husITa (human services Information Technology association) is an international community of interest – and a registered US 501(c) non-profit organisation – led by a strategic board, that exists through the activities of its members to achieve the following vision, mission, goals, and objectives.
Vision
A world where information technology is harnessed by the human services to promote and support social good and human wellbeing.
Mission
To promote the ethical and effective use of information technology for human betterment.
Goals
- Advance inquiry and research into the ethics and effectiveness of human service technology.
- Collect and disseminate information and research on human service technology applications.
- Promote and support the development of innovative, effective and ethical human service technology applications.
Objectives
- Produce and disseminate a high quality, peer-reviewed, academic journal on human service technology.
- To advance inquiry and research into the ethical and effective use of human service technology through conferences, seminars, symposia, the web, and social media.
- Mentor, collaborate, and coordinate with organizations and individuals who have a shared interest in the mission of husITa.
- Promote evidence-informed innovation in the development of human service technology.
- Advocate for principles of participatory, user-centered design of human service technology.
- Challenge and campaign against the inappropriate use of human service technology applications, especially when such developments breach fundamental principles of human rights and/or social justice.
Assumptions
- Our target audience includes professionals involved in human service technology research, development, education, management and practice.
- The achievement of our vision, mission and goals requires international, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary cooperation that includes the designers and users of human service technologies.
- We are neither utopian nor dystopian in our vision of human service technology applications, but position ourselves as evidence-informed skeptics.
Definitions
Human services are services that promote human wellbeing by enabling individuals, families, groups and communities to function, cope and flourish.
Information technology or information and communications technology are terms used to describe technologies that process digital information.
Organizational mission is a concise statement of the overall purpose of the organization.
Organizational vision describes the future state of people and/or systems when the organization has accomplished its mission.
Organizational goals identify the broad intended outcomes of the organization.
Organizational objectives are action statements that provide an overall description of the activities that will accomplish organizational goals.
User-centred design is an approach to technology system design that maximises system usability by involving intended users at each stage of the design and development process.
Membership
You can join husITa at no cost by by subscribing to our mailing list. Mailing list subscribers gain the benefits of discounted conference fees and journal subscriptions. Mailing list subscribers can also vote on membership of the husITa Board of Directors.
More information
Defining human services | The board | History | husITa bylaws | husITa conflict of interest policy
Image credit | Flickr | an untrained eye