Arts/Boston: One Click Away From Disaster

The Context

Founded twenty-five years ago, Arts/Boston provides comprehensive performing arts audience development and marketing services in the Greater Boston area. The organization has eleven staff members and an operating budget of almost $1 million.

At the beginning of the 1990's, Arts/Boston installed state-of-the-art technology and upgraded its information systems. Like many nonprofit organizations, Arts/Boston considered its technology "solved" and that was that -- "If it ain't broke don't fix it." If a computer died, Arts/Boston encouraged in-kind donations of discards from local businesses. "These machines were only slightly less obsolete than the computers we were replacing. Our conference room became a computer junkyard that we'd raid for parts," says Miki Robison, an Arts/Boston staff member. Executive director Catherine Peterson observes, "The new Dell catalog would arrive in the office, but the idea of buying any new equipment was so overwhelming it ended up in the trash." While newer, faster, and better options appeared, changes to Arts/Boston's information systems and computer equipment were introduced randomly creating what one staff member described as "a cumbersome patchwork quilt of databases and an outdated hardware swamp."

In September, 1999, Arts/Boston was selected to participate in the New York Foundation for the Arts' "Knowledge in Technology Project " (KIT), a series of activities that help the arts respond to the challenge facing all nonprofit organizations: understanding technology and developing critical skills for the organization-wide management of technology. "The KIT program came along at the perfect time -- we knew we'd be launching an organizational strategic planning process and that the time had come for us to face our technology issues, but in a way that would empower us and allow us to share what we learned with the 165 nonprofit arts organizations we serve," says Catherine Peterson.

Technology Planning Is More About Planning Than Technology

The planning process began with an assessment and inventory of Arts/Boston's existing technology conducted by a technology team comprised of key staff and board members who would ultimately be responsible for implementation. The team was led by Miki Robinson, Arts/Mail manager who had served by default as the organization's technology staff person for the past six years. Other staff members with a strong interest in technology -- David Pires Bostix Assistant Manager, and Kendra Aiello, Program Associate -- were part of the team as well as Catherine Peterson, Executive Director. Several board members with technology expertise were also recruited. The first charge was to think broadly about how technology could enhance the organization's programs, services, operations, and communications. According to Robinson, Arts/Boston used to look at technology as separate from its programs. "This process forced us to step back and focus on what we wanted to accomplish rather than if we need new computers." Out of these discussions, the technology team developed a technology vision statement and broad goal statements.

Armed with assessment tools provided through the KIT program, the Arts/Boston technology team completed an inventory of its information systems, internal/external communication flow, connectivity, equipment, staffing, and training. The tools included a comprehensive technology inventory (PDF) and workstation assessment form as well as a technology planning rubric. The rubric suggests benchmarks for appropriate, efficient, and sustainable technology use by nonprofit organizations. Comparing its current practices to the standards, Arts/Boston pinpointed significant weaknesses. "We didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but at least we had a framework to sort through a daunting list of problems," admits Miki Robinson.

One Click Away from Disaster

One benchmark states: "The organization has an adequate budget to implement its technology plan or a funding strategy to secure needed funding." Arts/Boston had neither. Typically, the small amount of dollars allocated for technology was cut from the budget when there were financial pressures. Arts/Boston had never before considered its technology expenditures as consumables. Even worse, Arts/Boston discovered that staff members spend an average of 40-60 minutes waiting for computers to reboot, trouble-shooting glitches, and recovering lost information from crashes. Staff member David Pires remarks, "It was probably costing us more money in wasted staff time than the expense of upgrading our equipment." Arts/Boston also took a closer look at its funding strategy. Catherine Peterson adds, "We started to integrate our technology needs into every proposal and target specific technology requests. The process helped us articulate why technology was vital to our mission."

Another benchmark states: "Staff who require access to online resources have the software and hardware needed to connect to these resources." While Arts/Boston staff use email and the Web to communicate with members and the general public, there was only one shared organizational email account and one computer hooked up to the Internet. "Obviously, this produced terrible grid-lock around trying to complete any Internet-based work. It also kept us from maintaining our Web site in-house. But as part of the planning process, we started to research high speed Internet access for our local area network where every staff member could have Internet access," Kendra Aiello explains.

The assessment process called attention to some triage issues such as having a mechanism in place to prevent data loss. Miki Robinson says, "We knew that we weren't backing up our Arts/Mail database as regularly as we should and were painfully aware that it was one of our key organizational information assets, but our system was so ancient it couldn't efficiently and automatically complete a back up. We started to imagine how impossible it would be to reconstruct the database . . . and immediately put a simple and inexpensive solution into place."

Developing the Plan

The technology team identified research questions they needed to answer. "We learned that we didn't need a computer science degree to do research for our plan and it ended up being fun!" says Kendra Aiello. The technology team found answers from the Internet, board members and volunteers with expertise in technology, and vendors and colleagues in other nonprofit organizations. Miki Robinson notes, "Since technology changes so fast, it is more important to know what questions to ask and how to find the answers. We learned a lot through our research process." The technology team's enthusiasm was contagious. Other staff members started to get excited and give input.

The research focused on several priorities:

• The need to upgrade the local area network to accommodate Internet access from every desktop and communication between the main office and two remote box offices.
• The need to integrate via Arts/Boston's Web site the delivery of services such as its ticket catalogue, online transactions, and more audience interaction.
• The need for a fully integrated and automated database/information system for ticket fulfillment, customer contact information, and financial information.
• The need to formalize a staff position with responsibility for the organization's technology, including the Web site.

Elements of a Technology Plan

Arts/Boston developed a written plan covering 3-5 years, with very specific information for the next eighteen months about hardware, software, connectivity, other equipment, training, costs, and funding strategy. The plan emphasizes the reexamination of technology on a continual basis so that Arts/Boston can avoid the problems it faced in the past. "Technology planning is now an organizational habit," says Miki Robinson.

