Read about NetHope: its unique funding model, programs and impact in the developing world.

1. NetHope
connect.
collaborate.
innovate.
Organizational
Update
© NetHope

2. we are sharing our approach
As a catalyst for
technology solutions collaboration, NetHope
helps NGOs more
effectively address the
that benefit humanity
world’s most pressing
challenges through smarter
use of technology.
© Jean-Louis Ecochard

3. We invite all of you to make the next ten years of
NetHope the decade that sparks the innovations
needed to positively change the world.
Dear Friends,
It has been NetHope’s mission from the very start to create experience opportunities to unemployed Haitian computer
something special with the power of collaboration. All too often, science students — a critical next step in rebuilding Haiti.
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been limited in their
projects by their individual resources, mindsets and experience. • Adobe Systems Inc. granted the largest software donation in
If there was a way to come together — NGOs and corporate the company’s history to NetHope members. The donation
partners — to share advice, tools and resources, NGOs could included 25,000 licenses of Adobe Acrobat 9 software and
better serve their beneficiaries; NetHope was created to do just other products and services.
that.
• NetHope developed Innovation for Development (I4D) pilot
As we move beyond our tenth anniversary year, the approach project pilots with member organizations in agriculture
remains the same. Through our unique collective of international (Catholic Relief Services) and in health (CARE), built with
NGOs, we are able to create and deploy powerful information cloud architecture, innovative mobile platforms and significant
and communication technology (ICT) solutions that address support from Microsoft Corp. and Intel.
the developing world’s biggest challenges. During the past two
decades, most of us have experienced the power of technology. • NetHope created the Global Broadband and Innovations (GBI)
We are now beginning to see the significant impact ICT can Alliance.
have in the developing world. It is clearly extending the reach
• NetHope secured a $430,000 grant from The Rockefeller
of programs, minimizing costs and reducing the time required
Foundation to propel I4D projects in health, education and
to provide assistance to end beneficiaries. Our members
Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
continuously demonstrate the value of collaboration, from aiding
emergency relief efforts with the Red Cross and supporting As we continue to evolve and expand as a collective, we intend
conservation with The Nature Conservancy to promoting to stay true to our roots in collaboration and technology. Our five
humanitarian development with World Vision, Habitat for initiatives — Connectivity, Emergency Response, Field Capacity
Humanity and Mercy Corps. Building, Shared Services, I4D — will continue to drive our work,
helping shape the ways we will build a stronger, more sustainable
We have grown our initial seven-NGO membership into an
future for the world.
impressive assembly of more than 30 international NGOs, all of
whom contribute their own unique expertise and resources to our We invite all of you — our members, partners, supporters and
well-rounded whole. Our expanding membership has increased volunteers — to make the next ten years of NetHope the decade
our ability to connect, collaborate and innovate and, in turn, to that accelerates the connections, broadens the collaborations
bring even more far-reaching, influential programs to the 180 and sparks the innovations that we need to positively change the
countries touched by our initiatives. world.
NetHope’s dedication to collaboration expands beyond our Thank you,
membership. One aspect of the NetHope model that we often
champion is our ability to facilitate public-private partnerships
with major technology companies, foundations and individuals.
It is through these relationships that we are able to enrich
our programs with donated equipment, software and shared
technical expertise, as well as offer our members discounts on
much-needed tools. Some recent extraordinary examples of
message from our
collaboration at work in NetHope include:
• NetHope, its partners and members helped to bridge Haiti’s
broken telecommunications infrastructure by restoring life-
© Fredrik Winsnes
saving communications capability in the aftermath of the Jan.
12, 2010, earthquake that leveled Port-au-Prince, the capital
ceo & chairman
city.
William A. Brindley Edward G. Happ
• The NetHope Academy, along with 17 host organizations and
leading technology partners, implemented a unique, ground- Chief Executive Officer Chairman of the Board
Executive Director Global Chief Information Officer, International
breaking program in Haiti to provide training and work Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

