Technology Motivators and Usage in Nonprofit Arts Organizations

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Technology Motivators and Usage in Nonprofit Arts
Organizations

• Americans for the Arts Annual ConventionSunday,
  June 3, 2007Las Vegas, NV

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Presentation Overview

• Project description and goals
• Methodology
• Results
• Insights and recommendations
• QA

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Presentation Overview

• Project description and goals
• Methodology
• Results
• Insights and recommendations
• QA

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Project Description

• To investigate the motivations behind the
  information technology decisions within arts
  organizations.-- Why do some arts organizations
  excel at using information technologies to
  support institutional objectives? --

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Project Goals

• To provide a baseline understanding of
• environmental and institutional factors affecting
  motivation to adopt (or not to adopt) new
  technology
• technology decision-making processes in the
  nonprofit arts sector

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Definition of Technology

• Information Communication Technologies
• Computer software
• Computer hardware
• Database systems
• Email
• Internet-based tools
• Telephone systems

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Project Structure

• Systems Synthesis project at Carnegie Mellons
  Heinz School of Public Policy and Management
• 13 Masters of Arts Management graduate students
  working together on a 16 week project
• Real world research environment with a client,
  a faculty advisor and an advisory committee

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Project Timeline
2006
2007
Jul
Sep
Aug
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Final paper
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Research Partner Organizations
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Technologies in Use
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Presentation Overview

• Project description and goals
• Methodology
• Results
• Insights and recommendations
• QA

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Project Methodology
Methodologies included two types of data
sets consisting of several research techniques
Primary
Secondary

• Literature Review
• Internal Documents

• Initial Questionnaire
• Interviews
• Site Observations
• Staff Survey

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Methodology Initial Questionnaire

• Objectives
• Staff understanding of organizations usage of
  information technology
• Provide context for interviews with specific
  organizational information
• Themes Covered
• Staff Structure
• Information and Communication Technology
  Inventory
• Technology Planning protocol
• Internet usage

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Methodology Interviews

• Objectives
• Gather narratives to deepen understanding of
  technology decision-making process
• Develop comparable contrasting information
  across organizations
• Interview Structure
• Introductory Questions
• Major Technology Purchase(s)
• Organizational Culture
• Technology Support and Maintenance
• Technology Planning

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Methodology Observation

• Objectives
• Internal communication behavior
• Perceived value of technology
• Criteria Observed
• Physical Office Organization
• Office Communication Technology
• Completeness of the interviewees answer
• Non-verbal cues

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Methodology Staff Survey

• Objectives
• Identify behaviors and attitudes of staff members
  
• Identify disconnects between interviewees
  perceptions and those of other staff members
• Themes Covered
• Demographics
• Attitudes Toward Technology
• Planning, Policies, and Procedures
• Technology Support and Training
• Personal Technology usage
• Organizational culture and values

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Methodology Document Review

• Objectives
• Analyze internal documents to determine if and
  how technology decisions are planned
• Provide initial understanding of organizational
  culture and values
• Documents Reviewed (if available)
• IRS Form 990 and full budgets
• Organizational Chart
• Strategic Plan
• Marketing Plan
• Technology Plan

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Methodology Literature Review

• Objectives
• Develop comprehensive understanding of technology
  usage and adoption
• Baseline understanding of decision-making theory
• Topics Reviewed
• Technology adoption, implementation, and
  adaptation
• Usage of internet technologies
• Decision-making theory
• Acquisition trends in the nonprofit sector

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Framework Decision-Making Model
2 Issue

• Crisis
• Problem
• Opportunity

• Project
• Strategy
• Plan

• Pre-Process
• Mid-Process
• Post-Process

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Framework Decision-Making Model

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Framework Decision-Making Model
External Motivators
Internal Motivators

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Decision-Making Model External Motivators

• Financial Mandates
• Social Mandates
• Facility Mandates

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External MotivatorsFinancial Mandates

