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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><!--Generated by Site-Server v@build.version@ (http://www.squarespace.com) on Tue, 14 Jan 2025 18:50:30 GMT--><rss xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:media="http://www.rssboard.org/media-rss" version="2.0"><channel><title>Resources - Data Orchard</title><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/</link><lastBuildDate>Mon, 10 Jun 2024 14:52:09 +0000</lastBuildDate><language>en-GB</language><generator>Site-Server v@build.version@ (http://www.squarespace.com)</generator><description><![CDATA[]]></description><item><title>Creative data collection in nonprofits </title><category>All</category><category>Tips and tools</category><category>Datafolk Club</category><dc:creator>Libby Harkins</dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 15:27:59 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/crative-data-collection-nonprofits</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:6734c57f0d770b71372070e3</guid><description><![CDATA[Our Nonprofit Datafolk Club gathered in June to discuss challenges and solutions for collecting data in nonprofits.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731512258047-3G6CE5PMIYASAJJ0C0C3/image-asset.jpeg" data-image-dimensions="2500x1674" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731512258047-3G6CE5PMIYASAJJ0C0C3/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w" width="2500" height="1674" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731512258047-3G6CE5PMIYASAJJ0C0C3/image-asset.jpeg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731512258047-3G6CE5PMIYASAJJ0C0C3/image-asset.jpeg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731512258047-3G6CE5PMIYASAJJ0C0C3/image-asset.jpeg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731512258047-3G6CE5PMIYASAJJ0C0C3/image-asset.jpeg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731512258047-3G6CE5PMIYASAJJ0C0C3/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731512258047-3G6CE5PMIYASAJJ0C0C3/image-asset.jpeg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731512258047-3G6CE5PMIYASAJJ0C0C3/image-asset.jpeg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">Every month, our Nonprofit Datafolk Club gets together to share experiences and learning. It’s a chance for data folk working in or with nonprofits to network and discuss matters of mutual interest. </p><p class="">Back in June, we focused our discussions on 'Creative Data Collection'. Our nonprofit data folk split off into small groups to share ideas for creative data collection solutions – how they think outside the box to get the data they need. We asked: ‘How do you currently collect data and what are the pitfalls of these methods?’, ‘Does anyone have a creative solution/alternative?’, ‘What are some creative or interesting data collection methods you have come across? What did you like / not like about them? Would they work in your organisation?’. </p><h2>Current data collection methods, and their pitfalls </h2><p class="">Surveys were the most common data collection method mentioned, using platforms such as Qualtrics, MS forms and SmartSurvey. This data is often held in spreadsheets or Salesforce. Paper forms were also mentioned for in-person events, as some found they get a better response than providing links. Miro and mentimeter were other tools used to collect data. </p><p class="">Challenges that people are facing with their current data collection methods are: </p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">engaging the right demographic and ensuring diverse participation </p></li></ul><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">accessibility of the data collection tools (for example miro isn’t compatible with screen readers) </p></li></ul><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">data security concerns, especially when collecting sensitive information </p></li></ul><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">data quality challenges – many stated they struggled with data accuracy and consistency </p></li></ul><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">complexity of data – understanding what data needs to be collected to show impact or make change can be difficult </p></li></ul><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">finally, the use of a range of tools meant that some struggled with integrating the systems / information. </p></li></ul><h2>Creative solutions or alternatives </h2><p class="">The importance of communication was touched on from multiple angles, such as adopting more inclusive advertising to attract a range of people, being transparent about data use when collecting it, and communicating between teams and programmes about what data is needed. </p><p class="">Various tools were suggested, including PowerAutomate, Copilot / AI, and mathematical modelling to build a bigger picture from existing data. </p><p class="">Other notable mentions were physical data collection techniques – using coloured balls to gain responses, or an anonymous chalkboard/wall, and storytelling (for example through video testimonials). </p><h2>Interesting data collection methods people had come across </h2><p class="">One example of interesting data collection given was an art activity during fieldwork. This meant those who are digitally-excluded could get involved, and was part of creating an environment of trust. It was acknowledged that these in-person approaches are time intensive and can require appropriate staff skills (such as British Sign Language). </p><p class="">Another example was when digital story-tellers are employed (creating visualisations, videos, creative outputs) to bring data to life. Facilitating feedback days/groups to supplement more ‘core’ data collection can help build a richer story. This ensures stakeholders understand the data, and its value is demonstrated in an engaging way. Another person pointed out that support workers can be creative in the ways they have conversations with the people they’re supporting, in order to collect data. </p><p class="">Finally, using external / government data-sets. One participant already collected data from The Charity Commission. Another wanted to use data from the Department for Work and Pensions to get employability information. Although, it was noted that in this case you need a large dataset, so as not to identify individuals – which can be difficult for a small charity. </p><p class="">There were some barriers to adopting innovative data collection. Online working, being confined to (for example) Microsoft products, organisational culture and ability to take risks, were all mentioned as things that can make it difficult to try new things. </p><h2>Links shared </h2><p class="">There are often many useful links/resources shared at Nonprofit Datafolk Club workshops. Those shared in this session included: </p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="http://otter.ai/" target="_blank">Otter.ai</a> </p></li></ul><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://datakind.org.uk/" target="_blank">DataKind UK </a></p></li></ul><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.probonoeconomics.com/" target="_blank">Pro Bono Economics </a></p></li></ul><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/the-big-ambition/" target="_blank">The Big Ambition </a></p></li></ul><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.qualtrics.com/uk/" target="_blank">Qualtrics </a></p></li></ul><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://decidim.org/" target="_blank">Decidim </a></p></li></ul><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.videoask.com/" target="_blank">VideoAsk </a></p></li></ul><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="http://www.artworkscreative.