Liban Abokor, CEO of Reimagine LABS.
According to a recent survey, only a quarter of registered charities agree or somewhat agree that they understand well the potential applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the sector, and the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions, from Statistics Canada, shows that only 7% of nonprofits say they’re already using AI. Liban Abokor hopes to change all that with Navigator, an AI-powered tool for organizations to design and implement evidence-based services and programs. Abokor is CEO of Reimagine LABS, a technology company building AI solutions for the social impact sector. He spoke with PANL Perspectives about Navigator, their first product.
Question: What is Navigator, and how did you start it?
Liban Abokor: Navigator is a productivity tool built by Remagine LABS specifically for the social impact sector. Think of it as your smart assistant that helps social impact organizations research, plan and launch better programs and services. What makes it special is that it works with real data and research. Let me give you an example. Say you want to start a food bank in downtown Ottawa. Navigator would pull together actual data about existing food banks in the region and help you design your own, based on your specific needs. Navigator looks at what’s worked before, what hasn’t, and helps you spot potential problems. This means you can launch faster and with fewer mistakes.
Q: What problem did you hope to solve with Reimagine LABS?
Abokor: Navigator solves a fundamental challenge in the nonprofit sector: the time and expertise gap in program design. Right now, when organizations want to launch a new social impact program, they typically spend months doing research, planning and program design, often reinventing the wheel and working with limited information about what’s actually worked before.
What we’ve built is essentially a shortcut to success. Navigator transforms what could be a six-month research and planning process into a matter of hours. It’s like having instant access to the collective wisdom of thousands of programs and research studies. Instead of starting from scratch, organizations can learn from what’s already working, avoid common pitfalls, and design evidence-based programs from day one.
Let me give you a concrete example. If you’re planning to launch a youth mentorship program, Navigator will quickly show you successful models from across North America, provide detailed budgets based on real programs, and identify potential funding sources. This means you can focus your time and resources, rather than getting stuck in the planning phase.
What makes this especially powerful is that we’re helping nonprofits make data-driven decisions without requiring them to be data scientists. Whether you’re a small grassroots organization or an established charity, Navigator helps you to design and launch programs with the same level of rigor and amount of evidence that larger, well-resourced organizations have access to.
Q: Are you a tech expert?
Abokor: Actually, I don’t come from a tech background at all, which makes me somewhat of an outlier on our team, who bring significant experience in AI, machine learning and database management. These are the folks behind our proprietary database. Imagine the equivalent of about 15,000 books worth of interconnected social impact knowledge — that’s the database. We’ve built a smart system that links together research studies, program evaluations and real-world examples from across North America. Think of it as a massive web of information where everything is connected. When you look up food security programs, for instance, you’re not just seeing isolated examples, but rather, a network of related programs, their outcomes and lessons learned. This gives our users the ability to learn from and potentially connect with organizations running similar initiatives.
Q: How exactly does Navigator work?
Abokor: The process is really straightforward. You start by telling Navigator what social impact area you want to tackle — let’s say education. Then you get more specific about your vision: creating an entrepreneurship program for newcomers and refugees in Toronto, with the goal of helping participants develop business plans over 12 months. Navigator guides you through inputting key details about your resources, like available staff, funding, and whether you’ll run the program virtually or in-person.
What happens next is where the magic happens. Navigator doesn’t just do a simple search. It creates a comprehensive blueprint for your program. You get a detailed research summary that shows what’s worked (and what hasn’t) in similar programs. We provide a practical and customized implementation plan with everything you need: logic models, fully costed budgets, evaluation frameworks, potential funding sources, and partnership opportunities. The system is intelligent; the more specific you are about your needs, the more you input into the tool, the more tailored your blueprint becomes. Think of it as having a team of experts who design your perfect program, but at a fraction of the time and cost.
Q: Does Navigator have phone tech support?
Abokor: We’ve made Navigator really user-friendly, so most people won’t need technical support. But we’re always here to help — you can email us anytime and our team will respond right away. Anyone interested can visit our Navigator website to schedule a demo.
Liban Abokor is CEO of Reimagine LABS and a Fellow at the School of Public Policy and Administration, at Carleton University, and he’s co-founder and co-chair of the Foundation for Black Communities. He can be found on LinkedIn.
Sign up for PANL Perspectives, MPNL’s free newsletter.
Monday, November 18, 2024 in AI & Philanthropy Series, Data Discoveries, For homepage, News & Events
Share: Twitter, Facebook
