Action Science Approach to Experimenting Nonprofit Web 2.0 Services for Employment of Individuals with Mental Impairments

Corporates have long used information technology to manage data, improve work efficiency and supervise employees. However, the initial and maintenance cost of IT systems are often too high for nonprofit organizations (NPOs) to afford. Therefore, NPOs have long experienced deficiency of IT resources and relied mainly on paperwork. Budgets are one of the main reasons but the lack of user friendly interfaces hinders NPO personnel from using advanced IT efficiency tools. By provisioning of hosted, fee-free, user-friendly Web services, Web 2.0 removes maintenance and financial burdens from NPOs and adds usability in the meanwhile. Advanced and easy-to-use GUIs empower NPOs to exploit the latest Web intelligence collaborative computing and social media. The study follows action science approach to the problem of finding jobs for mentally disabled persons after rehabilitation. The problem can be categorized into three aspects. The first one is about the mentally disabled. The second is about their job coaches. The third is about how to introduce this organization to the potential employers and the general public as well. We also learn the practices of Web 2.0 technologies from foreign nonprofit organizations at the same time. After 4 months of action science- based activities, such as organized participant observations, in-depth interviews, field work, and focus group studies, a working prototype has been built and tested by the job coaches of five Taipei-based rehabilitational hospitals.