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Creative-Evaluation-Toolkit.pdf" target="_blank">Creative Evaluation Toolkit </a></p></li></ul><h2>Join the Nonprofit Datafolk Club </h2><p class="">If you found this resource interesting, or if you have any curiosity in nonprofit data more generally, please come and join us at our next workshop. Each month has a different topic – you’ll find details on our <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/events">events page</a>. Previous topics have included: </p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/using-statistics-in-nonprofits" target="">Statistics in nonprofits </a></p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/data-disasters-how-to-avoid" target="">Data disasters and how to avoid them</a></p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/communicating-data-accessibly">Communicating data accessibly </a></p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/impact-measurement-nonprofits">Measuring impact in nonprofits </a></p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/ai-in-nonprofits">AI in nonprofits </a></p> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/jpeg" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731512122380-Y6L9XYTXC7CH099V0PKT/image-asset.jpeg?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="1500" height="1004"><media:title type="plain">Creative data collection in nonprofits </media:title></media:content></item><item><title>LGBT Foundation: Developing a single source of truth</title><category>Case study</category><category>All</category><dc:creator>Data Orchard</dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2024 09:18:08 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/lgbt-foundation-single-source-of-truth</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:67346ed01ca8183c5238aaca</guid><description><![CDATA[This case study - on LGBT Foundation’s journey from data silos to a single source of truth - was produced as part of our work with 10GM to develop data maturity in the VCSE sector in Greater Manchester.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731493636914-2EIXMR97KVBIF97K0318/LGBT+Foundation+logo.png" data-image-dimensions="486x240" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731493636914-2EIXMR97KVBIF97K0318/LGBT+Foundation+logo.png?format=1000w" width="486" height="240" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731493636914-2EIXMR97KVBIF97K0318/LGBT+Foundation+logo.png?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731493636914-2EIXMR97KVBIF97K0318/LGBT+Foundation+logo.png?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731493636914-2EIXMR97KVBIF97K0318/LGBT+Foundation+logo.png?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731493636914-2EIXMR97KVBIF97K0318/LGBT+Foundation+logo.png?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731493636914-2EIXMR97KVBIF97K0318/LGBT+Foundation+logo.png?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731493636914-2EIXMR97KVBIF97K0318/LGBT+Foundation+logo.png?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731493636914-2EIXMR97KVBIF97K0318/LGBT+Foundation+logo.png?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">From summer 2023 to spring 2024, <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/case-studies/10gm-research-data-maturity">we worked with 10GM</a>, a joint venture supporting the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector in Greater Manchester, to research the sector’s use of data and intelligence in the region. As part of this project, we identified and co-produced case studies of inspiring organisations’ data journeys. Demonstrating ‘the art of the possible’, these case studies highlighted some more advanced use of data, allowing peer organisations to visualise their own path to data improvement.</p><p class="">This case study – on LGBT Foundation’s journey from data silos to a single source of truth – was first published on the <a href="https://10gm.org.uk/10gms-work/vcse-data/" target="_blank">10GM website</a>. We’ve reproduced it here with permission.</p><h2>Context</h2><p class=""><a href="https://lgbt.foundation/" target="_blank">LGBT Foundation</a> is a national charity with LGBTQ+ health and wellbeing at the heart of everything they do. Based in Manchester, they have 77 employees, 288 volunteers, and £4M income in 2022-23.</p><h2>The problem</h2><p class="">LGBT Foundation has valued data collection for a long time, but when Tom Montrose-Moss joined as Head of Insight and Performance six years ago, most of their data was collected on paper and any digital information was stored in an array of separate spreadsheets. It was very difficult to answer simple questions like 'how many referrals did we get last month?', as it meant extracting the information from a range of sources. This siloing of data also meant staff were often unaware of what people were working on in other parts of the organisation.</p><blockquote><p class="">“Our CEO said we were 'data rich and knowledge poor'. We were sitting on a lot of information but unable to process it into something that was useable. Sometimes we were collecting information that didn't tell you anything (which we’ve since stopped collecting)."</p></blockquote><h2>The data journey</h2><p class="">LGBT Foundation was already using a Salesforce CRM, but in a very basic way. Tom's first task was to set up Salesforce so all service activity could be captured into it. Data collection was made more consistent and digitally enabled across the organisation. Forms, previously on paper then scanned and uploaded, were now web-based with drop-down lists to make input easier for staff. At the same time, referral pathways were reviewed, and the user journey was digitised to track which services people accessed, and what their outcome was.</p><p class="">Tom negotiated these changes in data processes by selling the benefits to staff: ability to see what was happening across the organisation; ability to monitor the changing demand for services (and why when things felt hectic, the data affirmed people’s gut feelings); monitoring of service performance indicators such as waiting times. </p><p class="">The pandemic also helped accelerate adoption of a digital approach. The organisation now captures all its service data into Salesforce, from referral through initial assessment, service provision and discharge, with feedback forms submitting directly into the CRM.</p><p class="">Tom created dashboards to give colleagues an overview of what’s going on in services – for example, showing service needs by demographic. </p><p class="">LGBT Foundation are in a strong position to demonstrate community need for their services. They use data to tell compelling stories to different audiences: to funders, to influence public awareness, and to educate staff in other organisations. For example: the TV programme ‘Crimewatch’ featured their data on high rates of domestic abuse in the LGBTQ+ community.</p><h2>Enablers: a champion, leadership support, and the pandemic</h2><p class="">Tom has been an excellent champion for data and feels leadership support and the pandemic have also been key drivers.</p><blockquote><p class="">"Leadership has valued data and intelligence from day one and their constant drive to be an evidence-based organisation has given me the freedom to develop everything that’s needed. As information has been liberated from the paper space, it's empowered colleagues to have informed discussions and reaffirmed people at the top that their instinct to value data was right.”</p></blockquote><p class="">Until six months ago, Tom was a one-person-band but, with the growth of the organisation and the value and volume of data, he now has another member of staff on his team. This has increased their capacity to deal with data requests, reporting, and enabled them to provide more internal training.</p><h2>Challenges: skills development, digital literacy and change</h2><p class="">Completing the <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/data-maturity-assessment-tool">Data Maturity Assessment</a> made Tom reflect on skills across LGBT Foundation and the sector as a whole. He felt people in charities aren’t usually recruited based on their digital skills. Many are more comfortable with the old familiar ways and tools (like spreadsheets).</p><blockquote><p class="">“There's a degree of patience and understanding you've got to have with staff in terms of expectations...some colleagues take to [digital tools] like a duck to water but you've got to bring everyone along with you. It's that cultural stuff. Some people [are] still scared by numbers, or [don’t] see the value of all the information they input."