A National Imperative: Joining Forces to Strengthen Human Services in America (Jan 2018)

These investments should be prioritized, potentially even above direct program-related spending, and should be presented to funders as key to CBOs’ long-term efficiency and effectiveness. In addition to technology investment, CBOs should seek opportunities to build collaborative environments that enable innovation. For instance, e-finance and personal health start-ups are developing innovative technology-enabled approaches to delivering advice and services in the for-profit sector; partnership with these types of organizations could potentially cross‑pollinate the human services ecosystem with new ideas from tech industry and enable innovative problem solving. Other examples of this include test and reward experiments, fellowships for technology sector workers, and human services CBO ‘innovation hubs’. Partnerships with high tech firms could include “hackathon”-style events to brainstorm and develop non-traditional approaches to key human services challenges. These events can promote creativity, knowledge, and leadership exchanges between organizations to collectively improve the lives of American families and communities. These types of partnerships may also facilitate CBOs access to venture capital and technology sector funding opportunities. CBOs should also explore participation in formal innovation labs and environments, including those used by private sector corporations. For instance, pioneering human services CBOs, including members of the Alliance, have invested in participation in innovation programs developed by the Innovation Engineering Institute, a cooperative undertaking of Eureka Ranch and the University of Maine. 28 Public and private funders will also need to recognize the importance of the capacity for innovation, and the fact that it won’t happen for free. We recommend that both public sector and philanthropic funders explore development of funding vehicles and contracting structures that will facilitate increased funding for human services CBOs’ technology and data expenses to build this capacity. Ideas for exploration might range from the creation “We in the human service ecosystem are at a crossroads and our futures will be determined by our ability to innovate. Without innovation and new ways of thinking and solving problems, we will become obsolete, like the many businesses that are no longer with us as a result of the changing times. We believe that innovation is a daily must!”

– Human Services CBO CEO, Hawaii

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