 |
|
A Hand Up |
Imagine trying to keep track of every test ever taken electronically. Schools would be able to monitor improvements as well as weaknesses. Teachers could use the data to show parents exactly what their children have been learning. It's a great concept, but the application of such a system would be cost-prohibitive for most schools. "If you take a regular Manila-type folder and put all the tests in there it would be eight inches thick. One child could have over 100 tests in the time they are here," said Atlanta Speech School Chief Financial Officer Jack Zimmerman. "From those tests, reports are prepared for the parents and those reports are very detailed and have all of the test scores. This is what brings the parent into the same knowledge base as the teacher and the parent understands what the child needs and can continue that." Technology nonprofit TechBridge came up with the solution. Formed in 2000, TechBridge serves nonprofits by saving them money on consulting work and software. What makes TechBridge invaluable is its flexibility. It can handle work from small nonprofits such as Alternate Roots with one server and three employees, to larger nonprofits such as the Whitefoord Community Program with 36 employees. The goal, said Michael Nachman, TechBridge's chief operating officer, is for the nonprofits not to be able to tell the difference between getting $57 an hour work and $200 an hour work. So when the Atlanta Speech School decided it needed to develop a computer-based system to help manage its research, Zimmerman saw the roadblocks that would be thrown up during the project. First, there was cost. Then there was finding a software developer that could create the proprietary software the school needed and then put up with scrutiny of a third party checking the dev eloper's work. The project did not start out well. The major consulting firms in Atlanta wanted to charge $200 to $300 an hour to look over the shoulder of the software developer. And when the software developer was first told there was going to be a third party examining his work, Zimmerman said there was some hesitation. "I have been in the business a long time and I could see how this could go in the wrong direction real fast," he said. "I was afraid that after our first meeting the developer might say, 'I don't want to do this anymore.' " Then Zimmerman found a computer consultant to nonprofits. The software, which is called Clinical and Research Information Bank (CRIB), was successfully developed by Trenton Adams and verified by TechBridge in regression testing over a nine-month period. "The thing that had us concerned was that software developers are very into what they do and they do not necessarily like to have people come in and look over their shoulder," Zimmerman said. "One of the reasons we spent so much time talking to TechBridge before we gave them the work was to make sure they had the type of compassion and the type of understanding on how to pull this off." Zimmerman said his board of directors was also pleased with the bottom line, a reasonable fee of about $70 an hour. John Banning, a senior consultant for TechBridge, worked on the project from last May to February going over the methodology of the developer. It took just two meetings between Banning and Adams for Zimmerman to be able to walk out of the room and let the computer experts do the work without a mediator. The result was a workable database of tests given to children at the Atlanta Speech School. "We have 11 consultants with anywhere from 12 to 17 years experience in IT," Nachman said. "We have a solid skill set to deliver technology to nonprofits." The versatility of TechBridge extends to what it offers clients. Some clients, such as the Atlanta Speech School, need short-term technical project expertise. Others, such as Whitefoord, need help with projects, but also with scheduled services, or routine checkups for computer equipment. Darcy Gordon, the director of administrative services for Whitefoord, said the nonprofit used TechBridge to bring a new server online in 2006. Whitefoord also asks TechBridge to troubleshoot any daily or weekly computer issues. "We go visit most clients usually once a month, it just depends on their budgets," Banning said. "It depends on how big their environment is, how many servers they have and how many workstations they have." In addition, TechBridge has a help desk where a technician may be able to fix a problem for a nonprofit from a remote location. What makes TechBridge even more valuable is that it has expertise at its disposal if there is an issue it can't remedy. Nachman said the company can reach out to Accenture Ltd., Cisco Systems Inc., IBM Corp. and Microsoft Corp., among others, if additional technical skill is needed. TechBridge had more than enough expertise for the Atlanta Speech School project with Banning, a former employee of Accenture. The school also had a technician who was willing to work with a developer, not run over them. "It turned out the developer was so impressed with the people he was working with," Zimmerman said, "it gave him a new sense of mission on our project." Nonprofit Services Scheduled Services |
