The how and why of Technology Guiding Principles

In the ever-evolving landscape of nonprofit technology, having a clear set of guiding principles is essential to ensure you balance long-term benefits, optimize costs, and manage risks appropriately.

Heller Consulting’s Technology Guiding Principles framework is designed to help tech leaders balance needs and make good tech decisions that benefit the whole organization.

Our methodology

Guiding principles are as unique as the organization and should be tightly tied to its mission. Many nonprofit technology leaders start with this set of 10 universal guiding principles:

These principles serve as a foundation for developing tailored strategies that align with the unique mission and organizational culture of each nonprofit.

However, most organizations will want to take it further. For example, healthcare organizations may prioritize integration with their affiliated hospital systems, while accessibility may be paramount to an organization that serves people with disabilities.

Prioritize and evaluate initiatives

We take clients through a process of scoping and evaluating their initiatives, considering the breadth of the projects, the complexity of the technology, availability and expertise of human resources, budget constraints, project duration, potential risks, stakeholder involvement, organizational change, legal and regulatory requirements, data handling complexity, and their dependencies on other projects or external factors.

Together, we weigh initiatives on a value-complexity framework, which helps to identify the most business-critical projects. We also test each initiative against frameworks including business alignment and urgency, ensuring that prioritized initiatives align with organizational goals and deliver maximum impact.

We’re with you every step of the way

Heller Consulting works with nonprofits and education institutions to develop and implement tailored technology strategies that support organizational goals. Our strategic services include technology selection, custom implementation, managed services, and change leadership, all designed to maximize your return on investment and align your technology with your mission. Get in touch.