In doing some research on applying principles of globalization to the nonprofit world, I came across a really interesting article by David Rimmer on the impact of globalization on government services (scroll down to the article "What A Flat World Means for Government"). I think that a lot of what he has to say is germane to nonprofits, particularly since a significant number of them receive government funding and therefore end up acting as quasi-governmental agencies whether they like it or not.

One of Rimmer's major points is that business has already embraced more advanced uses of technology and the principles of customer relationships and knowledge-sharing implicit in those forms of tech. Business is becoming faster, more responsive to customers and able to customize just about EVERYTHING to meet individual needs. This is shaping our expectations about kinds of customer services and relationships we should expect from all institutions, including nonprofits. If I'm accustomed to being able to complete a transaction online in a few minutes and having Amazon make customized recommendations to me about books I might like, how patient will I be with paperwork-laden, time-consuming government services that aren't particularly targeted to my needs?

What we risk creating, according to Rimmer, is a two-tier system with a "rapidly evolving, innovative private sector and a relatively static public sector." Says Rimmer:

"If the public and private sectors are moving at different speeds, then the gap between the two will grow. The result is that citizens, whose expectations of services are set by their daily interactions with the private sector, are apt to become dissatisfied with "good-enough-for-government service levels."

The concept of this kind of two-tier system makes me extremely nervous. We rely on the people whose daily interactions are being shaped by the private sector to do all kinds of things for us. They are our volunteers, our funders, our employees, and our customers. What happens if the perception of the public sector continues to erode in this kind of environment? What does it do to fundraising, to the legislation that often supports the public sector? What does it do to the people we're serving?

I'm not someone who wants nonprofits to "be like business." But I do wish we could get better at adapting the best of business practices to meet our needs and make us better at what we do. While I know that money is part of the problem, I don't believe it's ALL of the problem. It would be good if we could figure out how to harness some of this flat world mojo before it's too late.

Michele