</p></blockquote><h2>Advice for others in the VCSE sector</h2><p class="">Tom’s top three suggestions for others in the VCSE sector are:</p><h3>1. Design your data collection with the goal of story-telling</h3><p class="">Data by itself doesn't really tell you anything. It's how you use it to communicate stories that matters. Create simple tools to tell a three-act story: ‘What was the person’s situation?’, ‘What was their experience of the service?’ and ‘What was the outcome?’. Having the end goal in mind helps inform data collection design.</p><h3>2. Get as much information as possible into one place</h3><p class="">This helps to avoid unnecessary duplication and helps people to understand the whole history of a service user or client.</p><h3>3. Upskill people so they can see the value of data for themselves</h3><p class="">People can’t always see the potential of data. By upskilling staff and enabling them to see the data for themselves, there are immediate rewards, like enabling staff to see service user feedback to demonstrate the difference they've made to someone's life.</p> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/jpeg" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1731508983601-NB2PCD86WG17PXTSZC00/LGBT+Foundation+image+square-800x800.jpg?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="800" height="800"><media:title type="plain">LGBT Foundation: Developing a single source of truth</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>State of the Sector: Data Maturity in the Nonprofit Sector 2024</title><category>Publications</category><category>All</category><dc:creator>Data Orchard</dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 20 Oct 2024 18:21:07 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/sots-data-maturity-in-nonprofit-sector-2024</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:67154a130b23760fe90e6239</guid><description><![CDATA[Our 2024 State of the Sector report analyses more benchmark data than ever before, from users of our online Data Maturity Assessment tool. Read the report for unique insights into the state of data maturity in the nonprofit sector..]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/6de91cf4-2272-4f42-a5c9-b28b2896e18e/State+of+the+Sector+2024.png" data-image-dimensions="1200x1200" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/6de91cf4-2272-4f42-a5c9-b28b2896e18e/State+of+the+Sector+2024.png?format=1000w" width="1200" height="1200" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 33.33333333333333vw, 33.33333333333333vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/6de91cf4-2272-4f42-a5c9-b28b2896e18e/State+of+the+Sector+2024.png?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/6de91cf4-2272-4f42-a5c9-b28b2896e18e/State+of+the+Sector+2024.png?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/6de91cf4-2272-4f42-a5c9-b28b2896e18e/State+of+the+Sector+2024.png?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/6de91cf4-2272-4f42-a5c9-b28b2896e18e/State+of+the+Sector+2024.png?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/6de91cf4-2272-4f42-a5c9-b28b2896e18e/State+of+the+Sector+2024.png?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/6de91cf4-2272-4f42-a5c9-b28b2896e18e/State+of+the+Sector+2024.png?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/6de91cf4-2272-4f42-a5c9-b28b2896e18e/State+of+the+Sector+2024.png?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">Our latest report into data maturity in the nonprofit sector is based on more data than ever. In the last four years, almost 12,000 people from more than 1,000 organisations have completed our <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/data-maturity-assessment-tool">data maturity assessment</a>.</p><p class="">In this report we review how nonprofit organisations are doing with data and what is changing over time, and take a deep dive into the strengths and weaknesses of not-for-profit organisations (such as charities, social enterprises and NGOs), as compared with the public sector.</p><p class="">Read the executive summary below, or download the full report as a pdf.</p> <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/s/SOTS2024-State-of-the-Sector-Data-Maturity-in-the-Nonprofit-Sector-v-14.pdf" class="sqs-block-button-element--medium sqs-button-element--primary sqs-block-button-element" target="_blank" > Download the report in PDF </a> <hr /> <h2>State of the Sector: Data Maturity in the Nonprofit Sector 2024</h2><h3>Written and researched by Hannah Khwaja and Libby Harkins, October 2024</h3><p class=""><br></p><h1>Executive Summary</h1><p class="">Data Orchard has been measuring and benchmarking organisational data maturity using our Data Maturity Assessment tool since 2019. This year we’ve seen our highest growth in user numbers and reach, taking our total to almost 12,000 from 56 countries around the world. Now with a rich dataset of 1,039 validated organisations in our benchmark, the time is ripe for sharing what the latest data says.</p><p class="">Our framework scores organisational data maturity across a five-stage journey, starting from Unaware and progressing through Emerging, Learning and Developing to Mastering. Based on usage of our Data Maturity Assessment Tool since October 2019, we’ve found most organisations are in the Learning and early Developing stages.</p><p class="">The analysis in this report focuses on data from the four complete financial years (2020-21 to 2023-24) and explores how different sectors are doing across seven themes of data maturity: Uses, Data, Analysis, Leadership, Culture, Tools, and Skills. We focus on not-for-profit organisations such as charities, social enterprises, and not-for-profits as well as the public sector, which we collectively describe as the nonprofit sector.</p><h2>Key insights</h2><p class="">1. <strong>There’s no significant difference between not-for-profit, public and commercial sectors in data maturity.</strong> However, there are some differences in their strengths and weaknesses. There are leaders and laggers in every sector.</p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/28f5c6fb-8304-4d67-8afe-0818ae9b4e42/Data+Orchard+-+Organisational+data+maturity+by+sector.png" data-image-dimensions="5037x4364" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/28f5c6fb-8304-4d67-8afe-0818ae9b4e42/Data+Orchard+-+Organisational+data+maturity+by+sector.png?format=1000w" width="5037" height="4364" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 83.33333333333334vw, 83.33333333333334vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/28f5c6fb-8304-4d67-8afe-0818ae9b4e42/Data+Orchard+-+Organisational+data+maturity+by+sector.png?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/28f5c6fb-8304-4d67-8afe-0818ae9b4e42/Data+Orchard+-+Organisational+data+maturity+by+sector.png?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/28f5c6fb-8304-4d67-8afe-0818ae9b4e42/Data+Orchard+-+Organisational+data+maturity+by+sector.png?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/28f5c6fb-8304-4d67-8afe-0818ae9b4e42/Data+Orchard+-+Organisational+data+maturity+by+sector.png?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/28f5c6fb-8304-4d67-8afe-0818ae9b4e42/Data+Orchard+-+Organisational+data+maturity+by+sector.png?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/28f5c6fb-8304-4d67-8afe-0818ae9b4e42/Data+Orchard+-+Organisational+data+maturity+by+sector.png?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/28f5c6fb-8304-4d67-8afe-0818ae9b4e42/Data+Orchard+-+Organisational+data+maturity+by+sector.png?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">2. <strong>Whilst, from a historic perspective, there’s an apparent technological revolution happening in digital and data, for most organisations change is fairly slow.</strong> The average score has shifted from 2.7 to 3 out of 5 in four years. Findings suggest there’s a huge gulf between what’s possible with data and AI, and the readiness of organisations to embrace the opportunities.