Philanthropy is intertwined with the digital world more than ever, which makes it necessary to understand the buzzwords we’re likely to hear a lot in the next year. Many of these words relate to the “creative” ways, both positive and negative, that civil society is responding to widespread concerns about trust.
For the past decade, I have been releasing an annual list of the top 10 emerging buzzwords. Looking back, it’s clear how much change has happened in philanthropy. Ten years ago, the new and shiny ideas were impact investing and B corporations. Now, those are embedded in the work of social change. What I do see, however, is that the notion of how we best achieve impact is still very much on our minds. In 2009, we were talking about “moving the needle,” a phrase that might still qualify for the 2019 list.
Data maturity
How well does your organization manage and govern its digital data? Today’s organizations need policies to guide their use of digital data to drive the mission, just as they have robust governance processes in place to guide their use of financial and human-resource policies. As an indicator of organizational effectiveness, data maturity is growing in importance. Several tools are available or being built to help you determine your data-maturity level. Datakind and Harvard have useful tools you can use now. Be on the lookout for more from TechSoup Global and Makaia, a nonprofit that seeks ways to promote social change through technology, innovation, and international cooperation.
Deep fakes
Manipulated videos that mix audio from one person or event with material from another, making it seem that people are doing and saying things they didn’t really do or say, are becoming more common. Deep fakes are like Photoshop for video, but on steroids, because the connection to algorithmic systems means the videos can be constantly updated with the latest rumor and targeted at those most susceptible to believing the message. Fraudulent video is already a problem in human-rights investigations. As fake videos become common, the veracity of all videos will be questioned, with implications for communications strategies across the board.
Mesh network
This is a low-cost, low-distance means of transmitting information across a community-owned network. Mesh networks are popular in places with lousy or unaffordable broadband, such as rural areas, and in communities that don’t trust the cable or telecommunications companies.
MIDs
An acronym for mediators of individual data, these are the new associations (unions, nonprofits, collectives, cooperatives, etc.) that will negotiate with big corporate data users like social-media companies or data brokers on behalf of their (voluntary) membership. Along with data trusts and data unions, MIDs represent an emerging part of civil society. There’s already a lot of press about the idea, which is being heavily promoted by the scholars Glen Weyl and Jason Lanier. You’ll hear the buzz — and might even join a MID in 2019.
Norm
This used to be the kind of word you’d hear only on college campuses, usually in the social-sciences quad. A “norm” is a standard of behavior, such as putting your napkin in your lap at the dinner table or not selling products out of the White House. The frequency with which members of the current U.S. administration have violated the norms of public service are why the term is now a buzzword; reporters use it almost every day to describe the latest events. Civil society might take a moment to examine the norms that shape it, those that are holding it back, and those it might be worth doubling down on or, dare I say, even codifying.
Public-interest tech
There’s an effort underway to train and attract engineers and software designers to public-interest fields: think government service and nonprofits. Modeled on the movement that promoted public-interest law several decades ago, the public-interest technology movement is just getting started, with support from the Ford Foundation.
Stewardship
This is an old idea that needs to come back into fashion, or at least come back into jargon. A few years ago, nonprofits itched to hire data scientists. In the coming year, as governance issues hit home, organizations will be talking about data stewardship. The idea here is closely linked to data governance; the stewardship role is about making sure the resources are carefully collected, protected and secured, and dedicated to the mission, while respecting the interests of those who donated them and those who benefit from the work. Good data stewardship is something every organization should aspire to.
Surroundables
Wearable technology is so last year. Omnipresent networked digital devices mean that we are now surrounded by sensors. Many of them exist to “sense” other things, like traffic or building access.
Of course, Amazon, Google, and Apple have already moved in with their versions of this technology (Echo, Alexa, Google Home, and Siri). Nonprofits need to consider how this technology affects their missions (and not just their fundraising.)
These omnipresent sensors mean that your nonprofit needs to steward that data with an eye toward your mission. For example, if your organization has a digital sign-in process at a reception, do you know what your building manager does with that data? Are you able negotiate with your landlord so the storage of that personal-location data is used only for building-safety reasons (fire evacuation, for example) and it is purged every evening?
Systems change
This concept goes in and out of fashion, but it’s definitely back. At a time when climate change is wreaking havoc, tens of millions of people are migrating, and democracies are struggling, foundations and other big donors are increasingly calling for “bigger” and “bolder” strategies aimed at changing whole systems.
Zero trust
This phrase from the data-security world refers to designing technology systems that verify identity and use at every step. It’s gaining ground. It’s also a phrase that, sadly, seems to describe the world writ large.
Extra credit: Superpower
This is the crowd-winner buzzword. My loyal band of readers who focus on big ideas, review and submit grants, and otherwise work to change the world tell me that this term earns the center box on the buzzword bingo card for 2019. I’m not entirely sure where it comes from, but many people seem to be craving strength, persistence, and superpowers. My superpower is listening to them.
Lucy Bernholz is a senior research scholar at Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, director of the Digital Civil Society Lab, and the author of the series “Philanthropy and Digital Civil Society,” from which this list is derived. The complete Blueprint 2019 will be available for download tomorrow.
