TECHNOLOGY SURVEYof St. Joseph CountyNot-for-Profit Agencies and Organizations
Across the country, social service agencies have begun to discover not only the wealth of information available through the Internet, but also the advantages of local electronic networking and information sharing. In late November 1997, a one-page survey of not-for-profit agencies, organizations and other groups was conducted by The Family Connection of St. Joseph County, Inc. for the St. Joseph County Public Library. The purpose of the survey was twofold: to gain a better overall picture of the technological capacity of agencies in our community and to determine the extent to which these agencies are using computers to access and share information. Surveys were mailed to all of the St. Joseph County listings in the library's Community Connection database. This mailing of 372 included not-for-profit agencies and organizations (as well as programs within agencies), foundations, support and other groups. A total of 133 survey responses were received, for a return rate of 36%. (A listing of respondents by organization/ program name can be found at the end of this report.) Some very large organizations have multiple programs listed in the database and therefore received multiple copies of the survey. (Sixteen organizations accounted for 137 of the surveys mailed.) Of 251 different agencies/organizations who received a survey, 118 returned at least one reply, for a response rate by agency of 47%. Of those individuals who filled out the survey, 55 were in an upper management position (director, president, CEO, etc.), 17 were in middle management (assistant director, program manager, coordinator, etc.), 22 were office managers or administrative assistants, and 39 were in a variety of other positions. Percentages in the report have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Therefore, percentages may not always add up to exactly 100. Unless otherwise indicated, percentages are based on total number of respondents (133). Survey findings are being made available in written report form through the main and branch libraries' reference desks and on the Internet at: <http://business.michiana.org/famconn/technologysurvey.html> to assist with agency and community-wide planning.
A large majority of respondents (83%) said that they had some or a lot of computer experience. Only 13% had very little or no experience. In addition, 61% of respondents said that their agency had at least one staff member with a lot of computer experience.
Looking at the 17 respondents who said that they had very little or no computer experience, only six also said that they did not have at least one staff member with a lot of experience.
Almost all respondents (94%) said that their agencies have at least one computer and most have more than one. Only nine respondents said that their agencies/organizations do not have a computer.
Operating systems: Most respondents said that their agencies have computers that use Windows 95 and/or Windows 3.1. DOS operating systems are present in over one fourth of the respondents' agencies. Few have one or more Macintosh computers. (Percentages below add up to more than 100% because many agencies have multiple computers and checked more than one choice.)
Just five of the 13 respondents whose agencies have a Macintosh have only Macintosh operating systems.
Ram: Looking only at the respondents whose agencies have computers, close to two-thirds have at least one computer with 8 Mg of Ram or more. About one in ten have computers under 8 Mg. Almost one out of every four respondents did not know how much Ram their computers had. (Percentages below add up to more than 100% because many agencies have multiple computers and checked more than one choice.)
Of the 15 respondents whose agencies have a computer with under 8 Mg of Ram, just six (less than 5%) have only a computer under 8 Mg.
Modem: Looking only at the respondents whose agenices have computers, slightly more than three out of every four have modems.
Of the 95 respondents who said that their agencies do have a modem, the majority (55%) have at least one modem with 28.8 baud or over. Consistent with responses to the previous question, about one fourth of respondents did not know their modem speed. (Respondents whose agencies have more than one modem may have checked multiple responses, depending on modem speeds.)
Looking at those who only have modems under 28.8 baud, 14 (15%) have at least one modem with 14.4 baud, and 3 (3%0 have only modems under 14.4 baud.
Separate phone line: Of the 95 respondents whose agencies do have a modem, just under two thirds have a separate phone line for their modem (including 1 agency that is planning to get one); approximately one third of the agencies do not have a separate phone line.
Most respondents said that their agencies' computers are primarily used by directors and staff. Few are available to clients or the public.
Slightly more than half of the respondents have e-mail that is or can be used for work-related business (either at home and/or at work); almost as many do not.
Almost three out of every five respondents said that they have Internet access at work. And at least half have Internet access at home. But 18 respondents (14% of the total) reported that they do not have Internet access either at work or at home.
Of the 95 respondents who reported that their agencies have modems, 18 (19%) said that they do not have Internet access at work.
About three out of every four respondents said that they have used the Internet in some way to gather information (102 respondents, or 77%, checked at least one of the categories listed below.) Of those who have used the Internet, most have gotten in-depth information or conducted research. About half have searched for grants; a quarter have found services for clients. Less than one in five were using it to participate in listservs, newsgroups or electronic bulletin boards. (Percentages below add up to more than 100% because respondents could check all that apply.)
"Other" catagories listed included: email, parent support groups, school reports, and online technical support.
Most respondents said that their agencies have or are interested in having a Web page. Almost one third already have a Web page; others have one in progress. Close to another third are interested in having one, while about one in four are not interested in a Web page at this time.
Approximately two thirds (67%) of all the respondents indicated an interest in at least one of the training topics listed below. Most wanted to learn about the Internet and local on-line resources; however, there was significant interest in the other topics as well.
Other training mentioned: DOS and Word Perfect, Research tools, how to find resources for agency (including funding and support groups). One respondent requested student training in an afterschool program. |
Survey Data