Making sense of business intelligence : proposing a socio-technical framework for improved decision making in not-for-profit organisations

The authors of this paper argue that human intuition alone cannot be relied upon for strategic decision making in today’s business environment and that quality data intelligence is an imperative. The proposed project described in this paper is research-in-progress, action design research (ADR), to implement an appropriate information systems (IS) enabling enhanced organisational decision making. ADR is a new research method that draws on action research and design research in an organisational setting. In phase 1 of the project, a sociotechnical ‘sense-making’ approach is used to gather and analyse information and decision needs in a not-for-profit (NFP) association, Connections ACT. In phase 2, requirements are designed and modelled to build a conceptual framework that guides NFPs in improving business performance and reporting capability. Phase 3 is the evaluative stage when the framework is reflected upon and refined, with intervention in the organisation’s processes as a promising outcome.

Crowdsourcing motivations in a not-for-profit GLAM context : the Australian newspapers digitisation program

Crowdsourcing in recent times has become popular among not-for-profits as a means of eliciting members of the public to contribute to activities that would normally have been carried out by staff or by contracting external expertise. The GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, museums) sector does have a history of involving online volunteers (e.g. reviewing books). Extending that tradition, some GLAM institutions are engaging in crowdsourcing projects to enhance and enrich their collections. But what motivates the public to participate in these crowdsourcing activities? Understanding the unique motivations of participants is needed to establish a motivational framework for GLAM organisations in their not-for-profit context. We present findings from a study of the motivational factors affecting participation in the Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program (ANDP) by the National Library of Australia (NLA). Based on motivational theories and frameworks the study shows that the participants are motivated by a complex framework of personal, collective and external factors. Participants were highly intrinsically motivated, but valued altruistic and community motivations as well. Community and external factors played a vital role in their continued involvement. The paper concludes with a conceptual framework of the motivational factors for crowdsourcing participants in a GLAM context based on the motivational dynamics observed in the ANDP case.

Costs and benefits of mandatory auditing of for-profit private and not-for-profit companies in Australia

This paper addresses the paucity of research surrounding the mandatory auditing of for-profit private and not-for-profit companies in Australia. We document the various mandatory auditing provisions under the Corporations Act and identify over 22 000 companies that lodge audited accounts with the regulator under federal law. In 2011, 6339 large proprietary companies, 186 small proprietary companies, 2797 foreign-owned companies, 3985 unlisted public companies and 8404 public companies limited by guarantee had an obligation under the Corporations Act to lodge audited accounts. While large proprietary and foreign-owned companies have an option to apply to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission for audit relief, we estimate that less than 10% are granted audit exemption. We document that since 1995 an additional 1500 large proprietary companies that should have lodged under the size provisions of the Corporations Act have been granted exemption from doing so (i.e., grandfathered), although these firms appear to be subject to an annual audit even though they do not lodge accounts. We estimate the costs and discuss the potential public interest and firm-level benefits associated with the mandatory auditing of for-profit private and not-for-profit companies in Australia.

General not for profit corporation act.

Mode of access: Internet.

NFP : a guide for organizing not-for-profit corporations.

1981-82 editions under title: Not-for-profit corporation guide.

Not-for-profit corporation guide.

Cover title.

Not-for-profit corporation guide.

Cover title.

Orientation & processing development advance loans : financial assistance available to not-for-profit-sponsors of federally-insured housing.

"May 1972."

Policy, board and staff : an introduction for not-for-profit community arts organizations /

From the proceedings of a workshop held September 29-30, 1977, in Rockford, Ill., sponsored by the Illinois Arts Council and the Rockford Arts Council.

Social innovation and social enterprise : evidence from Australia

‘Social innovation’ is a construct increasingly used to explain the practices, processes and actors through which sustained positive transformation occurs in the network society (Mulgan, G., Tucker, S., Ali, R., Sander, B. (2007). Social innovation: What it is, why it matters and how can it be accelerated. Oxford:Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship; Phills, J. A., Deiglmeier, K., & Miller, D. T. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 6(4):34–43, 2008.). Social innovation has been defined as a “novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just than existing solutions, and for which the value created accrues primarily to society as a whole rather than private individuals.” (Phills,J. A., Deiglmeier, K., & Miller, D. T. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 6 (4):34–43, 2008: 34.) Emergent ideas of social innovation challenge some traditional understandings of the nature and role of the Third Sector, as well as shining a light on those enterprises within the social economy that configure resources in novel ways. In this context, social enterprises – which provide a social or community benefit and trade to fulfil their mission – have attracted considerable policy attention as one source of social innovation within a wider field of action (see Leadbeater, C. (2007). ‘Social enterprise and social innovation: Strategies for the next 10 years’, Cabinet office,Office of the third sector http://www.charlesleadbeater.net/cms xstandard/social_enterprise_innovation.pdf. Last accessed 19/5/2011.). And yet, while social enterprise seems to have gained some symbolic traction in society, there is to date relatively limited evidence of its real world impacts.(Dart, R. Not for Profit Management and Leadership, 14(4):411–424, 2004.) In other words, we do not know much about the social innovation capabilities and effects of social enterprise. In this chapter, we consider the social innovation practices of social enterprise, drawing on Mulgan, G., Tucker, S., Ali, R., Sander, B. (2007). Social innovation: What it is, why it matters and how can it be accelerated. Oxford: Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship: 5) three dimensions of social innovation: new combinations or hybrids of existing elements; cutting across organisational, sectoral and disciplinary boundaries; and leaving behind compelling new relationships. Based on a detailed survey of 365 Australian social enterprises, we examine their self-reported business and mission-related innovations, the ways in which they configure and access resources and the practices through which they diffuse innovation in support of their mission. We then consider how these findings inform our understanding of the social innovation capabilities and effects of social enterprise,and their implications for public policy development.

Is creativity a matter for cultural leaders?

A climate of change in the arts in the 1990s, including a growing recognition of the need for creative management, has raised the issue of how not-for-profit art museum directors use creativity in their managerial role. Traditionally, the prime function of art museums has been to gather, preserve and study objects. The perception of directors as keepers of collections and creativity as residing in the object has evolved. Creativity is increasingly seen as residing in the managers of organizations. A survey of Australian and New Zealand art museum directors revealed six strategic responses to change, indicating the extent to which they used creativity in their leadership role: economic emphasis, market orientation, audience development, collaboration, accessibility and community relations. The question this paper poses is whether the change in the director's role has overturned the traditional view of creativity as focused on the art work rather than on management initiatives. The proposed answer is that it has been not so much overturned as extended: directors now balance the development and preservation of creative art works with creative management of the art museum as a market-facing organization.