4. NetHope has inspired a whole new
approach — to effect change through
the impact of technology.
As NetHope continues to grow, I commend the efficient and impactful coordination of humanitarian
organization for the incredible impact it has made in agencies before, during and after a disaster. That model
humanitarian relief and development. Through its vision, has proven to work and has enabled donors such as
strong leadership and unwavering commitment to Microsoft to quickly deploy resources to NGOs in the
developing strong partnerships, NetHope has inspired wake of an incident, reducing response times and the
a whole new approach — to effect change through the ability for relief organizations to deliver critical aid to
impact of technology. the people who need it.
As part of our global commitment to corporate Since then, emergency response has continued
citizenship, Microsoft has been a long-time contributor to be a strong focus for NetHope. We have seen
to NGOs throughout the world. We strive to improve the organization make great strides in other areas,
humanitarian and international development efforts which has also enabled our partnership to expand.
through technology, the volunteer efforts of our For example, NetHope’s work in Haiti has continued
employees and financial donations. since the devastating earthquake in January 2010,
and the organization has played an important role in
Microsoft’s work with NetHope began in 2004. In the rebuilding efforts. In partnership with Microsoft,
NetHope, we saw the power of a collective network Accenture, Cisco, La Ecole Supérieure d’Infotronique
that would allow us to deliver at scale and streamline d’Haìti (ESIH), Voilà Foundation and others, NetHope
our investments in the world’s largest humanitarian launched the Haiti NetHope Academy — a six-month
organizations. By supporting NetHope, Microsoft program that provides Haitian computer science
leverages our community investment across more than students with both classroom and on-the-job IT skills
30 leading NGOs, eliminating duplication of efforts, training. NetHope also has made progress in enabling
lowering costs and greatly reducing implementation the capacity of organizations in the field, improving
risk. In addition, the partnership aligns NetHope’s connectivity between organizations and their field
local field knowledge with our products, technology offices, sharing resources to provide economies of scale
and emerging markets capabilities. This increased and fostering innovation to create new technology
communication facilitates information sharing and more solutions for development.
effective delivery of assistance and resources to end
beneficiaries. Our partnership with NetHope has provided long-term
value for Microsoft and its members, enabling them
In 2006, Microsoft donated $41 million in software and to make a difference in the most remote areas of the
cash to NetHope to help fund the Interagency Working world by putting our tools and technology into action. I
Group on Emergency Capacity Building Project (ECB), applaud NetHope for its hard work and look forward to
which would be mobilized in the event of a large- a continued partnership in the years to come.
scale emergency. The goal was to provide effective,
— Akhtar Badshah
Senior Director, Global Community Affairs
© NetHope
the power of partnership
Microsoft
6

5. NetHope member NetHope member “NetHope is a perfect illustration
organizations represent organizations deploy of ‘selling’ your impact and using
$40 billion 1,000s
leverage: creating real VALUE for
business, government and global
development.”
— Jason Saul
of Very Small Aperture Terminal
in humanitarian development, (VSAT) systems to bring Internet to
CEO, Mission Measurement LLC
lecturer of Social Enterprise
emergency response and
rural areas. Mostly in Africa and Asia,
VSAT systems deliver connectivity Kellogg School of Management
conservation programs with the help of orbiting space
satellites.
author
“The End of Fundraising”
30
leading 39 NetHope Academy NetHope distributes
+ international Haiti graduates earn
$36 million
$500,000
nongovernmental
organizations
+
of in-kind value to members
total, together in one year. From Every year, NetHope spreads a wealth
five
unemployment status to a certified of pro-bono services and in-kind
• connectivity IT professional in six months, these product to its members to support their
graduates completed an intense
• field capacity boot camp and internship with one
efforts to better serve their beneficiaries
in the developing world.
© Olivier Matthys, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
building of 17 host organizations in Haiti.
• emergency
30
response An estimated
4 million
initiatives • shared services countries
• innovation for are prone to
development emergencies Kenyan farmers to receive
better weather information
operates in NetHope creates a single ICT
180
NetHope’s Weather Information
coordinating point for all members for Development (WIND) project
present in an emergency, partners uses ICT to deliver more accurate
with technology suppliers and information to farmers.
provides shared training to
accelerate front-end ICT responses.
countries
by the numbers

