This morning, I discovered a blog I hadn’t heard of before – the Leading Blog, at leadershipnow.com (subscribed). The post that interested me pointed to a report just released by La Piana Consulting, titled Convergence: How Five Trends Will Reshape the Social Sector.
Here’s a blurb from the report: “For the nonprofit sector to survive and thrive, everyone – nonprofits, fudners, and capacity builders alike – must become futurists. … being attuned to rapid and continual shifts in the environment; continually evaluating and interpreting how organizations can best adapt; and experimenting with new responses and approaches. Being a futurist requires both individual and institutional curiosity, and a willingness to take risks. No one of us can afford to rest on our laurels, assuming that the old ways of doing business will continue to serve us in this dramatically new and ever-changing environment.”
It goes on to discuss “five key trends converging to reshape the social sector”:
- demographic shifts redefine participation
- technological advances abound
- networks enable work to be organized in new ways
- interest in civic engagement and volunteerism is rising
- sector boundaries are blurring
Interesting reading, so far – looks like the non-profit sector is dealing with very similar issues to us libraries!