TY - JOUR T1 - From Stories to Evidence: How Mining Data Can Promote Innovation in the Nonprofit Sector JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2012 A1 - Michael Lenczner A1 - Susan Phillips KW - Ajah KW - charities KW - community sector KW - data mining KW - funding database KW - nonprofit KW - social innovation AB - Being a director at a nonprofit organization often means making guesses instead of properly informed decisions. One source of the “information fog” is fragmented funding. Nonprofit organizations have multiple types of funders, most of whom are not their direct beneficiaries. Predicting funder behaviour is therefore more of an art than a science. Planning for the future, setting goals, and making decisions all suffer in the nonprofit sector because of a lack of timely and accurate information. This article examines the opportunities to use newly available digitized information to address this information deficit. It shows how the rich, variegated and fast-changing landscape of information available online can be collected, combined, and repurposed in order to deliver it in actionable forms to decision makers across the nonprofit sector. This information can significantly improve planning decisions and enhance the effectiveness of the sector. The article concludes that a cultural shift is required in order for the nonprofit sector to exploit the opportunities presented by digital information. Nonprofits and funders are enjoined to increase their numeracy and to find creative ways to use data as part of their evaluation, planning and decision making. Researchers need to be adventurous in their use of quantitative information and specifically should employ linked datasets in order to explore previously unanswerable research and policy questions. The producers of data need to collect and publish their information in ways that facilitate reuse. Finally, funders need to support a variety of projects that seek to exploit these new opportunities. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 2 UR - http://timreview.ca/article/575 IS - 7 U1 - Ajah Michael Lenczner is a Montreal-based entrepreneur who works in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. He has worked on community technologies since 2000, community data since 2003, and on open government data since 2005. He co-founded Ile Sans Fil, CivicAccess.ca, Montréal Ouvert, serves on the board of several nonprofits, and is a frequent partner in academic-community collaborations. He is the CEO and founder of Ajah, a company that builds online tools for the Canadian nonprofit sector. U2 - Carleton University Susan Phillips is Professor and Director of the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, where she has led the creation of Canada’s first Masters in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership. Internationally recognized for her research in this field, Susan is currently co-editing the Routledge Companion to Philanthropy, the first international handbook in philanthropy, and she is beginning a major SSHRC-funded comparative study of community foundations. She is a frequent advisor to nonprofits, foundations, and governments. ER -