6. “Cisco has supported NetHope since its inception because
Supporters Programs Members Beneficiaries we knew the organization would leverage the power of the
network to make huge social impact. NetHope is one of
Cisco’s key social investments. It has proven that connecting
people and ideas over the Internet can drive transformation
for individuals and communities worldwide.”
— Tae Yoo, senior vice president of Corporate Affairs, Cisco
NetHope’s funding model reflects I4D strategic program areas. Each of seem very similar. All seem worthy. The
© NetHope
RELIEF ®
INTERNATIONAL
its unique public-private partnership NetHope’s supporters also donates NetHope model allows funding to be
structure. The primary sources their expertise and other in-kind assets, leveraged in such a way that supporting
of funding are cash and in-kind which are almost impossible to quantify one project can be multiplied to benefit
TRUSTEES’ PHILANTHROPY FUND
contributions from members, but are always invaluable to NetHope many.
corporations and foundations. NetHope and its membership. The NetHope
By using the collective expertise of
© Daniel Cima, American Red Cross
also receives cash contributions from funding model works because members
members and supporters to develop
individuals, as well as employee matches and supporters each contribute in
proposals with the “best of the best”
from corporations. NetHope membership meaningful ways — beyond just dollars
thinking, hundreds of highly trained
continues to grow at a controlled pace, — with a common goal to collaborate,
professionals can work together toward
with more than 30 current international connect and innovate using technology
a common shared purpose. Just as
member organizations plus federated to benefit the people of the developing
®
important, NetHope only embarks on
®
members and affiliates of regional world.
projects that reach a “critical mass” of
NetHope Chapters. All new members
Empowering people. Changing lives.
Innovating for the world’s poor.
Each NetHope member organization interest across the membership. Not all
and affiliates work in the developing
describes the value of NetHope of our members will engage in a given
world bringing valued expertise in the
membership a bit differently. For some, program, but all of them benefit from
areas of emergency relief, financial
it is realizing the benefits of belonging the outcome of the collaboration and
services, health, education, agriculture
to a social network of like-minded the lessons learned. The bottom-line
and natural resource management.
professionals, who have common message is that NetHope’s supporters
Leading supporters of NetHope challenges in helping their organizations can feel comfortable that their cash or
© NetHope
include Microsoft, Cisco, Accenture, improve the quality of life for millions in-kind contribution will have a much
* A full list of supporters is found on page 35. Baker & McKenzie, Waggener Edstrom of people. Other members will look to bigger impact than any stand-alone
Worldwide, Intel, The Rockefeller more easily quantifiable benefits, such donation ever could.
Foundation, Blackbaud, CDW, the as discounts on software, hardware and
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, HP, services. Of course, all members benefit Member In-Kind Member
5% Cash
iDirect and Dell. This group of core from the improved efficiency they get 10%
supporters has expanded to include by solving problems together. Another
Adobe, the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, key benefit is the ability to reach out
leveraging contributions the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
ESRI, Voilà Foundation and Google.
In addition, NetHope entered a five-
year partnership with USAID, the GBI
to potential corporate and foundation
supporters in a unified way. A given
corporation or foundation might receive
hundreds, if not thousands, of funding
Supporter
In-Kind
25%
for the greatest impact Alliance, which provides funding to
further efforts in the Connectivity and
proposals from the nonprofit world
every year. Often the funding proposals Supporter Cash 60%
9 10

7. Seeking creative solutions to VSAT Forum (GVF), iDirect and the private sector in needy African
Sustainable “last mile” connectivity
improve the quality and cost of Eutelsat to develop a specialized countries such as Congo, Chad,
A main focus of NetHope’s Connectivity area is to enable connectivity in remote parts of the practical training, fine-tuned to suit Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Central Africa
connectvity options for remote offices, field locations and developing world was the topic NGO field operations. Initially, VSAT Republic, Kenya and Sudan. In many
I4D programs not served by the new East Africa fiber of the first conversation between installation training was offered cases, private sector companies
infrastructure. By aggregating demand for rural areas and Edward G. Happ and Dipak Basu in the United States and Europe. operating in the developing
ten years ago. Addressing that Starting in 2007, NetHope partnered world have fixed corporate social
developing good business models for local service providers
problem in a very different way with a Kenyan training facility, and responsibility financial obligations,
to expand their reach to the “last mile,” an earlier delivery
was NetHope’s initial challenge, advanced VSAT installation training which could be allocated to funding
of reliable broadband services and regional transformation and their breakthrough concept is now offered regularly in Nairobi. NetHope’s collaborating-member
is possible. Because of the high concentration of NGO and was that pooling the collective NetHope has enabled more than 100 connectivity initiatives.
USAID rural program investments, East Africa is an ideal talents of multiple NGOs could offer new VSAT installations in the NGO
Beyond Africa, the case for
proving ground to establish a sustainable business and better connectivity solutions faster, community.
connecting more offices,
technical approach for “last mile” connectivity. cheaper and more effectively. This
The NetHope Steering Committee humanitarian and conservancy
simple idea was appealing enough
for Connectivity launched a programs in partnership with the
for the seven international NGOs to
campaign in 2011 to accelerate the private sector is also compelling.
found NetHope in 2001.
delivery of broadband networks NetHope’s continued efforts in this
Early on, these NetHope members where they are most needed strategic area will have a positive
also recognized that the cost of in the developing world. In impact on NGO operations and
installing and maintaining complex partnership with the GVF and 10 program delivery in Asia, Latin
satellite earth stations was expensive member organizations, NetHope is America and other developing
and difficult to accomplish. NetHope positioning to leverage corporate regions for years to come.
partnered directly with the Global social responsibility obligations from
© Chris Black, IInternational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Socities
connectivity
11