</p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/015a5289-3f63-4065-8b52-ecbc3ab59f7c/Percentage+of+organisations+in+each+stage+2020-24.png" data-image-dimensions="777x605" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/015a5289-3f63-4065-8b52-ecbc3ab59f7c/Percentage+of+organisations+in+each+stage+2020-24.png?format=1000w" width="777" height="605" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 83.33333333333334vw, 83.33333333333334vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/015a5289-3f63-4065-8b52-ecbc3ab59f7c/Percentage+of+organisations+in+each+stage+2020-24.png?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/015a5289-3f63-4065-8b52-ecbc3ab59f7c/Percentage+of+organisations+in+each+stage+2020-24.png?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/015a5289-3f63-4065-8b52-ecbc3ab59f7c/Percentage+of+organisations+in+each+stage+2020-24.png?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/015a5289-3f63-4065-8b52-ecbc3ab59f7c/Percentage+of+organisations+in+each+stage+2020-24.png?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/015a5289-3f63-4065-8b52-ecbc3ab59f7c/Percentage+of+organisations+in+each+stage+2020-24.png?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/015a5289-3f63-4065-8b52-ecbc3ab59f7c/Percentage+of+organisations+in+each+stage+2020-24.png?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/015a5289-3f63-4065-8b52-ecbc3ab59f7c/Percentage+of+organisations+in+each+stage+2020-24.png?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">3. <strong>Culture and Uses have seen the biggest improvement over the past four years.</strong> Organisations are improving in aspects of data security and using data to measure and improve their impact, design services and support decision-making.</p><p class="">4. <strong>Skills remains the worst scoring theme for all sectors and hasn’t shifted in the last four years.</strong> Most organisations don’t have the right skills, capabilities and resources to maximise the use of their data, and many do not know what they need. Data literacy is a challenge for over 75% of organisations. </p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/43ad1818-b3cf-44ac-8b88-d5a6fec4270e/Data+Orchard+-+Theme+scores+over+years.png" data-image-dimensions="840x629" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/43ad1818-b3cf-44ac-8b88-d5a6fec4270e/Data+Orchard+-+Theme+scores+over+years.png?format=1000w" width="840" height="629" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 83.33333333333334vw, 83.33333333333334vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/43ad1818-b3cf-44ac-8b88-d5a6fec4270e/Data+Orchard+-+Theme+scores+over+years.png?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/43ad1818-b3cf-44ac-8b88-d5a6fec4270e/Data+Orchard+-+Theme+scores+over+years.png?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/43ad1818-b3cf-44ac-8b88-d5a6fec4270e/Data+Orchard+-+Theme+scores+over+years.png?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/43ad1818-b3cf-44ac-8b88-d5a6fec4270e/Data+Orchard+-+Theme+scores+over+years.png?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/43ad1818-b3cf-44ac-8b88-d5a6fec4270e/Data+Orchard+-+Theme+scores+over+years.png?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/43ad1818-b3cf-44ac-8b88-d5a6fec4270e/Data+Orchard+-+Theme+scores+over+years.png?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/43ad1818-b3cf-44ac-8b88-d5a6fec4270e/Data+Orchard+-+Theme+scores+over+years.png?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">5. <strong>Not-for-profit organisations feel that their leadership are more engaged than the public sector when it comes to actively harnessing the power of data and planning for the future.</strong> They are also more confident in the quality of their data and are more likely to use their data to evidence their impact. </p><p class="">6. <strong>Public sector organisations are performing more complex analysis and using more specialist tools than not-for-profits.</strong> They also score much more highly on aspects of data security and protection in Culture and Skills.</p><p class="">7. <strong>Everyone needs to learn about data.</strong> Regardless of their job role, everyone is spending a lot of time working with data – on average around 50% of their time. As a proportion of salary expenditure, this represents a huge (and likely hidden) cost. This means data skills are relevant to EVERYONE in an organisation.</p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/3e40e349-a6bc-44fa-a2cc-7034f06b3cb5/Percentage+of+jobs+working+with+data+2020-2024.png" data-image-dimensions="917x750" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/3e40e349-a6bc-44fa-a2cc-7034f06b3cb5/Percentage+of+jobs+working+with+data+2020-2024.png?format=1000w" width="917" height="750" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 83.33333333333334vw, 83.33333333333334vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/3e40e349-a6bc-44fa-a2cc-7034f06b3cb5/Percentage+of+jobs+working+with+data+2020-2024.png?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/3e40e349-a6bc-44fa-a2cc-7034f06b3cb5/Percentage+of+jobs+working+with+data+2020-2024.png?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/3e40e349-a6bc-44fa-a2cc-7034f06b3cb5/Percentage+of+jobs+working+with+data+2020-2024.png?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/3e40e349-a6bc-44fa-a2cc-7034f06b3cb5/Percentage+of+jobs+working+with+data+2020-2024.png?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/3e40e349-a6bc-44fa-a2cc-7034f06b3cb5/Percentage+of+jobs+working+with+data+2020-2024.png?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/3e40e349-a6bc-44fa-a2cc-7034f06b3cb5/Percentage+of+jobs+working+with+data+2020-2024.png?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/3e40e349-a6bc-44fa-a2cc-7034f06b3cb5/Percentage+of+jobs+working+with+data+2020-2024.png?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <h2>REFLECTIONS</h2><p class="">Undoubtedly data presents challenges for every organisation. It is encouraging that so many are taking an interest in understanding their organisation’s current state so they can focus on improvement. </p><p class="">On the back of the rapid adoption of digital tools, and in the face of mass availability of AI technology, there’s a clear need for leaders to understand the opportunities, risks and responsibilities around data for their organisations.</p><p class="">It is exciting that there’s been progress in data maturity and there are pioneering organisations working at advanced stages. Many of these tell us they have been working on improving with data for a long time. </p><p class="">Organisations are complex and data is complex – change takes time and a lot of learning. Doing so together and taking collaborative approaches around data towards addressing the needs of society presents exciting prospects for the future. </p><p class="">Data Orchard will continue to focus on building capacity and skills around data and work with partners to address the challenges of the nonprofit sector. Do <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/contact">get in touch</a> if you would like to support us or collaborate on our mission.</p><h2>Calls to action</h2><p class=""><strong>Policy-makers/funders:</strong> We hope this research will stimulate policy makers and funders to channel resources into advancing data maturity across all sectors. In particular, to urgently invest in learning and skills development, especially for leaders.<br> <br><strong>Capacity builders/infrastructure organisations:</strong> For infrastructure organisations, membership bodies, and those who have a role in supporting and strengthening sectors and/or sub-sectors: we urge you to raise awareness and build understanding around data maturity and offer support to your members with this. You may want to explore how you can develop data maturity at scale and at speed. <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/organisational-dma-packages-and-prices">Our data maturity assessments for cohorts of organisations</a> could help.