%0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2012 %T Editorial: Social Innovation (July 2012) %A Chris McPhee %A Stephen Huddart %K charities %K community sector %K nonprofit %K social entrepreneurship %K social innovation %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 2 %P 3-4 %8 07/2012 %U http://timreview.ca/article/573 %N 7 %1 Technology Innovation Management Review Chris McPhee is Editor-in-Chief of the Technology Innovation Management Review. Chris holds an MASc degree in Technology Innovation Management from Carleton University in Ottawa and BScH and MSc degrees in Biology from Queen's University in Kingston. He has over 15 years of management, design, and content-development experience in Canada and Scotland, primarily in the science, health, and education sectors. As an advisor and editor, he helps entrepreneurs, executives, and researchers develop and express their ideas. %2 The J. W. McConnell Family Foundation Stephen Huddart is the President and CEO of The J. W. McConnell Family Foundation in Montreal, where he has worked for the past nine years. The Foundation's mission is to engage Canadians in building a society that is inclusive, sustainable and resilient. Stephen's past endeavours include documentary filmmaking in Latin America, owning and operating a jazz cafe in Vancouver, and working as a humane educator with the British Columbia SPCA. He serves on the boards of ArtsSmarts, Philanthropic Foundations Canada, and the McGill Faculty of Religious Studies. He has a Masters Degree in Management from McGill University. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/573 %0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2012 %T From Stories to Evidence: How Mining Data Can Promote Innovation in the Nonprofit Sector %A Michael Lenczner %A Susan Phillips %K Ajah %K charities %K community sector %K data mining %K funding database %K nonprofit %K social innovation %X 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. %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 2 %P 10-15 %8 07/2012 %U http://timreview.ca/article/575 %N 7 %1 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. %2 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. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/575