8. program in action
Connectivity in the Horn of Africa Crisis
The Horn of Africa Crisis is now considered to be a robust reliable WiMAX, WiFi and mobile network will be
the worst humanitarian disaster of the 21st century. leveraged along with Very Small Aperture (satellite) Systems
(VSATs) to enable access points for sharing connectivity
The far-reaching, on-going drought in the region devastated among over 20 humanitarian assistance organizations. The
agriculture, livestock and communities from Djibouti and high concentration of offices that are close to each other —
Ethiopia to Kenya and Somalia, pushing many to leave their both in the main compound and in the camps — made this
homes to find safe haven in a massive refugee camp. approach practical and workable even in this remote, harsh
environment.
The camp complex in Dadaab, Kenya has taken in over
400,000 refugees, with thousands of new arrivals every This project integrates into NetHope’s broader East Africa
day. Many people walk for close to 20 days to make it to Connectivity Program, which targets Dadaab and Kwale
the camps. Some mothers are even forced to abandon their in Kenya and Juba in South Sudan as sites to improve
children, who are too weak to continue on the trek and are left connectivity services and reduce connectivity costs. The
on the side of the road. introduction of undersea fiber-optic cable into East Africa
in 2009 created new opportunities to enhance connectivity
The effects of the crisis are amplified by the lack of proper
services in the region, and effectively afforded the opportunity
sanitation, health services and food. An estimated 15 million
for NetHope and its members and partners to create this
individuals, including over 400,000 children, require
program.
assistance before the situation improves.
In the past, NetHope chose VSATs as the primary way to
NetHope Global Program Directors Joe Simmons and Gisli
deliver connectivity to rural areas. Because of the presence of
Olafsson conducted an ICT assessment of the situation in
cable broadband and new remote access points, the existing,
Kenya by visiting the Dadaab complex, nongovernmental
relatively expensive VSATs in Dadaab, as well as any additional
organizations’ and United Nations’ operations as well as
systems, can now be repurposed as back-up resources.
meeting with the NetHope East Africa Chapter, NetHope
member organizations and technology partners, like With strong, reliable Internet offered by the Dadaab
Safaricom, Orange, Cisco and Inveneo. Member organization Connectivity project and the support from the public and
CARE helps manage the Dadaab camp, which is run by the private sectors, humanitarian organizations will be able
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. to better respond to crises in the area through effective
coordination and more shared information.
NetHope’s goal was to work on the ground with NGOs and UN
organizations to quickly develop better Internet and enterprise
class connectivity to enable better information sharing,
collaboration and improve the efficiency of relief efforts.
The Dadaab Connectivity project presents a compelling
© NetHope
opportunity to establish shared data services in the area.
Working with partners and selected agency engineering staff,
13

9. NetHope member organizations work in homeless, injured or deceased — and broadband capacity then they had before
“Those first days after the [Haiti] earthquake were pure chaos. more than 180 countries around the globe communications to the outside world the earthquake.
How could we figure out what was needed when almost all and are often called upon to support were cut off. Relief efforts were further
Pakistan
disaster relief efforts in the remote regions hampered by more than 50 aftershocks
communication was cut off? Rescue efforts were underway, CNN of the developing world. that measured over 4.5 in magnitude and In late July and early August 2010,
was flashing images of supplies waiting on the tarmac, Haitians continued during the following weeks. NetHope’s ERWG responded to the
NetHope and its member organizations
were writing, ‘PLEASE HELP’ on any surface they could find. The enormous monsoon flooding affecting
have been coordinating emergency Within four hours of the earthquake,
Pakistan. More than 22 million people were
response efforts since the 2003 the NetHope ERWG was identifying the
race against the clock was completely dependent on restoring affected in a large area around the Indus
earthquake in Bam, Iran. Over the years, communications and staffing requirements
communications capabilities so that hundreds of thousands of River. The international community and
NetHope developed an approach that for the 22 NetHope member agencies
NetHope member organizations were
terrified Haitians could be reached by the humanitarian community.” meets the needs of emergency responders (and their 3,500 employees) operating in
faced with one of the largest regional
and is adaptable to fit the circumstances of Haiti. After the first day, it became clear
— Frank Schott disasters in recent years.
each unique event. that the most vital task was to restore
NetHope global program director,
Internet connectivity so that lifesaving The ERWG began working with the 15
Haiti Emergency Response Haiti
communications could be established. NetHope member agencies operating in
On Jan. 12, 2010, NetHope’s Emergency Thanks to amazing support from Pakistan to quickly identify the critical
Response Working Group (ERWG) was NetHope’s nonprofit technology partner, needs. NetHope provided laptops, software
called into action — responding to the Inveneo, and speedy (and generous) and video cameras, generously donated by
devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake donations from leading technology leading technology companies, to support
that destroyed the region around Haiti’s companies, NetHope was able to start relief workers and other initial responders.
capital city Port-au-Prince. At least 3 restoring communications within 72 Later-stage assistance included VSAT
million Haitians were affected — left hours of the earthquake. By Day 10, all connectivity for some of the more remote
agencies were fully supported, with more locations.
emergency
© World Food Programme
response
15