• Funding climate
• Restricted donations
• Economic environment

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External MotivatorsSocial Mandates

• National
• Nonprofit Technology Trends
• Legal Regulations

• Local
• Influence of peer organizations
• Perceived audience needs

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External MotivatorsFacility Mandates

• Administrative space limitations
• Hardware/network infrastructure capacity
• This building for the most part is a Microsoft
  Exchange environment. Its been a challenge,
  frankly because whats happening is that
  Entourage is not designed to work with
  Exchange. So the vice president and his
  assistant cant share calendars, they cant share
  contacts. Its been quite a challenge- that was
  one of those little learning experiences- it was
  a good experience, it was a good thing to know,
  but it has caused some difficulties.
• - August Wilson Center

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Decision-Making Model Internal Motivators

• Awareness and Knowledge
• Resource and Time Constraints
• Institutional Culture, Priorities and Values
• Balancing Art and Administration
• Attitudes about Technology
• Sentiments and Satisfaction

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Internal Motivators Awareness and Knowledge

• Awareness
• a set of known options

• Knowledge in-depth familiarity with specific
  options

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Internal Motivators Resource and Time
Constraints

• Shoestring budgets
• Staffing limitations
• "I am not even clear whether the volume of use
  that the printer gets is financially
  beneficial for us or whether it is costing us
  money. What I do know is that the opportunities
  that it has opened up are significant. I don't
  know that we can afford to subsidize those
  opportunities for everybody How are we going to
  support this place? How do we get paid?
• -Artists Image Resource

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Internal MotivatorsInstitutional Culture,
Priorities, and Values

• Spending
• Staff hierarchy
• Planning processes
• Self-defined identity

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Internal MotivatorsBalancing Art and
Administration

• Investment in artistic product and administrative
  technologies
• We produce new plays and we want to extract as
  much quality out of the resources that are
  available to us and there is an inherent tension
  in that. We are really pushing to maximize the
  resources that we have.
• - City Theatre

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Internal Motivators Attitudes about Technology

• Difficult to alter
• Previous experience or understanding
• Highly dependent on education and self-efficacy

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Internal MotivatorsSentiments and Satisfaction

• Informal reflections
• Formal evaluations

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Presentation Overview

• Project description and goals
• Methodology
• Results
• Insights and recommendations
• QA

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Key insights and recommendations
Information
Communication
Structure
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Information Awareness and Evaluation

• Awareness
• Imitative Decision Making
• Influenced by choices of peer organizations
• Data-driven Decision Making
• Influenced by research, planning, and data
  analysis
• Evaluation
• Reflection and analysis on the success (or
  failure) of each part of the decision-making
  process
• Results will influence subsequent decisions

Recommendation Gather information to expand
available options and increase success
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Communication Leadership and Satisfaction

• When leadership communicates technology
  objectives, staff feel more capable to take on
  new technology challenges
• When staff are satisfied with technical support,
  they are less likely to see knowledge as a
  barrier to technology adoption

Recommendation Increase two-way communication
between management and employees to increase
satisfaction and empower staff.
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Structure Empowerment and Formalized Roles
Recommendation Formalizing technology roles can
help to empower staff and positively influence
attitudes about technology
DiMaggio, Paul, Eszter Hargittai. From the
Digital Divide to Digital Inequality
Studying Internet Use as Penetration Increases.
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Key insights and recommendations
Increase Information
Facilitate Communication
Formalize Structure
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Avenues for Future Research

• Test findings with larger sample
• Compare technology adoption trends in the arts to
  other nonprofit sectors
• Quantify efficacy of technology usage and
  training
• Explore the role demographics play in technology
  adoption
• Investigate the relationship between arts
  nonprofits and consultants

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Q A
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Additional Resources

• http//camt.artsnet.org/techmotivators.aspx
• Notes
• No WWW
• All lower case
• Include .aspx in URL