrin
Katrin Verclas Aspiration: Better Tools for a Better World www.aspirationtech.org
At 07:39 PM 3/14/2005, you wrote:
On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 17:10:19 -0600, Taran Rampersad <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I just wrote this article at the IT Garage, and thought a few people might be interested.
>
> http://garage.docsearls.com/node/553
>
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