10. program in action
Relief from Pakistan Floods
In January 2011, I had the opportunity to visit Pakistan to One of the things that was different in this disaster than in
perform a study on the use of ICT in response to the devastating many others, such as earthquakes and hurricanes, was that
monsoon floods that had hit the country last summer. Having been large portions of the communication infrastructure were left
a first responder for a number of years, attending floods in Africa, intact. Many of the NetHope members could, therefore, utilize
hurricanes in the U.S. and earthquakes in Haiti and Indonesia, it Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line connections, which are
was an interesting experience to visit a country six months after widespread in Pakistan, to connect their new offices in the
the events started and see the progress of the relief efforts. affected areas. For the more remote locations, the NetHope
members used General Packet Radio Services, Enhanced Data
Pakistan is subjected to both seasonal flooding and strong for Global Evolution and 3G connections to enable connectivity.
earthquakes, but what was hardest for me to grasp was the
enormous scale of this disaster. An area the size of the United When visiting a small fishing village in the Thatta district of the
Kingdom had been flooded, and it had affected 22 million people. southern Sindh province, it was interesting to hear how villagers
Now, six months later, 318,000 people still live in camps, and large utilized mobile phones and radios to listen to warnings of the
areas are still flooded. impending flood wave. It was also impressive to hear how
multimedia disaster risk reduction training done early last year
As part of my study, I got to visit various NetHope members had caused villagers to take preventive measures before the
and local NGOs who are their implementation partners. It was flood arrived.
interesting to discuss with them how they had leveraged ICT
during the floods. Donations from our technology partners in the In disaster-prone countries such as Pakistan, it is important
form of laptops and handheld video cameras had proven to be for us to focus on emergency preparedness because we know
very helpful for the NGOs to do their job. there will be flooding next year, and we also know earthquakes
will strike. Through collaboration between the different
Laptops are a key tool for information collection and sharing NetHope members, we can help build up the ICT capacity
during a disaster like the Pakistan floods. What many people don’t needed to handle these future disasters in a more effective way
realize is that in most areas of Pakistan electricity is only available than if we always try to do things reactively.
for certain period of the day, so many NetHope members use
generators to bridge these periods. Since electricity is not always It is valuable that our technology partners — in this case Intel
cut at the same time, it becomes difficult to work on desktop and Microsoft — had the foresight to invest in preparedness
computers because they lose all data if electricity goes down, that allowed us not only to put in place support before disaster
even if it is just for a few seconds. struck, but also to learn what worked and what did not.
© Colin Crowley, Save the Children
Now, in the time of effective project monitoring and evaluation, NetHope plans to put increased emphasis on emergency
the donated handheld video cameras provide an effective way preparedness in the future; preparedness that will save lives and
of showing the donors the direct effects of their support. But the improve the efficiency of future responses.
video cameras also become an important tool in advocacy, during — Gisli Olafsson
the age of social media. Getting videos directly from the field NetHope global program director,
Emergency Preparedness and Response
increases the likelihood of individual donors supporting the work
of NGOs.
17