</p><p class=""><strong>Nonprofits (charities, social enterprises, social housing providers, public sector organisations, universities):</strong> Assess your organisation’s data maturity, talk about data in your organisation and keep learning. You can find out more about how to engage, educate and motivate your teams through our <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/data-maturity-assessment-tool">data maturity assessments for organisations, cohorts, and partners</a> and our <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/data-for-nonprofit-leaders-course-details">leadership courses</a>. </p><p class=""><strong>Data people:</strong> For those rare and wonderful data people out there working in the nonprofit sector (often the lone data person in the organisation), do come along to our <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/datafolk-club">Nonprofit Datafolk Club</a> to meet peers, share and learn together.</p> <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/s/SOTS2024-State-of-the-Sector-Data-Maturity-in-the-Nonprofit-Sector-v-14.pdf" class="sqs-block-button-element--medium sqs-button-element--primary sqs-block-button-element" > Download the full report as pdf </a> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/jpeg" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/6de91cf4-2272-4f42-a5c9-b28b2896e18e/State+of+the+Sector+Socials-2024-Square-x1.jpg?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="1200" height="1200"><media:title type="plain">State of the Sector: Data Maturity in the Nonprofit Sector 2024</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>City Bridge Foundation - charting a course to data maturity</title><category>Case study</category><category>All</category><dc:creator>Data Orchard</dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 17 Oct 2024 10:19:41 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/city-bridge-foundation-charting-a-course-to-data-maturity</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:6710e4bd112588225688183b</guid><description><![CDATA[City Bridge Foundation, London’s biggest independent charity funder, has made great strides in improving their use of data. We spoke to data analyst, Emma Horrigan, about demystifying data and using the data maturity framework to chart a course to improvement.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/9ea821f2-38e7-4e56-bb3a-faa44cb37fd3/tower-bridge-city-bridge-trust.png" data-image-dimensions="1800x1178" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/9ea821f2-38e7-4e56-bb3a-faa44cb37fd3/tower-bridge-city-bridge-trust.png?format=1000w" width="1800" height="1178" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/9ea821f2-38e7-4e56-bb3a-faa44cb37fd3/tower-bridge-city-bridge-trust.png?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/9ea821f2-38e7-4e56-bb3a-faa44cb37fd3/tower-bridge-city-bridge-trust.png?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/9ea821f2-38e7-4e56-bb3a-faa44cb37fd3/tower-bridge-city-bridge-trust.png?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/9ea821f2-38e7-4e56-bb3a-faa44cb37fd3/tower-bridge-city-bridge-trust.png?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/9ea821f2-38e7-4e56-bb3a-faa44cb37fd3/tower-bridge-city-bridge-trust.png?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/9ea821f2-38e7-4e56-bb3a-faa44cb37fd3/tower-bridge-city-bridge-trust.png?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/9ea821f2-38e7-4e56-bb3a-faa44cb37fd3/tower-bridge-city-bridge-trust.png?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">City Bridge Foundation’s origins lie around 900 years ago, as the organisation responsible for the maintenance of London Bridge. Over the years, this role expanded to include the management and maintenance of five bridges – Tower, London, Southwark, Millennium and Blackfriars. As well as this, since 1995, an arm of the organisation has used surplus funds to award grants to charitable organisations across Greater London. </p><p class="">In September 2023, the funding arm and bridge maintenance arm merged to form one team of around 200 – now known as City Bridge Foundation.</p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/2a9efac3-fe9e-47b5-800d-b7efec20b0ed/Envisioning+London+Barbican-2.jpg" data-image-dimensions="3970x2647" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/2a9efac3-fe9e-47b5-800d-b7efec20b0ed/Envisioning+London+Barbican-2.jpg?format=1000w" width="3970" height="2647" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/2a9efac3-fe9e-47b5-800d-b7efec20b0ed/Envisioning+London+Barbican-2.jpg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/2a9efac3-fe9e-47b5-800d-b7efec20b0ed/Envisioning+London+Barbican-2.jpg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/2a9efac3-fe9e-47b5-800d-b7efec20b0ed/Envisioning+London+Barbican-2.jpg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/2a9efac3-fe9e-47b5-800d-b7efec20b0ed/Envisioning+London+Barbican-2.jpg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/2a9efac3-fe9e-47b5-800d-b7efec20b0ed/Envisioning+London+Barbican-2.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/2a9efac3-fe9e-47b5-800d-b7efec20b0ed/Envisioning+London+Barbican-2.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/2a9efac3-fe9e-47b5-800d-b7efec20b0ed/Envisioning+London+Barbican-2.jpg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> <figcaption class="image-caption-wrapper"> <p class="">A City Bridge Foundation envisioning event at London’s Barbican Centre in March 2024</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h2>Data challenges</h2><p class="">For an organisation with such a wide-ranging remit, data is a challenge. The grant-making activities alone place City Bridge Foundation as London’s biggest independent charity funder. Over the past 10 years, the organisation has awarded at least £25 million a year in grants for the benefit of Londoners. </p><p class="">One crucial step the organisation took to improve their use of data was creating a dedicated data analyst role. Emma Horrigan joined the impact and learning team in April 2020, with a particular focus on understanding the impact of the grants the organisation awards. Emma says:</p><blockquote><p class="">“Our key challenges are not really specific to us as an organisation. Understanding impact is a classic challenge for a reason – it’s a hard nut to crack. Another is the speed it can take to see the result of changes. Even as you make inroads into cleansing, organising and collecting the right data, it’s at least a few years before you can confirm those changes are enabling the organisation to make good decisions. Data improvement’s a bit like trying to turn around a big cruise ship in that way.”</p></blockquote><p class="">Particular hurdles Emma began tackling immediately included enabling the longitudinal analysis of data and the ability to quickly identify impact on key groups.</p><blockquote><p class="">“We had lots of rich data that came from funding applications, detailing who and what grants would support. But there wasn’t an easy way of quickly identifying – for instance – all the grants over time that had supported migrant groups. A key early job for me was establishing a set of tags that speak to the impact of a grant – all the funding managers now use these to tag their current portfolios and historic grants were back-coded in our database, so we can interrogate our data more easily.”</p></blockquote><h2>Gaining a snapshot</h2><p class="">Another early task for Emma was to come up with a plan for data improvement. But Emma knew that, to chart a course forward, she needed a clear picture of where the organisation was. Within her first six months in post she found the Data Orchard <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/data-maturity-assessment-tool">Data Maturity Assessment</a> and used it to take a snapshot of where the organisation was with data.</p><p class="">The report showed a respectable score of three out of five overall, with strengths in skills, leadership and culture, and weaker scores in uses, analysis, data and tools. Armed with this framework, Emma formulated the first three-year data plan for the organisation.</p><blockquote><p class="">“Our first plan focused on questions like ‘are we asking the right questions?’, ‘how do we know we've got accurate information?’, ‘are we reporting correctly?’, ‘how do we keep learning, and ‘how can we share what we're learning?’ So, it was really aimed at getting the basics in place – in particular making sure the data itself is correct, accurate and being shared in the right way.”</p></blockquote><h2>Rising tides</h2><p class="">As well as focusing on the fundamental need to have the right data, Emma is something of a force of nature when it comes to sharing knowledge and enthusiasm about data. She set about her data evangelism with a clear goal to demystify data for all staff.</p><blockquote><p class="">“Often people see data as a monolith – a scary thing ‘over there’ that they don’t want to go near. But I feel strongly that the more data literate everyone is, the more productive we can all be. A rising tide lifts all ships. It's all well and good to have me as a data analyst, and it’s fab that everyone knows they can come to me. But it's even better if people can self service.”</p></blockquote><p class="">Exposing others to data has sometimes left Emma facing her own fears. For instance, Emma was surprised herself, when she invited staff members to join a live webinar to watch her analyse some unfamiliar data… And dozens of colleagues took up the offer.</p><blockquote><p class="">“I was pretty terrified beforehand, and there was a moment midway where I totally lost the thread of where the analysis was going. But I just took a deep breath, talked through what I was thinking and did what I would normally do. And it went amazingly well. The response was exactly as I hoped – people saw that it’s not magic, even data analysts get stuck with data, but it’s just a case of trying again. Data is messy and difficult sometimes, but getting stuck in and having a go is the best way.”</p></blockquote><p class="">When Emma also had a big turnout for a followup workshop – a live quality assurance of a spreadsheet of someone else's data analysis – she knew she was onto a good thing.</p><h2>Measuring progress</h2><p class="">But how well did all this work to improve data and how it’s used pay off? In 2023, Emma revisited the Data Maturity Assessment, this time inviting other team members to take it too.</p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/aa17ff13-288b-4b32-9b92-828b33695bf9/Overall+barchart.png" data-image-dimensions="2952x2196" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/aa17ff13-288b-4b32-9b92-828b33695bf9/Overall+barchart.png?format=1000w" width="2952" height="2196" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/aa17ff13-288b-4b32-9b92-828b33695bf9/Overall+barchart.png?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/aa17ff13-288b-4b32-9b92-828b33695bf9/Overall+barchart.png?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/aa17ff13-288b-4b32-9b92-828b33695bf9/Overall+barchart.png?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/aa17ff13-288b-4b32-9b92-828b33695bf9/Overall+barchart.png?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/aa17ff13-288b-4b32-9b92-828b33695bf9/Overall+barchart.png?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/aa17ff13-288b-4b32-9b92-828b33695bf9/Overall+barchart.png?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/aa17ff13-288b-4b32-9b92-828b33695bf9/Overall+barchart.png?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">Overall, the assessment showed an improvement in City Bridge Foundation’s data maturity. From a score of 3 in 2020 (right on the cusp between ‘Learning’ and ‘Developing’ in our <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/data-maturity-framework" target="_blank">data maturity framework</a>), to 3.4 in 2023 (firmly in the ‘Developing’ stage).</p><p class="">Interestingly – given all that work to get the data house in order and encourage people to get stuck into using and analysing data – the themes ‘data’, ‘uses’ and ‘analysis’ show the most significant improvements.</p><p class="">‘Skills’ is the only area in the latest assessment that showed a decline, though this is quite common for organisations repeating a data maturity assessment. The more you know, the more you realise you don’t know.</p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/a16ab6f6-dad5-49c7-a560-400cdf3b073d/Theme+dumbells.png" data-image-dimensions="2952x2196" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/a16ab6f6-dad5-49c7-a560-400cdf3b073d/Theme+dumbells.png?format=1000w" width="2952" height="2196" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/a16ab6f6-dad5-49c7-a560-400cdf3b073d/Theme+dumbells.png?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/a16ab6f6-dad5-49c7-a560-400cdf3b073d/Theme+dumbells.png?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/a16ab6f6-dad5-49c7-a560-400cdf3b073d/Theme+dumbells.png?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/a16ab6f6-dad5-49c7-a560-400cdf3b073d/Theme+dumbells.png?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/a16ab6f6-dad5-49c7-a560-400cdf3b073d/Theme+dumbells.png?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/a16ab6f6-dad5-49c7-a560-400cdf3b073d/Theme+dumbells.png?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/a16ab6f6-dad5-49c7-a560-400cdf3b073d/Theme+dumbells.png?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">The basis of Emma’s next data plan is to share these results and look at each of the seven themes to identify key actions to take in each area. Internal communications around leadership’s use of data is one area to address. Emma highlights that an emerging issue is that staff aren’t fully aware of the extent to which the leadership team uses data for decision making.</p><blockquote><p class="">“In our case, it’s not that the leadership team aren’t making data-informed decisions, but we do need to better communicate how our data is being used at a leadership level.”</p></blockquote><h2>Targeted action </h2><p class="">While further details of the organisation’s next data plan are under wraps for now, Emma is clear that the future will be guided by regular progress checks with the data maturity assessment.</p><blockquote><p class="">“The data maturity assessments have been the cornerstone of everything we’ve done so far. It’s been so useful to have a benchmark and a framework for what we could reasonably tackle next. I’m passionate about helping people with data but you can’t tackle everything at once. You need a structure and the framework has become my framework, as well as helping spark lots of my ideas.” </p></blockquote><p class="">Emma’s realistic that future gains may feel slower and harder to come by. The shift from having no data specialist, to having a dedicated data analyst will have informed some of the improvement seen between the first and second data maturity assessment. But, the organisation now seems to have gained some momentum in its data improvement journey that will stand it in good stead when it comes to tackling tricky issues like data culture. And Emma is determined to remove any lingering fear factor about data: </p><blockquote><p class="">“For us, part of making the cultural shift is simply in people not being afraid to ask questions about data. We’ve already seen that shift towards people asking more questions, but also asking <em>better</em> questions. That’s one of the biggest indicators, for me, that we’re on an improvement journey where staff are becoming more engaged with data. Data has to have a point, and when you start to see people engaging with why it's important, and what we need to learn from it, it’s really encouraging.” </p></blockquote> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/png" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1729160457904-Y8Q9LZ2XECLX799VMYM5/tower-bridge-bus-1200.png?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="1200" height="800"><media:title type="plain">City Bridge Foundation - charting a course to data maturity</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>Using statistics in nonprofits</title><category>All</category><category>Tips and tools</category><category>Datafolk Club</category><dc:creator>Hannah Khwaja</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 17 Sep 2024 09:16:59 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/using-statistics-in-nonprofits</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:66e85831b7c67920cb4efd07</guid><description><![CDATA[Our Nonprofit Datafolk Club gathered in May to talk about challenges and solutions when using statistics in nonprofits. Read our writeup of the discussion here.