INKEx
What is INKEx?
Irish Nonprofits Knowledge Exchange (INKEx) is a new company with an ambitious plan to document and disseminate the work of civil society organisations in Ireland.
INKEx is an independent, nonprofit (limited by guarantee) company with charitable tax exemption from Revenue. Following a feasibility research project in 2007/8, INKEx was established in 2009 to build a comprehensive, live database of up to 9,000 Irish non-profit organisations, and make it freely available on a searchable public website.
Entities in scope are charities, community & voluntary organisations, NGOs and civil society organisations (including philanthropies) working in the areas of arts, sport and leisure; education; development; health; social justice and advocacy; international aid, voluntarism promotion, business, professional and labour organisation.
Whom does it serve?
When it is launched at the end of 2011, www.inkex.ie will transform the volume and quality of information available to the public about the work of Irish nonprofits – directory information but also their purposes, activities, achievements, beneficiaries, governance and management. Besides the sector itself and the general public, the website will be an invaluable resource for donors, volunteers, policy-makers, commentators and analysts.
As a single, comprehensive and accessible source of information about the entire sector, nothing like it exists yet in Ireland.
How is it being funded?
Most of INKEx’s funding comes from the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs, Irish Aid, and The Atlantic Philanthropies.
Together, these funders recognise the strategic infrastructural value of up-to-date information being stored and shared in a single venue, and managed as a resource to serve the sector and its stakeholders.
Support for the project also comes from the sector itself, and from institutional partners who have facilitated the creation of the first-ever database of nonprofits derived from public domain
information.
What exactly does INKEx do?
Drawing on the mandatory returns and company documents filed with the Companies Registration Office by thousands of public benefit companies each year, INKEx harvests the contents of these to convert them into more than 2m individual units of data annually.
Once the data are stored in the INKEx database, where they are updated annually, they form the basis of the web-pages for each listed nonprofit. The INKEx website with each company’s own pages (or “micro-site”) will be sent to every listed organisation online, to allow each one to augment the contents - with their logo, additional text, photographs, documents of all kinds. This means that besides their own existing website, every nonprofit will have a new channel for communicating with their public - and with one another - one that INKEx hopes will become the home of the sector online.
When will it be ready?
Building on a consultative process undertaken during 2010, the design and creation of the INKEx website has begun, and INKEx will shortly be rolling it out their own micro-sites to each of the lead group of 300 listed nonprofits.
Toward the summer, with the benefit of feedback from this group, INKEx will upload information related to the remaining c8,700 organisations onto the website, with a view to making the site public at the end of the year.
Much like a Facebook profile, each listed nonprofit will be able to go online, with password-protected access, to enhance or edit their own content anytime.
How do I learn more?
INKEx has a simple information site already - www.inkex.ie - and anyone who’s interested can review progress and post comments there.
Alternatively call 01 602 4966, or email info@inkex.ie for more information.
