Carnegie Mellon's Technology Consulting in the Community program provides an excellent opportunity for nonprofit organizations, schools, businesses, and government agencies to improve their use of information technology.
Student Consultants are on-site weekly to work with community leaders to identify, plan, and implement ways in which technology can help the organization better fulfill its mission.
There is no fee to participate, but organizations must invest significant time and effort during the semester-long partnership to achieve sustainable technology improvements.
Sample Outcomes and Benefits:
- Dozens of organizations such as TLC-USA.org now manage and update their own improved web sites.
- Dance Alloy Theater and many other organizations now use improved databases that they can modify and update to manage their donor and constituent information better.
- Sustainable Pittsburgh improved the organization and usability of their e-newsletter and further integrated technology improvements into their workplace.
- Fair Housing Partnership created a technology team and technology planning process to continually improve its use of technology to promote equal housing opportunity.
- Jewish Family & Children's Service learned to better plan for and manage outsourced system development projects in order to minimize risk and lower costs.
- The Mon Valley Providers Council uses optimal mark recognition to analyze paper-based surveys and provide personal health reports to community members.
- Sacred Heart Elementary School teachers now use course management software to make class assignments and resources available on the web and to facilitate on-line student discussion of the material.