11. IT and communication tools are essential ICT Skills Building Program was launched are focused on assessing ICT skills,
Collaboration as the Engine
to every international development field in October 2006. A trial period in Africa creating custom training plans and quality
NEtHoPE SuMMItS NETHOPE CHAPTERS two years. Benefits of this donation included
improvements in reliability and security, program. But tools are not enough. Field was successfully conducted from June to training in networking, technical support,
NetHope Global Member Summits allow The NetHope Chapter program is focused lower costs of support and improved workers need the skills to use the tools. December 2007 with help from Microsoft telecommunications/satellite technology,
staff from NetHope member organizations on extending the benefits of collaboration productivity in the field. For example, the
to build relationships, share expertise and to better support the field workers of the NetHope’s work in Field Capacity Building Learning. IT project management and business skills.
Wildlife Conservation Society received
collaborate on a focused set of strategic ICT members and, in turn, the people they the Web application ASP.NET to aid in its targets the development of skills with
areas. Each year, NetHope holds at least one serve in the developing world. Local NGOs In early 2010, NetHope saw an opportunity Future plans for the NetHope Academy
fight against the forecasted avian influenza IT professionals, program workers and
summit, rotating between member-hosted that do not normally qualify for NetHope epidemic, and Catholic Relief Services field to utilize its experience from the ICT Skills include scale implementation in Africa, as
unemployed youth.
summits — often in the field to get closer to membership can also participate in the workers in Indonesia were able to improve Building Program for training students well as plans for an implementation in Asia.
the end results of our work — and “learning” NetHope Chapter program. This is a central organizational effectiveness and facilitate From September 2005 to March 2006, in Haiti. The NetHope Academy created
summits — hosted at a major ICT partner part of NetHope’s mission — to “give-back” collaboration in the wake of the tsunami with
location to keep abreast of critical ICT trends — by sharing its knowledge, innovations the ECB conducted a survey regarding an intern program focused on preparing
software that included Microsoft Project
and technologies. and other benefits of collaboration with the and the Microsoft Office system. Microsoft’s the use of ICT in emergency response that computer science students for jobs
wider humanitarian community.
Recent NetHope Summits have been held
generosity has continued, with new NetHope concluded response efforts were not as with humanitarian organizations and
members benefiting from “Welcome Grants”
in Silicon Valley; Nairobi, Kenya; Redmond, In 2006, the first NetHope Chapter was strong as they could be, due to a general corporations operating in Haiti. Courses in
to assist them in the same ways.
Wash.; Geneva; Panama City; New York; and established in Sri Lanka, largely out of the lack of ICT skills in field locations. the curriculum include those to strengthen
Dublin. need for agency staff to work together on In 2010, Adobe announced a software communications skills, strengthen team
the Southeast Asia tsunami emergency that
MONTHlY MEMBER MEETINGS donation of more than $20 million for In response, NetHope partnered with ECB
took place in December 2004. management skills and improve proficiency
NetHope member organizations. This gift
to develop and pilot a training program to
NetHope members convene monthly by will enable NetHope members around the in productivity software. Other courses
Since then, additional chapters have been address these challenges. The NetHope
teleconference to discuss agenda items, such world to advance their work in education,
established in Europe, East Africa, India,
as project updates, sharing best practices conservation, health and emergency
West Africa, Pakistan and Haiti, with new
from the field and reviewing proposals preparedness.
chapters planned for strategic locations in
for ICT innovation. These meetings are a
the global south. Over the years, NetHope members have
valuable part of NetHope membership and
benefited from hardware and in-kind
an important facet of knowledge sharing, SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE
donations from Cisco, Intel, Dell, Google,
building trust and enabling collaboration. DoNAtIoNS
Accenture, HP, ESRI, Blackbaud, ITC Global
Often members consider NetHope meetings
In 2006, Microsoft made a very generous and many others. Additional charitable
a way to “extend their IT departments” for
$41 million donation of software and discounts from supporters benefit members
field- and home-based operations.
subsequent updates to NetHope member and chapters through the NetHope Shared
organizations, which was implemented over Services Program.
field capacity
© Mats Lignell, Save the Children
building
19

12. program in action
NetHope Academy Haiti
I was thrilled when my employer, Accenture, selected participants in the six-month IT training program.
me to work on the NetHope Academy engagement in Haiti.
The top 80 out of 291 applicants were invited to take a
Employee consulting time was donated as part of Accenture’s
technical assessment and to be interviewed by IT managers
response to the devastating 2010 earthquake, and several
working at some of the world’s largest humanitarian
projects in Haiti were completed via the nonprofit branch
organizations.
of our firm, Accenture Development Partnerships. I work as
a technology architecture manager in our Mobile Solutions Overcoming long odds, Emmanuella was selected to fill one
practice, and the chance to use my program management skills of the highly coveted slots. She came highly recommended by
to help in Haiti was a dream come true. The opportunity to work her interviewer as someone who was “somewhat reserved but
with unemployed youth and the Academy’s focus on young absolutely perfect for the program.”
women was especially appealing. Every one of these young
The NetHope Academy provides computer science students
people had their own story, but I was struck by a quiet, incredibly
with technical skills as well as on-the-job experience. After
hardworking young lady named Emmanuella.
the training portion of the program, each student is placed in
Emmanuella Stimphat grew up with her five brothers and sisters a paid IT internship with a host organization, where they are
in a Port-au-Prince neighborhood called Bourdon. She was a paired with an IT mentor.
quick learner and had a knack for graphic design, so it was no
Emmanuella interned for Save the Children’s IT department in
surprise that her parents and siblings encouraged her to explore
Port-au-Prince. Her internship allowed her to gain real-world
a career in technology.
IT experience, as well as confirm a woman’s potential in the
At first, Emmanuella considered attending a secretarial school IT profession. Emmanuella advertised her willingness to solve
after high school; it was a common path for Haitian girls her age. any problem from the start of her internship; she gained the
But in the end, she decided to pursue a computer science degree Save the Children staff’s trust as a result. She was able to
at a top university instead. She began studying for her master’s show her colleagues that she has no problem resolving some
degree at Ecole Supérieure d´Infotronique d´Haiti, one of Haiti’s of the more complex computer and printer issues.
leading technology schools.
Emmanuella continues studying as she prepares for her
On Jan. 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated Port- Windows 7 certification. Her long-term goal is to be an IT
au-Prince and its surrounding area, and Emmanuella lost almost manager.
everything. Emmanuella’s home crumbled, and her mother was
severely injured. Sadly, her mother passed away two weeks
Each month, NetHope polls the interns and their IT mentors to Lisa Obradovich, Accenture
stay on top of how the program is going. Emmanuella wrote,
after the earthquake. Her school was destroyed as well, and
Emmanuella traveled with the rest of her family to stay with her
“I like my Save the Children co-workers and I think they like Development Partnerships,
aunt in Florida.
me.” Emmanuella, they most certainly do!
with NetHope Academy’s intern
— Lisa obradovich
Emmanuella grew homesick quickly and returned to Haiti in Accenture Development Partnerships Emmanuella Stimphat and NetHope’s
June. Upon return, a new opportunity caught her interest —
global program director Frank Schott
© NetHope
the NetHope Academy. She applied online to be one of the 39
21

