Interorganizational coordination and awareness in a nonprofit ecosystem

Nonprofit organizations working with high-risk vulnerable populations such as human trafficking victims often need to engage in a significant level of interorganizational collaboration. Given the importance for nonprofits to be able to work with many different organizations, and given the importance of awareness in initiating and facilitating such collaborations, we conducted a field study to explore existing practices around coordination and awareness across a specific ecosystem of nonprofit organizations. In this paper, we provide an in-depth reflection on interorganizational issues among a cross-section of nonprofits. We identify four aspects of the interorganizational context in which these nonprofits must operate, as well as challenges they may encounter. Our goal is to illuminate first steps towards finding appropriate technological solutions for supporting coordination and awareness between these organizations so they can be more effective in accomplishing their mission.

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