QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE YOU GET A WEB SITE
Bev Clark, Kubatana.net

African NGOs are increasingly getting themselves on to the web. However not
always for the right reasons. Bev Clark of Kubatana.net outlines the
questions you should first ask yourself.

The million dollar question: why does your organisation want a web site? Is
it because its a trendy thing to do and you want to keep up with the NGO
next door?The following questions are important to ask:

- Has your organisation had an internal discussion with key staff to thrash
out why a web site will be useful? If there isn't ownership in the NGO, from
the director right through to programme officers, then the web initiatives
will not be given the seriousness that they deserve.

- Do you have a budget line dedicated to electronic communication, not only
for the development of the web site but also for subsequent updates?

- Does your organisation have the capacity and skills in terms of human
resources to either, i) independently maintain the web site or ii) liaise
with web developers to feed them new material for regular updating of the
site?

- What strategy is in place within your organisation to promote and market
the web site? There's no point in developing a web site if you aren't going
to let anyone know that its out there

- Is your organisation in a position to handle enquiries that will emanate
from the web site? For example, someone from an international or regional
development company might visit your web site and ask for more information
on a particular area of interest. Who, in your organisation, will be tasked
to handle these enquiries because receiving an email is like getting a
telephone call - you have to answer it otherwise your credibility and your
professionalism will be in doubt?

Often, when organisations develop a web site, depending on how well they
promote it, they will receive a lot more email than previously. There are
lots of spammers out there. For example, at Kubatana we regularly get porn
promotion emails sent to us via our "join" facility on the Kubatana web
site? With this increase in email traffic your organisation must be
adequately protected from viruses

A few personal experiences:

- We recently developed a web site for an HIV/AIDS organisation in Harare.
When we asked the Director of the NGO concerned to go have a look at the end
result she said she was "too busy".

- Often there is general low level ICT awareness in NGOs. When we phone an
NGO and ask for their web site address, often we'll be given an email
address. When NGOs develop a web site, the receptionist right through to the
Director should be given an opportunity to view and explore the
organisation's web site so they have a better appreciation of it.

- The majority of web sites that we've developed for NGOs have remained
static. Why? Because there isn't internal capacity to handle site updates or
there is a general lack of appreciation of the usefulness and importance of
the web site.

Visit http://www.kubatana.net Zimbabwe's civic and human rights web site
incorporating an online directory for the non-profit sector.

TAD Consortium November 2002 Information Update No. 3
The TAD Consortium is an e-mail service aimed primarily at people interested
in using information and communication technologies to improve the quality
of education in the developing world.
If a colleague has forwarded this message to you and you wish to receive it
directly, please send an e-mail to [email protected] with a request to be
added to the TAD Consortium list.

***************************
Telematics for African Development Consortium
P.O. Box 31822
Braamfontein
2017
Johannesburg
South Africa
Tel: +27 +11 403-2813
Fax: +27 +11 403-2814
[email protected]
http://www.saide.org.za
***************************