13. A key challenge for ICT groups in Accenture provided generous grants sustaining the initial shared service as
“Beyond the softer, but powerful benefits of the NGO community is that they are and expertise. well as providing the “proof of concept”
collaboration, we found that our NetHope membership significantly underfunded, compared necessary to expand the initiative to
With help from Accenture’s nonprofit
with ICT groups in industry often other back-office functions. The grant
fee produced an order of magnitude financial return branch, Accenture Development
they are limited to “keeping the lights from The Rockefeller Foundation also
Partnerships, NetHope created a
on investment in the first year through leveraging on,” with little left over for improving supported establishing a procurement
compelling business case, governance
program delivery and innovation. community of practice.
NetHope’s vendor relationships; and each successive and pricing models, service level
year continues to provide use with a multifold return.” After initial conversations with members agreements and an implementation plan In 2011, NetHope is looking to increase
pursuing shared services concepts for the initial two shared services — Help functionality and the scale of the
— William l. Simpson II within their own organizations, NetHope Desk and Procurement. Help Desk shared service, conducting
vice president, CHF International conducted a member “interest” survey additional pilot projects in several
Thanks to an additional grant from
that highlighted shared services as a new areas, including procurement and
The Rockefeller Foundation, NetHope
high-priority common need. Members infrastructure. We are also working
conducted a Help Desk pilot in 2009 and
expressed that shared services with the I4D and Connectivity program
2010. That pilot included the following
could assist them with strategic cost areas to evaluate potential for various
components: shared software platform,
management and capacity building. initiatives and pilot projects to evolve
shared standards, shared support
The goal was to deploy scalable into shared services, and we are
from Accenture’s IDC support team in
technologies, common processes and reviewing the Humanitarian Services
Bangalore, India, and shared procedures
standards to coordinate and reduce Cloud initiative as a means to deliver
for tracking incidents and problems. The
back-office spending. NetHope found a shared services to members’ field
experiences and lessons learned by the
significant amount of interest by outside locations.
participating members and the steering
partners to fund this initiative, and
committee are the foundation for
both The Rockefeller Foundation and
shared
© Save the Children
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services

14. program in action
Re-applying Help Desk
NetHope’s Shared Services team collaborated in management really came to life. Rodrigo and his team saw
the Help Desk arena using a Software as a Service software how useful the reports generated by the tool could be in
tool called ServiceNow. The tool worked well; its cloud-based decision-making and day-to-day operation.
model allowed for questions and problems to be addressed The tool’s most valuable element is its ability to track
from any corner of the world. Users needed only an Internet three different areas: hardware management, software
connection to login. In addition, ServiceNow offered many management and contract management. Overall, it is a single
more features beyond the functionality that was being used tool to manage assets, but its ability to also integrate with
for the Help Desk. Barry Sanders, global program director configuration management databases, incidents and problem
of Shared Services, knew this powerful tool could be used in and change management makes it a true all-in-one solution.
other ways.
The success of this tool traces back to the initial collaboration
Asset management appeared to be a good fit for future between the four NetHope member organizations. Although
investigation. Asset management is a common practice not all four organizations started using the tool in a production
that allows an organization to keep track of their finances, environment, their willingness to collaborate helped shape
contracts and inventory in a standardized way. Four NetHope its functionality. It is the shared information — of what works
member organizations expressed interest in developing an or what needs improvement — that makes the collaborations
asset management tool, and ServiceNow already harbored within NetHope invaluable.
functionality for such a focus. The organizations — Save
Because of Rodrigo’s leadership in the development and trial
the Children, World Vision, PATH and the International
of ServiceNow as an asset management tool, other members
Rescue Committee — pooled their individual requirements
of NetHope are using this shared capability.
and reviewed them to see how they differed or aligned.
Their goal was to come to up with a consensus on how to
© International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
expand the tool, as well as explore how the tool could satisfy
the organizations’ collective needs. They would deploy
customizations and configuration down the road, as needed.
It was Save the Children’s Rodrigo Alegria who decided to get
the ball moving. He took what he had learned in the planning
group, test drove the tool and planned for implementation.
At its bare bones, ServiceNow offers the creation of basic
forms and reports for general use. Rodrigo and his team
wanted to add additional fields that fell in line with the
particulars discussed in the subcommittee. The next change
was the process of taking a scenario and moving it into
production, plus the additional task of training test users.
It was in the implementation phase that ServiceNow for asset
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15. Using technology to drive impacts in is achieved by sharing existing best acceleration in the use of ICT across
“The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to support NetHope’s remote areas, against unique development practices, aggregating common needs, development sectors.
efforts to improve and expand technology and Innovation for challenges, often constitutes new territory designing solutions, conducting proofs of
The Benefit to the End Beneficiary
and sometimes requires new solutions concept and taking these to scale across
Development as fundamental in solving some of the world’s most
and breakthroughs. That is why NetHope our membership. Innovative, useful and appropriate
difficult problems. Our resources will serve to sustain NetHope’s created its I4D initiative. application of ICT has been used to
NetHope’s successes in I4D highlight the
model of engaging the private sector to connect more NGOs improve the quality of lives and raise
I4D launched in January 2008 to design benefits of ICT and scalable approaches
the economic well-being of community
with efficient, world-class information technology and elevate the replicable and scalable ICT solutions to corporate partners and donors. Along
members. Overall, such solutions for
for NetHope member organizations’ with the support from The Rockefeller
opportunity for business process outsourcing to drive sustainable field programs. Through NetHope Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates
end beneficiaries positively affect the
following:
and equitable economic growth.” collaboration, innovative projects can Foundation and USAID, NetHope’s key
be created to meet needs in agriculture, partners — including Intel, Cisco, Microsoft, • K-12 education for millions of students
— Judith Rodin healthcare, education, conservation, HP, Accenture, ESRI and Adobe — are all
• Farmer productivity
president of The Rockefeller Foundation microfinance and monitoring and making significant contributions to the
• Healthcare provider service levels
evaluation. design, deployment and sustainability of
the new ICT solutions. • Conservation for natural resources
The overall goal of the I4D initiative is
• Livelihoods in thousands of
to aid collaboration among NetHope Advancements in ICT technology — such
communities
members in an effort to deliver sustainable as the increased availability of cloud-
ICT solutions for positive impact. This based services — allow for a significant
innovation for
© Intel Corporation
development
27