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1726503267574-TYICEOFMFR8ERCPNEKOS/unsplash-image-S-kyxdRsQP4.jpg" data-image-dimensions="2500x1406" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1726503267574-TYICEOFMFR8ERCPNEKOS/unsplash-image-S-kyxdRsQP4.jpg?format=1000w" width="2500" height="1406" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1726503267574-TYICEOFMFR8ERCPNEKOS/unsplash-image-S-kyxdRsQP4.jpg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1726503267574-TYICEOFMFR8ERCPNEKOS/unsplash-image-S-kyxdRsQP4.jpg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1726503267574-TYICEOFMFR8ERCPNEKOS/unsplash-image-S-kyxdRsQP4.jpg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1726503267574-TYICEOFMFR8ERCPNEKOS/unsplash-image-S-kyxdRsQP4.jpg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1726503267574-TYICEOFMFR8ERCPNEKOS/unsplash-image-S-kyxdRsQP4.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1726503267574-TYICEOFMFR8ERCPNEKOS/unsplash-image-S-kyxdRsQP4.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1726503267574-TYICEOFMFR8ERCPNEKOS/unsplash-image-S-kyxdRsQP4.jpg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">Every month, our Nonprofit Datafolk Club gets together to share experiences and learning. It’s a chance for data folk working in or with nonprofits to network and discuss matters of mutual interest. </p><p class="">In our May Nonprofit Datafolk Club workshop, we discussed the use of statistics in nonprofits. As usual, we tackled three main questions: what statistical techniques should we be using in nonprofits? How can we explain complicated statistics to non-technical people? And how do we stop the misuse of statistics in nonprofits? </p><h2>What statistical techniques should we be using in nonprofits? </h2><p class="">People felt that the use of statistical techniques in nonprofits was often determined by funder/stakeholder reporting requirements and interest in analysis. They reported a lack of capacity and expertise to use advanced techniques in their organisation, and/or insufficient quality or quantity of data. Many were primarily using descriptive statistics – summarising their datasets using simple descriptors such as frequencies, percentages, and measures of central tendency and spread (e.g. mean and standard deviation). </p><p class="">Some people felt that nonprofits should be using more inferential statistics, which study patterns in a sample of data to draw conclusions about an entire population. Techniques mentioned included regression models (which estimate the relationship between variables), randomised control trials (which compare ‘experimental’ and ‘control’ treatments), and predictive analysis (which use data trends from the past and present to forecast what is likely to happen in the future). </p><h2>How can we explain complicated statistics to non-technical people? </h2><p class="">People felt that it was essential to clearly explain the context when communicating statistics to non-technical people. Audiences should understand why the analysis was important, what was done and what it means in simple terms. </p><p class="">Visualisations can help demonstrate complex ideas in a more digestible form, but consideration about what types of visualisations are chosen is important. Some participants now communicate their previously long and wordy annual reports using visuals to make them simpler and more accessible. </p><p class="">People noted that dashboards could be helpful, either via specialist software such as Power BI or within other tools such as CRM systems. </p><p class="">They also mentioned that case studies and narratives presented alongside the numbers could help bring statistics to life. </p><h2>How do we stop misuse of statistics in nonprofits? </h2><p class="">People acknowledged that the misuse of statistics can be difficult to avoid sometimes where nonprofits are trying to make the case for funding or social change. There may be a tendency to exaggerate or cherry pick so that the data tells the desired story. Sometimes, commonly used measures may be used because they are recognised and preferred by funders, even if they are not the most robust option. They emphasised the need for more flexibility from funding organisations. </p><p class="">They also suggested a need for greater transparency in sharing data and methods to ensure that poor data is not hidden behind complex techniques. </p><h2>Join the Nonprofit Datafolk Club </h2><p class="">If you found this resource interesting, or if you have any curiosity in nonprofit data more generally, please come and join us at our next workshop. Each month has a different topic, and you will be able to find the details on our events page. Previous topics have included: </p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/data-disasters-how-to-avoid">Data disasters and how to avoid them</a></p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/communicating-data-accessibly">Communicating data accessibly </a></p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/impact-measurement-nonprofits">Measuring impact in nonprofits </a></p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/ai-in-nonprofits">AI in nonprofits </a></p> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/jpeg" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1726503228724-UB8F3VB0RYDA6ANIASIX/unsplash-image-S-kyxdRsQP4.jpg?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="1500" height="844"><media:title type="plain">Using statistics in nonprofits</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>Data Disasters (and how to avoid them)</title><category>All</category><category>Tips and tools</category><category>Datafolk Club</category><dc:creator>Hannah Khwaja</dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 17 Jul 2024 13:44:19 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/data-disasters-how-to-avoid</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:6697cab35e5d056ad14d801a</guid><description><![CDATA[Our Nonprofit Datafolk Club gathered in April to share tales of data projects that didn't go to plan. To keep it a safe space for people to share their honest experiences, we didn’t record any of the details, but we did note down some recurring themes. ]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1721225204612-1GCN6F5V2NOUVLRX7P9W/image-asset.jpeg" data-image-dimensions="2500x1667" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1721225204612-1GCN6F5V2NOUVLRX7P9W/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w" width="2500" height="1667" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1721225204612-1GCN6F5V2NOUVLRX7P9W/image-asset.jpeg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1721225204612-1GCN6F5V2NOUVLRX7P9W/image-asset.jpeg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1721225204612-1GCN6F5V2NOUVLRX7P9W/image-asset.jpeg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1721225204612-1GCN6F5V2NOUVLRX7P9W/image-asset.jpeg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1721225204612-1GCN6F5V2NOUVLRX7P9W/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1721225204612-1GCN6F5V2NOUVLRX7P9W/image-asset.jpeg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1721225204612-1GCN6F5V2NOUVLRX7P9W/image-asset.jpeg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">Every month, our Nonprofit Datafolk Club gets together to share experiences and learning. It’s a chance for data folk working in or with nonprofits to network and discuss things that are common to all of us. </p><p class="">In our April Nonprofit Datafolk Club workshop we shared tales of data projects that didn't go to plan. We asked everyone to tell us: </p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><strong>What was the project that went wrong, and how?</strong> If they didn’t have any personal disaster projects then they could share one they’d seen/heard about. </p></li><li><p class=""><strong>What did you learn from the disaster?