Impact of It on Ngos July 2007 Steven Ambrose

8/8/2019 Impact of It on Ngos July 2007 Steven Ambrose

1/7

South Africa NGOICT Impact Study 2007

Steven Ambrose CA (SA)World Wide Worx (Pty)

Ltd

IntroductionThe purpose of the survey was to establish:

How effectively South African NGOs are using information technology

The ICT resources that NGOs currently have

How they make use of these resources, expectations of and use of these

resources.

What innovative uses NGOs are putting ICTs, and ICTs role in development

initiatives

Is the use of ICT making a difference in their ability to serve their constituencies

Whether they are adequately served by the ICT industry.

The results will be used to explore means of improving NGOs access to ICT, and

their ability to benefit from such access. The study will also be useful in

highlighting the needs of this sector, and how the industry can respond in order to

meet the specific needs of the NGO sector.

Research Methodology

World Wide Worx conducted interviews with 300 NGO IT and financial

decision-makers.

These were selected from a broad spectrum of NGOs across South Africa.

The initial sample was 200 respondents, which was subsequently

increased to 300 respondents to ensure statistical validity.

For most questions, the resultant variance in results was no more than

2% between the 200 sample and the 300 sample, indicating that the

findings are robust and statistically valid.

Research Geography

Location Respondents %

Gauteng - Jhb 54 18

Gauteng - PTA 13 4

Gauteng - other 41 14

W Cape - CT 79 26

W Cape - rural 19 6.33

KZN - Durban 9 3

KZN - PMB 4 1

KZN - rural 35 12

E Cape - urban 8 2

E Cape - rural 17 6

Free State 5 2

Limpopo 3 1

Mpumalanga 6 2

North West 7 2

Total 300 100


2/7

Research Programme Areas

Core Programme Areas Respondents

Adult Basic Education 41

Advocacy 36

Capacity Building 41

Community Development 54

Disability 22

Democracy and Public Participation 15

Early Childhood Development 40

Environment 18

Gender 24

HIV/AIDS 59Human Rights 46

Rural Development 27

Sustainable Development 21

Other 44

Research Size and Scale of

respondents59% consists of single-branch NGOs

11% of two branches

7% between 6 and 10 branches

10% more than 10 branches

More than 60% of the respondents were either

CEOs, Managers, Finance Managers or ITadministrators.

Research Size and Scale ofrespondents

27% of responding NGOs had 5 or less

full-time employees

19% had 6-10 employees



13% had more than 50 employees

Findings - Almost All NGOs relyon IT

NGOs are mainstream Computer users

1% of respondents did not have any PCs

6% had only one PCs

33% of respondents had more than 10 PCs

73% of respondents used laptop computers

34% had only one and 23% had two laptops.

Only 19% did not have servers.


3/7

Findings - Almost All NGOs rely

on IT

Operating systems: NGOs are mainstream users

95% of respondents use Microsoft Windows

69% use Windows XP and 26% other versions

80% use a network operating system

75% use a version of Windows for the network

Only 4% use open source network operating system.

1% of respondents use other proprietary software

Findings - Almost All NGOs rely on IT

Even the network infrastructure is mainstream

70% use cable for networking

9% use wireless

21% use both

Which means 30% use wireless networking

Findings - Almost All NGOs relyon IT

Office Software Suites also Mainstream

94 % use Microsoft Office Suites

6 % use other Suites

mainly Open Office and Star Office

ICT Technologies-what NGOs Use

100% use Fixed line telephone

100% use Fax

99% use E-mail

78% make use of a PABX

65% use Mobile telephones

18% use VoIP (Voice over Internet, e.g. Skype)

12% use Instant messaging (Windows Messenger)

3% use Paging


4/7

ICT Technologies-what NGOs Use ICT Adoption- How NGOs rate

ICT Adoption- NGOs ratethemselves

ICT Adoption- Accounting Software

86% use some form of accounting software

The software in use:

Pastel 76%

AccPac 7%

QuickBooks 6%

Excel 2%

Other 7%


5/7

ICT Adoption- CRM Software

Only 23% use some form of CRM software or SystemOf these the following are the main systems:-

MS Access 40%

MS Excel 26%

MS Outlook/Outlook Express 13%

Other 6%

Microsoft CRM 4%

Goldmine 4%

Custom 4%

How is the IT support function

handled ?Right! said Fred

32% An ad hoc staff member who knows computers

29% The financial department or manager

27% A dedicated IT function

3% The maintenance department or manager

6% Other Fred ?

How is the IT support functionhandled ?

NGOs Custom Software andSatisfaction

49 % of NGOs use some form of Custom software

16% develop their own

33% commission software development


6/7

NGOs Custom Software and

SatisfactionInternet Connectivity

Satisfaction Measures Trusted source of advice for IT

31% Local systems integrator/support provider

21% Local software/hardware supplier

17% Consultant

8% Friend

7% Other non-profit colleagues

7% Other

3% The Internet in general


7/7

Strategic IssuesDifferentiation and Opportunities

38% NGO staff telecommute, Work outside the office

48% Have no Technology plan in place

3% Use Fundraising software, most stated Sangonet was this

software

Impact of ICT on NGOs abilities to deliver core activities:

Advance training and educational initiatives 59%

Advance developmental initiatives 58%

Advance human rights 54%

Advance capacity-building initiatives 50%

Thank You

Steven Ambrose CA (SA)

World Wide Worx (Pty) Ltd

011 782 7003

[email protected]

Graphics Courtesy of Putumayo World Music

www.putumayo.com

Documents

Impact of It on Ngos July 2007 Steven Ambrose