IBM Bringing Analytic Capability to Non-profits in Italy
by Roberto Museo
When CSVNet approached IBM we were already aware of IBM’s On Demand Community program and of the company’s long tradition of commitment to addressing societal issues. So it was quite simple to start a conversation with IBM’s Corporate Citizenship team in Italy in order to set a common framework on which to build a partnership.
CSVNet is the National Coordination Network of Volunteering Service Centers (CSV), a consortium created in 2003 to provide strength and continuity to the network of service centers established in 1991. Today, CSVNet represents 72 service centers and is one of the most visible, active and vital organizations in the Third Sector (the non-profit sector) in Italy – serving more than 44,000 Volunteering Organizations (VO).
A critical part of CSVNet’s mission is to gather and provide accurate information about volunteering organizations. This is truly important in this period considering the Italian Government’s call for reforms in the Third Sector. To achieve our objectives, we needed a partner that not only understood the world of volunteering, but also had the technical expertise to design a process for us to collect and analyze data on VOs.
Our first task was to aggregate a central database of VOs in order to:
- Increase the value of information on volunteering by extracting relevant metrics from CSV data
- Provide updated VO information to private and public entities, including funders
- Reinforce CSVNet’s role as the source for the latest data regarding Italy’s Third Sector
- Contribute to the shaping of national policies on the Third Sector
After one year of partnership, thanks to the IBM Impact Grant Program, we achieved our strategic objective.
On October 19, 2015, we presented the “First National Report on VO Adhering to the CSV Network” at the EXPO Milan 2015 Civil Society Pavilion. The report analyzed data from more than 44,000 volunteer organizations through 2014 to address key questions about the scope and reach of volunteerism across Italy. This was not just “one more report,” but the result of a partnership that created real impact, promoting a project able to involve all the actors of the system – CSV, VO and public entities. In addition, the Italian National Institute of Statistics plans to include the CSVnet database among of the official sources to produce the next national Third Sector census.
Thanks to the IBM Impact Grant, CSVnet is now committed to restarting the process of improving data completeness and quality of data and provide an “Annual Report on VO”. The next steps will be to design and implement the National Unified Information System of VO in Italy.
Roberto Museo is Director of CSVNet. The National Coordination Centers for Voluntary Service promotes and supports the development of qualification CSV throughout Italy to support volunteering. The CSVNet Custom Grant included consultancy provided by IBM Global Business Services in Italy, and the use of IBM SPSS Predictive Analytics.
To learn more about IBM's Corporate Citizenship Contributions, see the IBM 2014 Corporate Responsibility Report.
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To learn more about IBM's commitment to environmental protection, see the IBM 2015 Corporate Responsibility Report.
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To learn more about IBM's commitment to environmental protection, see the IBM 2015 Corporate Responsibility Report.
Related Resources:
IBM Receives Chairman’s Award from Alliance to Save Energy
IBM 2015 Corporate Responsibility Report
- See more at: http://3blmedia.com/News/IBM-Wins-2015-Alliance-Save-Energy-Chairmans-Award#sthash.4Ubyd1FC.dpuf
