Transparency Isn’t Just for the Government

It’s also for non-profits. This was the hottest topic during our first #read4change gathering–fueled by the recent revelations of Kiva and its transparency question. (Background: a NY Times article broke sharing that Kiva, a micro-lending Web site that markets “person-to-person” lending–actually works with third parties to help get loans in the hands of people who need them.) What I find most interesting–is that while this revelation has created an emotional response, most people still choose to support the cause.

An additional effect is that it has sparked a conversation around the concept of transparency in the non-profit sector. Even before the Kiva story broke, Beth Kanter got some of us thinking about transparency when it comes to a non-profit’s Web metrics. In the comments, Holly Ross added that transparency is currently on the minds of her and the folks at NTEN. And where else have we heard about the priority in transparency before? –> Government.

Since my day-job leans more into the public health and government agency arena–I couldn’t help but see the parallels between government 2.0 and non-profit 2.0 (for the sake of better terminology). We may have different goals and end objectives, but the concepts both verticals must address (transparency, policy, management, buy-in, metrics, etc.) cross both lines. I think the Path of the Blue Eye folks were onto something when they posted the other day about looking for learning opportunities outside your comfort zone. As evidence, I commend Steve Radick, who did just that when he recently posted about the crossings between government 2.0 and sports 2.0.

The sharing of the line between government 2.0 and non-profit 2.0 was further solidified when I received news today of the AwesomeGov Fund organized by GovLoop and GovDelivery. This initiative is literally–combining and furthering the collision of government people with non-profit values–think philanthropy 2.0. Either way, it has me thinking that our worlds may just be more alike than different and that perhaps–the next event/conference/meetup needs to be a variety show for all us to get out of our comfort zone and look across the playing field.

PS: This past week, I also had the opportunity to talk with Andrew Conrad about Church 2.0–and again, there was much dialogue that ran quite similiar to conversations we’ve had around the conference table or that I’ve had with non-profit leaders. It’s almost creepy.

PSS: Please forgive all the “2.0” references–it’s just the most efficient way to get the point across.

5 thoughts on “Transparency Isn’t Just for the Government”

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Steve Radick November 13, 2009 at 7:31 am

Alex, I think what we’ve both realized here is that organizations across both the private and public sectors are dealing with similar benefits AND risks that our government clients are tackling. It goes back to one of my theses on Government 2.0 – “Your Government agency/organization/group/branch/division is not unique.” We would all do well by looking outside our primary area of expertise to see how other organizations have dealt with the transparency issue. There was a recent article in Fast Company that I found really interesting (http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/140/made-to-stick-stop-solving-your-problems.html) that I think you will too. It basically says that no matter what problem you have, someone, somewhere, has solved it already, and chances are, it was in an entirely different “vertical” – maybe even nature itself. That’s why I think we all benefit greatly from looking outside government for answers to our problems and vice versa.

Alex Post authorNovember 13, 2009 at 12:19 pm

Steve,

Thanks for highlighting and sharing the article with me from Fast Company. This past week has definitely elevated my thinking about my own problem and solution finding process. When I talked with Andrew, it was uncanny some of the exchanges we shared and how they ran almost parrallel to the same type of questions my non-profit and government colleagues ask–i.w. How do you engage your comunity? How do you bridge the online with the offline? etc. Same thing happened during the #read4change chat about non-profits and transparency. It was like deja vu.

Another reason why we should looking beyond our own domain is because it makes you better at your current domain because you never know what problems, challenges or questions will arise next. Plus, it’s always fun learning new things and taking what you know and applying it in a new and different form.

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Tucker Pawlick December 3, 2009 at 8:05 pm

I share your interest in non-profit transparency, and find the kiva controversy to be quite interesting. It seems we are in an age where people finally appreciate the truth over persuasive cover-ups. I think that Matt Flannery, the CEO of Kiva, is a great role model for the idea that full transparency can actually benefit a company. I’d like to politely offer a correction to your background of the Kiva controversy. Kiva has never attempted to hide the fact that they partner with microfinance institutions (MFIs) across the globe. The controversy was in reaction to a blog post (http://blogs.cgdev.org/open_book/2009/10/kiva-is-not-quite-what-it-seems.php) by David Roodman, in which he exposed the fact that loans are distributed to entrepreneurs before they are posted on the website. This means that the person-to-person model that makes Kiva so appealing is in fact a fiction.

Alex Post authorDecember 3, 2009 at 10:17 pm

@Tucker Thank you for the clarification–it takes a village right? I hope university classes are looking at the Kiva case as a way to spur conversation around the topic.

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5 thoughts on “Transparency Isn’t Just for the Government”