The plan describes how Arts/Boston's customer and ticketing databases will be redesigned to capture more detailed information, incorporate the production of contracts with member groups, and make financial information directly accessible by the organization's Finance Office over the local area network. Most importantly, with upgraded hardware Arts/Boston can use a more powerful database software application that will consolidate several separate systems into one relational system thus eliminating wasted staff time re-entering information manually from one system into another.

The plan describes Arts/Boston's short-term and long-term strategy for its Web presence. With upgraded equipment, Internet access, and a staff Web manager in place, Arts/Boston will be able to bring its Web site in-house, have more control over maintenance, and expand content, which will bring all of Arts/Boston's services to a wider audience. The longer-term goal is to conduct online e-commerce transactions and process ticket orders via the Web.

The plan's centerpiece is to phase in a major upgrade of the organization's local area network over the next eighteen months so that all staff members have the hardware and software to access the Internet from their desktops and can efficiently share and exchange information internally. The technology team also made a philosophical decision: In-kind donations of hardware or software will not drive the plan and will only be accepted if they match Arts/Boston's specific needs. Says David Pires, "We knew that we probably wouldn't have all the funding to do the entire upgrade all at once. After we inventoried what we had, we identified additional research questions necessary to figure out a realistic upgrade strategy."

• How can Arts/Boston make some immediate gains in productivity with a small investment that becomes Phase 1 and a stepping stone to Phase 2 and Phase 3?
• What is the best option for high speed Internet access from every desktop?
• How can what Arts/Boston implements over the next 18 months be a logical step towards implementing goals for years 3-5?
• What are the pros/cons of switching from current Macintosh to PC platform? How can it be done efficiently but gradually?
• What training/professional development is needed for staff to change platforms or to use new software on the upgraded network?
• What staffing does Arts/Boston need to support the network and maintain the Web site in-house?
• How much to budget for hardware, software, maintenance, and staffing?

These upgrades will happen in three phases. The first phase is to introduce new equipment into the central office by the end of the current fiscal year. As Miki Robinson observes, "Through our research, we discovered that we could add to our existing local area network several I-Macs that would provide an immediate return of increased productivity, while being a logical step to Phase 2." In addition, new equipment will be added to the Arts/Mail production office, including a newer, faster printer. The technology team estimates that the total cost for this phase at $8,000, a relatively small investment for a large gain in productivity.

Phase 2 methodically introduces equipment and software that will significantly upgrade the local area network and will support both Macintosh and PC platforms as well as allow each staff member to access the Internet from their desktop. This phase will include a total of six new PC computers, one with the capacity to act as a network server, two printers, LAN hardware, and a DSL Internet connection. In addition, this phase also factors in wiring for the network, automated backup procedures, software donations, and ergonomic tools to ensure that employees work in a safe computing environment. The hardware purchase includes a service agreement for next day service with the manufacturer. Phase 2 also includes a major training component for all staff members who will be required to have a basic working knowledge of Microsoft Office and Windows 2000. In addition, Arts/Boston will provide a small library of books and training CD's so that at least 1-2 staff members can each become "experts" in one type of software and provide support or training to other staff as needed. Finally, Arts/Boston will train two staff members in network management and Web maintenance as interim step before hiring a technology staff person to manage the network and the Web site.

Since Arts/Boston's key databases will need to be redesigned and ported from Macintosh to PC platform, Phase 2, part b will be introduced after the database design is completed. This phase includes additional PC's, a scanner, and other miscellaneous equipment required for the Web site maintenance and development in-house. In addition to equipment and software, this part b includes database consultant fees and additional staff training on using Access and an HTML editor.

Using the Internet, the technology team was able to get several bids on the hardware, identify in-kind software donation programs, and compare training courses. Phase 2 will cost approximately $70,000.

Phase 3 will enable the remote Box Office locations to be added to the local area network and e-commerce options for the organization's Web site. As Miki Robinson observes, "We need to be comfortable with the first two phases before we can make the leap into online transactions and a wide area network smoothly. Developing a detailed strategy for Phase 3 will be part of the technology team's ongoing planning work."

The technology team will continue its regular meetings and be responsible for the implementation of the technology plan and keeping abreast of new technology tools that may be appropriate for Arts/Boston. The technology team will make quarterly presentations to the board, including an annual upgrade report and budget. The organization's funding strategy for Phase 1 & 2 is to integrate technology into all funding proposals, targeting several funders for specific requests, and including technology-related costs in the annual budget. As executive director Catherine Peterson observes, "The most difficult part of the technology planning process has been done -- creating the plan itself, institutionalizing technology knowledge, and getting past our fear of change."

Lessons Learned

• For arts services organizations - get your own technology house in order and it enables you to assist constituents in moving their technology forward.
• Staff and board members do not have to be technology experts to undertake a technology planning process and build a plan. The most important skills are knowing the right questions to ask, doing research, and problem solving.
• Don't be afraid by how fast technology changes and don't use it as an excuse to avoid dealing with your technology issues.
• Integrate technology and technology planning into all aspects of your organization's thinking, planning, fundraising, and program delivery. Don't think of technology as a separate function.
• A technology planning process can help an organization avoid the pitfalls that surround scattershot purchases/donations and in the long run be more cost effective.
• A critically important component of a technology plan is what exists between the keyboards and the chairs -- the staff members who will use the technology. They have to be involved in the planning process and training must be provided. The training should not be just software-based, but also in problem solving and methods for sharing technology knowledge and building skills.

You can find an online version of Arts/Boston's tech plan at NYFA- Arts/Boston Technology Plan.