Green-Lighting an Extranet

A growing number of nonprofit organizations are turning to the Internet to connect their constituents on a secure, password-protected Web site -- often referred to as an extranet. You can think of an extranet as an intranet that is open to people outside your organization, such as members, consultants, donors, grantees, and others who need a quick and effective way to interact with your organization and access timely information.

The William T. Grant Foundation, for example, uses an extranet to give its grantees easy access to reporting forms, grant updates and summaries of new research. A consortium of community health clinics in California uses an extranet to exchange information on pressing issues such as protecting electronic medical records. In Northern Virginia, Computer C.O.R.E uses an extranet to coordinate the work of volunteer teachers and provide course materials for their classrooms.

Not surprisingly, many nonprofit extranets are conceived around a conference room table and never get beyond their embryonic stage -- they are built but never get off the ground. The reasons they fail are too numerous to mention, but they only rarely have much to do with the technology. The most common reasons for failure are inadequate planning, stale content, lack of leadership, and poor organization.

Given that many extranets are doomed from the start, we do our best to help our nonprofit clients determine whether an extranet is right for their organization. Before they invest time, money, and energy into building an extranet, we ask a lot of questions. Our goal is to determine whether the elements for success are in place -- or can be assembled -- before the extranet is launched. If not, we're reluctant to give an extranet a green light. We recommend instead that the organization focus first on steps it should take to prepare for a successful extranet.

So if you're considering whether to set up an extranet, here are some questions to ask yourself, your colleagues and, most importantly, your intended users. Doing so will help you test your assumptions, gauge interest, and identify potential barriers. This process should give you valuable insight into the prospects for success. This is by no means a definitive list, but hopefully a good starting point.

Taking Your Community's Temperature

A key goal of most extranets is information-sharing and collaboration. Sounds simple enough, but if the people you're targeting don't do it today off-line, what makes you confident they'll begin doing it online? Is the community you're targeting close-knit or is it just getting off the ground? Does it have a history of working together, and do people generally trust one another?

At a minimum, determine whether there's a shared understanding of the way your members are being asked to use an extranet. Are the objectives clear? Do they understand why they're being asked to use an extranet, and what the hoped for outcome is? If there isn't a culture of information-sharing now, and if the purpose of an extranet is fuzzy at best, it's unrealistic to expect people to invest the time and energy required to integrate an extranet into their day-to-day work.

Look at how your intended extranet users currently share information, electronically or otherwise. Is information shared at all, and if so, how often? (Listservs are an example of this type of sharing.) Is the information that gets exchanged considered of moderate-to high-value to a sizable segment of your target audience?

Carrots and Sticks

The question for those planning an extranet is often, "If you build it will they come?" But the more critical question is "Will they come back?" The hallmark of a successful extranet is a high level of participation among a critical mass of users on an ongoing basis.

That begs the question: What will motivate your users? Carrots are excellent, but don't overlook sticks. Some people will be motivated because they see the extranet as a way to be more informed, productive, or efficient. Others will because they can't bear the thought of being out of the loop. The key thing is to identify such advantages and recognize that people are motivated for different reasons.

Keep in mind that carrots and sticks are essential not just for so-called "consumers" of information, but for producers as well -- in other words, your content providers. What will it take to motivate people to actively -- and regularly -- contribute content? Will they be trained, encouraged, and rewarded for their contributions?

An extranet is truly vibrant when information is exchanged freely and openly, without the need for an intermediary who asserts a high level of editorial control. A gatekeeper may be helpful, but only if they don't stop the flow of information. Is there a sufficient amount of trust among the participants to achieve this level of open exchange? If not, can it be cultivated?

Beware of Info-glut

Don't assume that people are hungry for more information. That is rarely the case. In fact, most people suffer from info-glut and have a tough enough time visiting all the Web sites they could benefit from. So if your extranet audience is already suffering from information overload, ask them what would motivate them to log in? Chances are they won't say it's because they'll have access to more information.

With this in mind, the problems you're trying to solve with your extranet should be clear and compelling. If the extranet is a solution in search of a problem, it's doomed. The value proposition and raison d'etre for the extranet should be clear and concrete.

Management and Technological Considerations

Assuming the value is clear and the need compelling, you'll need at least one person in a position to provide vision, leadership, and direction for the extranet. You'll also need at least one person who will assume responsibility for organizing the community and its content. Identify someone who can serve as a community manager for the extranet. Make sure the role is clearly defined, supported, and cultivated.

Only after we've determined that the community and staffing considerations are in place for the extranet do we turn our attention to the technology. Technology comes last not because it's unimportant, but because the technology solution is irrelevant if the human factors for success aren't firmly in place.

Before giving an extranet a green light, scrutinize the technology solution to make sure it is appropriately tailored to address the tasks at hand. Choose tools to solve specific problems, not because they're cool. For example, an instant polling feature might be neat, but will it help you achieve your goals? If not, invest your limited funds elsewhere.

Manage Expectations

As you can see, building and managing an extranet requires careful planning. As planning gets underway, examine your expectations. Check in with those involved to gauge their expectations. If they're either overly unrealistic or absurdly pessimistic, you'll want to respond accordingly. You'll probably need to talk to those with unrealistic expectations about having a more realistic view. If expectations aren't met, participants may feel discouraged and stop participating. Getting them re-engaged will prove a monumental task.

Conversely, if people are deeply pessimistic about the value and viability of an extranet, that could portend failure. You'll want to talk to the participants to understand the reasons behind their pessimism. They could be due to previous experiences, skepticism about the ability of the technology to solve entrenched communication problems among the group, or other factors. No matter what the cause, the bottom line remains the same: if people aren't open to exploring an extranet, you're waging an uphill battle.

Sizing it Up

When a nonprofit organization decides it's time to create an extranet to enhance information-sharing and collaboration, it's essential that it focus first on human factors. Important as the technology may be in the long run, even the best technology will be rendered meaningless if other aspects of the extranet are not fully developed. The promise of an extranet lies in its ability to deliver real value. And for most nonprofits, that value will be realized only when an extranet helps them solve real problems.