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| I'm interested in using technology, and in particular the
Internet, to build healthier communities. The Internet creates opportunities for
communities at the same time as it creates serious barriers.
Communication technology, and particularly the Internet, is changing the way that people across the world are getting and sharing information. It's affecting politics, advocacy, education, jobs, organizational structures and the day-to-day lives of workers and consumers. Right now, you may be more aware of the negatives - the rising gap in power and influence between those who are computer-literate and those who aren't; the costs of training and upgrading software that seems to waste more time than it saves; the constant computer breakdowns every time you get dependent on them, and so on. All true, and it won't get better any time soon. However... Communities can use technology to improve services, work more effectively with colleagues, empower communities and increase accessibility to wider social resources. The World Wide Web is creating a 'universal gateway' that requires people to learn only one program - a free browser - to have instant access to an overwhelming amount of global information, to collaborate with colleagues, to manage Board meetings, to order pizza, or to monitor their children in daycare. I consult with nonprofits to use the structure of the Internet and the Web, particularly free and subsidized services, to support the efforts of nonprofit agencies and community groups, including people with disabilities. For more information, see the Services page at Good Enough Information Systems. I also work with human service funders to design information systems that will enable them to make good funding decisions, and to build the capacity of the voluntary sector. Funders need to be aware that information costs time and money to collect and to analyze, and that they should always be striving to get 'good enough' information that leads to continuous improvement in their decisions. For more details on this approach, see my article on Outcomes.
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