"Utilizing Technology for Volunteer - Involving Organizations", paper by Mark Gannon - March 2001

Introduction

"Although they may seem mysterious, computers are only machines for recording, organising, processing and retrieving data" (Ellis and Noyes 1990, p51). Quotes like this from just over a decade ago neatly illustrate the immense change in terms of our attitude to ICT and its potential uses. As early as 1992, the potential of ICT for the voluntary sector was being recognised (Community Development Foundation 1992). Now, few volunteer managers would be without ICT in some area of their work. The technological revolution that is currently sweeping the world is affecting every area of life although it does have specific implications for volunteering. "Competition for funding and volunteers is becoming more acute as new organisations enter the marketplace and as changes occur in the nature of funding available and patterns of volunteering" (Burt and Taylor 2000, p131). This paper aims to examine the various ways that information and communication technology (ICT) can assist volunteer-involving organisations to meet these changing demands and enable them to increase the number and diversity of the volunteers they involve, improve the effectiveness, efficiency (and possibly quality) of their volunteer management and at the same time make it easier for volunteers wishing to offer their time to do so.

The following discussion does come with a caveat. ICT can be used in many beneficial ways, however, it can also be socially exclusive in nature as the ongoing debate about the 'digital divide' illustrates. This means that some organisations and individuals are left in inequitable positions in terms of their ability to access and utilise the available technology and subsequently the many benefits that utilising can accrue. Some research and discussion suggests that this divide is wider than ever and likely to increase. In the UK, however, any digital divide may be offset in the future by initiatives to develop a more inclusive information society, such as the funding by the New Opportunities Fund to assist local communities to gain access to information and community resources through ICT. See Appendix 1 for links to resources on the 'digital divide'.

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