PRESS RELEASE
NetHope Communications Team
October 22, 2019 – SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO Today, Lauren Woodman, CEO of NetHope, announced NetHopes Center for the Digital Nonprofit, in collaboration with Humentum, Pluralsight One, Microsoft and TechSoup, is releasing new Technical Literacy learning tracks. This represents the first of six offerings that will boost the digital skills of employees from NetHopes 56 global nonprofit members and all nonprofit organizations. The announcement was made at the NetHope Global Summit 2019 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
This joint effort fits within the larger goal of The NetHope Center for the Digital Nonprofit, which is aimed at helping nonprofits navigate digital transformation to reimagine how they deliver aid. The premise of The NetHope Center for the Digital Nonprofit is that, digitally savvy nonprofits start with people changing the way they work through redesigned processes made possible by technology.
The Technical Literacy category is one of six identified in the Digital Skills Framework. It offers three options for nonprofit learners:
"We started with Technical Literacy because it is the foundation for all six skills categories," explains Fredrik Winsnes, director of NetHope's Center for the Digital Nonprofit. "It acknowledges that every individual within a nonprofit requires a baseline level of digital skills to stay relevant, become more productive, and have a greater impact."
Access to all learning categories, including Technical Literacy and five additional categories that are in development, is provided through the DSFW Library, a publicly available resource for skills development for nonprofits. It organizes and guides online learners, providing them with what they need to know, learn, and do.
For nonprofits, the digital transformation journey starts with taking the Digital Nonprofit Abilities (DNA) Assessment, essentially the GPS of nonprofit digital transformation. This measures organizational maturity along six key dimensions: Readiness, People, Process, Technology, Data, and Investment. Since People are such a critical component of this equation, a Digital Skills Framework (DSFW) and corresponding Digital Nonprofit Skills (DNS) Assessment were developed, which map to six essential digital skills categories: Technical Literacy, Highly-Adaptive Collaboration, Digital Responsibility, Complex Problem-Solving, Entrepreneurial Spirit, and Creativity and Innovation.
"We can't do this alone, says Lauren Woodman," CEO of NetHope. "We hope these resources help nonprofits around the world to use technology to accelerate their impact and advance their missions. We value this opportunity to work together to identify, curate, and widely share a set of courses focused on the digital skills most needed by employees in the nonprofit sector."
"It is increasingly challenging for nonprofits to find digitally skilled employees, especially in underserved areas," explains Chris Proulx, Interim CEO and Global Director, Membership Engagement & Learning at Humentum. "This puts them in the difficult position of training employees in digital skills, or assuming a burdensome support role for those with low digital skills. New skills and competencies around digital literacy and ways of working in the digital age are critical for all staff. We see it as a critical component of the operational excellence agenda for our sector and are thrilled to be partnering with NetHope to scale up access to the training everyone will need."
"Technology is impacting every industry, including the social sector. We must ensure that all nonprofits have access to the technology skills they need to transform their organizations, accelerate their impact and prepare the communities they support with the skills they need for the future of work," said Lindsey Kneuven, Chief Impact Officer of Pluralsight and Executive Director of Pluralsight One. "We are thrilled to partner with NetHope on this critical effort in support of the Digital Skills Framework. We are committed to supporting NetHope and the entire social sector in their digital transformation journey."
"The TechSoup Courses content is built by professional educators specifically for nonprofit employees by contextualizing the learning examples and scenarios to nonprofit needs and uses," said TechSoup Chief Community Impact Officer Marnie Webb. "We recently launched the Microsoft Digital Skills Center for Nonprofits in partnership with Microsoft to further support nonprofit digital transformation. We're very excited to be contributing to this rich collection of content in support of NetHope's DSFW mission to empower nonprofit digital transformation worldwide."
Digital Skills Framework Technical Literacy Learning Tracks Partners
The Digital Skills Technical Literacy learning tracks are made possible by Humentum, Microsoft, Pluralsight One, Microsoft and TechSoup.
Founding Partners of The Center for the Digital Nonprofit
The work of The Center for the Digital Nonprofit is made possible by the investment of these six committed partners: Avanade | Blackbaud | Box.org | Microsoft | Okta | Oracle NetSuite Social Impact.
About NetHope and The NetHope Center for the Digital Nonprofit
NetHope empowers committed organizations to change the world through the power of technology. NetHope is a consortium of nearly 60 leading global nonprofits that collectively deliver over 60 percent of all annual, international, non-governmental aid. It unites with technology companies and funding partners to design, fund, implement, adapt, and scale innovative approaches to solve development, humanitarian, and conservation challenges. Together, the NetHope community strives to transform the world, building a platform of hope for those who receive aid and those who deliver it.
In fall 2017, NetHope launched The NetHope Center for the Digital Nonprofit (NetHope's CDN), which brings together the expertise of the technology sector with the on-the-ground experience of global nonprofits to create a network for committed, forward-looking organizations to improve the world we share. NetHope's CDN has three areas of focus: People, Process, and Technology. By providing the guidance, resources and tools, and grantmaking needed for digital transformation, NetHope's CDN helps nonprofits achieve the promise of tomorrow, today.
