QR codes on collection boxes, virtual tours in museums and remote member meetings; for civil society organizations, the digital transformation offers countless opportunities to serve stakeholders in the best possible way. A digital strategy helps to make the right (digital) choices in this regard. This provides focus to invest in developments that contribute to more efficient operations and greater social impact.
"What we see a lot in the field is that organizations start a digital implementation at the solution and then look for a problem," says Ruben de Graaf, Senior Manager at BDO. "Also, digital implementations are too often implemented from a narrow IT perspective instead of looking at broader organizational context in which the implementation needs to land. A vision and strategy for digitalization is regularly lacking."
To make this theme a success, De Graaf emphasizes that it is precisely important to see IT and digitization from a broader context. "Only then can you get the most out of it, ensure that a digital initiative is supported and be more alert to laws and regulations that an initiative must comply with. Does that 'handy little tool' comply with privacy legislation? And how far does responsibility extend when data is stored in the cloud? But also how you can digitally bind or relieve donors is a current digital issue."
A digital vision with strategy indicates the digital direction both externally and internally, according to De Graaf, making it clearer how digital developments are really part of an organizational strategy. "The crux is to translate the organizational strategy into a digital strategy. The question to answer in doing so is: what digital steps can we take to accelerate realization of the organizational strategy, so that the donor, customer, member or visitor is helped even better and faster? In other words, use the digital strategy as a means to realize the organizational strategy."
De Graaf explains that the digital strategy brings together four major themes:
Services
Business
Laws and regulations
IT landscape & security
"How can you further digitize services and thus get them closer to the customer's experience?" clarifies De Gaaf on the first theme. "Think of the well-known Ommetje app, which brought people into contact with the Brain Foundation in droves. Or lowering barriers to buying a ticket online and offering additional services. For the management theme, think of result management based on dashboard or predictive information, robotization of work processes, and ensuring that employees are sufficiently digitally equipped to do their jobs."
With laws and regulations, digital developments must comply with applicable laws and regulations. "How does the organization handle the processing of personal data? Has someone given or not given permission to share data with other parties? Do you comply with NEN standards on information security?" The IT Landscape & Security theme is about the organization being in control of its IT landscape and associated security. IT should optimally support the service and administrative process, recording only information (from a donor or visitor, for example) that is actually needed. "In addition, optimally connected apps provide additional opportunities to provide the visitor with an optimal customer experience. How do you deal with the issues of collecting information and images from your visitors? Which employee is allowed to see which information? Who is responsible for stored data if you work in the cloud? These are pretty big challenges!"
Bottom line: digitization is not a separate issue, but undeniably part of the bigger picture. De Graaf: "That organizational context determines the extent to which you are truly in control and can get the most out of digitization initiatives. So put digital transformation on the managerial agenda and establish a digital vision and strategy. The great added value is that you can thus make an important contribution to the future-proofing of the organization and to better service for your customers as well as the internal organization. In this way, the digital vision and strategy contributes to the larger, higher goal the organization is facing. At the same time, digital transformation does require change power from an organization; after all, technology is only a means to an end. Success is determined by the extent to which the employee or the customer utilizes its benefits."
Where does your organization stand on the four digitization themes and where do you want to go? Our specialists will be happy to help you gain more insight into where you are now, so that you can determine, based on current developments, which steps are necessary to use digitization in the coming years as the means to realize the organizational strategy.
