ICT Non-Profit Organizations 2014 shows strategic use of social networks

Interaction with the public, campaigns, and mobilization are among the activities carried out by organizations in the online environment

The use of social networks online has contributed to the objectives of non-profit organizations in Brazil. This is the assessment made by 77% of organizations that have their own account or profile on social networks regarding the contribution of these channels to achieving their missions, according to the ICT Non-Profit Organizations 2014 survey. 

Conducted by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br), through the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (CETIC.br), of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br), the survey is carried out every two years since 2012, and examines the available infrastructure and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) by Brazilian non-profit organizations.

More than half of the organizations (61%) have an account or profile on some social network, as well as blogs and forums, with Facebook being the most mentioned channel (53%). The ICT Non-Profit Organizations 2014 survey also indicates that the most common actions are posting news (89%) or topics related to the organizations' area of operation (86%). Activities involving some type of interaction with the public also occur frequently. Responding to user comments and questions, for example, was mentioned by 74% of institutions, and 64% of them promote awareness or mobilization campaigns through social networks.

“The second edition of the survey confirms the role of social networks as an alternative for the presence of non-profit organizations in the “online” environment. This is due to the broad dissemination potential of these platforms without the need for substantial resource investments, as is the case with websites. Social networks hold strategic importance for these organizations, especially when compared to the business sector, where only 39% of Brazilian companies are present on these communication channels, as the ICT Companies 2013 survey shows,” analyzes Alexandre Barbosa, manager of CETIC.br.

To conduct the survey, 3,283 non-profit organizations were interviewed in the areas of culture and recreation, education and research, religion, health and social assistance, development, and defense of rights. Similar to the last edition, the ICT Non-Profit Organizations 2014 survey outlined a profile of these institutions, indicating that they mainly obtain their resources from donations from individuals (54%), membership dues and annual fees paid by members (49%). The organizations' target audiences include young people (52%), children and adolescents (50%), and women (45%), and their activity is especially focused in the communities where they are located.

Resources and ICT infrastructure 
Although computers and the Internet are not yet universalized technological resources in the non-profit organization environment (only 75% and 68% of organizations use them, respectively), the survey revealed a stable scenario within Brazilian organizations since 2012. Issues involving cost and infrastructure are the most mentioned reasons. When talking about computer use, 60% of organizations said they do not have such a tool due to the high cost of acquisition or maintenance. Regarding the Internet, 60% of organizations cited connection cost and 42% the lack of access infrastructure as reasons for not using it.  

There is still a portion of organizations that use computers but do not own their own equipment, suggesting that in many cases, work is carried out with the personal equipment of their members. This difference is even more evident among small organizations, without paid staff. Although 57% of them claimed to use computers, only 30% own this equipment. Internet use is also lower among smaller organizations: 48% of organizations without employed personnel stated they use the Internet, while 87% of those with 1 to 9 employees and 85% of those with more than 10 make use of the network.

Contributions and barriers in the use of ICT 
The survey also investigates the perception of Brazilian non-profit organizations regarding the contributions that ICT use can bring to administrative issues and internal processes. For 51% of them, ICT greatly contributed to increasing the agility in carrying out their tasks, while 45% mention improved internal communication. Organizations mentioned to a lesser extent the contribution of ICT to reducing expenses (30%) and increasing resource acquisition (19%).

For more information about the ICT Non-Profit Organizations 2014 survey, visit https://cetic.br/.

About CETIC.br 
The Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society, of NIC.br, is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on the availability and use of the Internet in Brazil, disseminating periodic analyses and information on network development in the country. CETIC.br is a Regional Center for Studies, under the auspices of UNESCO. More information at https://cetic.br/.

About the Brazilian Network Information Center – NIC.br 
The Brazilian Network Information Center — NIC.br (https://www.nic.br/) is a non-profit civil organization that implements the decisions and projects of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee. The permanent activities of NIC.br include coordinating the domain name registration — Registro.br (https://www.registro.br/), studying, responding to, and handling security incidents in Brazil — CERT.br (https://www.cert.br/), studying and researching network technologies and operations — CEPTRO.br (https://www.ceptro.br/), producing Indicators on information and communication technologies — CETIC.br (https://www.cetic.br/) and hosting the W3C office in Brazil (https://www.w3c.br/)."

About the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee – CGI.br 
The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee is responsible for establishing strategic guidelines related to the use and development of the Internet in Brazil, coordinating, and integrating all Internet service initiatives in the country, promoting technical quality, innovation, and dissemination of the services offered. Based on multilateral, transparent, and democratic principles, CGI.br represents a multistakeholder governance model of the Internet with effective participation from all sectors of society in its decisions. One of its formulations is the 10 Principles for Internet Governance and Use (https://www.cgi.br/principios). More information at https://www.cgi.br/.

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