16. program in action
Mobile Health Platform in Kenya
An HIV-positive woman gives birth to a baby boy replace pen-and-paper-based methods of collecting health-
in rural Kenya. At six weeks old, she takes him to the local related data using a scalable platform capable of gathering
health center for his first HIV test. At the severely understaffed data and delivering information with inexpensive mobile
facility, the mother and her son wait the entire day before he is devices. The technology, which was tested in Kenya, allows
given the test and they leave for home. It may be up to three an unlimited number of powerful backend applications to
months before they receive the results. simultaneously be available on affordable mid-range phones
with an Internet connection. If required, data can also be
Sadly, three months later, the results reach the health center collected and information delivered via text messaging.
with a devastating diagnosis: The baby is HIV-positive. At this
stage, he is almost certain to die before his second birthday Healthcare workers can enter data using their mobile phone
because the start of his treatment was so delayed. Had he and immediately submit the information to a central server,
received the test results and appropriate treatment within a avoiding the logistical complications of physically delivering
few weeks of their first health center visit, the boy would have their patients’ information in paper form. Using the MHP, CARE
had a chance to lead a relatively normal life. can collect, recall and analyze data instantly. Previously it took
15 days to produce monthly activity reports, but now those
If data collection and communication were conducted reports are available within a few hours.
in a faster and more effective way, healthcare outcomes
could dramatically improve. Right now, HIV test results are NGOs, the Ministry of Health, the CDC and other organizations
determined using very expensive machines that cost hundreds can access the MHP using a PC with a Web browser to create
of thousands of dollars. Nationwide, Kenya only has three labs local solutions to local problems. Subject matter experts can
equipped with these machines. The logistics of moving the author their own forms, specifying questions to be asked and
paperwork from health center to lab — and back — causes the structuring overall workflows. Such customized solutions can
delay in reporting test results. be instantly accessed on any of the facility’s MHP-outfitted
mobile phones.
NetHope and a corporate partner teamed up with member
organization CARE to implement an ICT solution that would Through this project, NetHope helped create an ICT solution
dramatically reduce the test reporting timeline. CARE, that reduced the timeline of HIV test result reporting from
NetHope, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention three months to two weeks. This life-saving concept can be
(CDC) and the Kenyan Ministry of Health implemented a reapplied well beyond healthcare to solve challenges in areas
solution based on technologies already in place: affordable such as education, agriculture and finance, thus supporting
mobile phones, already in people’s pockets, combined with NetHope’s mission to assist our member organizations as they
“cloud computing.” improve lives in the developing world.
The current paper-based process took too long; there had to
be a quicker way to provide test results to the health center
© Ken Pawlak
using mobile phones, text messaging and the global Internet.
The Mobile Health Platform’s (MHP) primary objective is to
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