What is it?
We conducted a 9 month pilot project from December 2009 to June 2010 with 5 participating NGOs, with support from the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation. Click here to read the final report. Additionally, watch the video to the right. The first video is brief summary of the report. The second slideshow is an overview  of our initial thinking, reflecting that the software world has changed considerably in the last 30 years, and so too can the way we share information within an organization and amongst like-minded organizations.

What are we trying to accomplish?
The goal of the pilot was to better understand like-minded organizations’ willingness to share information within a common platform and/or adopt low-cost collaboration technology. We collectively concluded that a lack of access to a credible body of knowledge related to the trends of cloud computing, social media and mobile devices made it difficult for all of us to make informed decisions. We learned that while technology can be a great enabler for any charity to realize improved impact, effective technology deployment is actually about properly laying out the foundation for change management.  

Where are we headed?
We have some ideas about where Platformation is headed next. We will be engaging organizations such as SiG @ Mars, CanadaHelps, HR Council for the Voluntary Sector, TechSoup Canada and other people with expertise in the software & technology space. Our goals would be to:

• Bench test of new office productivity tools
  
• Co-create an online community of practice
• Address the Information Communication and Technology (ICT) skill gap in Canadian charities

Created September 2010. Narrated by Anil Patel

Created December 2009.