</strong> Were you able to mitigate/limit the damage? How has this helped you avoid similar experiences again? </p></li><li><p class=""><strong>What is your biggest data fear?</strong> Are there any potential disasters you lose sleep over? </p></li></ul><p class="">We didn’t record any of the details at this session – we wanted it to be a safe space to share – but we did note down some recurring themes. </p><h2>Common causes of data disasters and how to avoid them </h2><p class="">The following were common causes of data disasters. We’ve also collated some of the relevant learnings shared to help prevent disasters from happening or mitigate their effects. </p><h3>Accidents</h3><p class="">We’re all human, and our participants acknowledged that sometimes accidents just happen – whether it’s deleting something essential or making a mistake in a complex formula. However, people advised that the likelihood of accidents causing irreparable damage could be reduced by implementing policies and procedures such as regular backups, version history tracking, and security controls. They also emphasised the importance of peer-reviewing analysis before it’s used for decision-making or publication. </p><h3>Lack of skills and knowledge</h3><p class="">Poor data literacy – at all levels, from senior leaders to frontline staff – can increase the chance of data disasters. This can be particularly true where data-related activities are driven by hype and the adoption of new tools and techniques is rushed without proper understanding (as, one might argue, we’re currently seeing with Generative AI). People suggested that well-planned training programmes and fostering a data culture could help with this. </p><h3>Lack of capacity/time</h3><p class="">People noted that data often took a back seat to frontline work, and this could increase the likelihood of mistakes being made. They added that when resources were scarce, automation could seem like a quick solution, but that hasty implementations could easily introduce errors. Efficiency needs to be balanced with thorough testing and validation. </p><h3>Poor planning and organisation</h3><p class="">People mentioned that poorly organised data was a recipe for disaster, increasing the likelihood of data being lost, forgotten, or leaked. File organisation systems, databases, data asset registers and process maps were suggested as being key to preventing disasters. They also noted the importance of planning ahead, using pilots to determine the best course of action, documenting procedures, and avoiding mid-project changes to data processes. One of the most commonly mentioned sources of data disasters were migrations of data between systems. People advised to test migrations meticulously, clearly document changes as you go, and have contingency plans in case things don’t work as expected. </p><h3>Poor communication</h3><p class="">People agreed that different interpretations of terms like 'participation' and 'engagement' could lead to inconsistent reporting. It’s important to establish clear definitions and communicate them across the organisation. People also felt that it was helpful to have regular catch-ups about data assets to ensure that everyone was on the same page with regard to datasets, systems and software used by the organisation. </p><h3>Poor tools</h3><p class="">They say that it’s a bad workman who blames his tools, but sometimes tools really are the problem. In particular, people noted that while free tools were tempting, they could lack critical features or security. They advised that organisations needed to evaluate tools thoroughly and consider long-term needs before committing to their use, especially if they are used with sensitive data. </p><h2>Nightmare disasters </h2><p class="">The potential disasters that people said they lost most sleep over were: </p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">Personal/sensitive data breaches </p></li><li><p class="">Payments being of the wrong value and/or going to the wrong people </p></li><li><p class="">Any kind of change in tools or systems going wrong </p></li><li><p class="">Senior leaders making decisions using insufficiently robust data </p></li><li><p class="">Losing skilled staff and having to start over with digital and data literacy for new recruits.</p></li></ul><h2>Join the Nonprofit Datafolk Club</h2><p class="">If you found this resource interesting, or if you have any curiosity in nonprofit data more generally, please come and join us at our next workshop. Each month has a different topic, and you will be able to find the details on<a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/events"> our events page</a>. Previous topics have included: </p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/communicating-data-accessibly">Communicating data accessibly</a></p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/impact-measurement-nonprofits">Measuring impact in nonprofits</a></p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/ai-in-nonprofits">AI in nonprofits</a></p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/3-big-questions-about-resourcing-data-roles-in-nonprofits">Resourcing data roles in nonprofits</a></p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/nonprofit-data-storage">Data storage in nonprofits</a></p> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/jpeg" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1721225289473-Z1MY3D0JKKT41K37FRUK/image-asset-disaster.jpeg?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="1500" height="1000"><media:title type="plain">Data Disasters (and how to avoid them)</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>10 things to do next after taking a Data Maturity Assessment</title><category>All</category><category>Tips and tools</category><dc:creator>Data Orchard</dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 14 Jun 2024 13:00:00 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/10-things-people-do-next-after-taking-a-data-maturity-assessment</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:604a543642270d188488701d</guid><description><![CDATA[If you’ve recently taken a Data Maturity Assessment, you may be wondering what to do next. We’ve written about what you can consider doing, based on our own ideas and what organisations have told us. Spoiler: it doesn’t all have to be about big data strategies - small and manageable can be just as powerful.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <h3>We built our free Data Maturity Assessment tool because we are passionate about helping organisations to use data for better decisions and greater impact. But taking an assessment is only one step in a journey to improving data maturity. Wherever you are on your data improvement journey, here are some ideas for how to use your assessment report to take another step forward.</h3><h2>1. Reflect on your results</h2><p class="">Whether you’ve taken an assessment on your own, in a group, or as an <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/organisational-dma-packages-and-prices">organisation</a>, you now have a snapshot of where you are. Take time to reflect on what this means for your organisation. Read the detail of your report and understand where you sit on the data maturity journey (from ‘unaware’ through to ‘mastering’) across each of our seven key themes: Uses, Data, Analysis, Leadership, Culture, Tools and Skills. Your report will also show you how this compares with other organisations in the not-for-profit sector. How do you compare with this benchmark? </p><h2>2. Talk about it</h2><p class="">One of the easiest, yet most impactful things you can do with the results of your Data Maturity Assessment is to talk about them with colleagues. We often hear that people have been finding it difficult to engage colleagues in conversations about data, but that the assessment acted as a useful talking point to kick things off.</p><p class="">When we last <a href="https://data-orchard.github.io/pages/reports/DMA-Impact-Report-2022.html" target="_blank">surveyed users of the assessment tool</a>, 74% said that they had done at least one of ‘discussing changes with colleagues’, ‘using the results to guide plans’ or ‘sharing results with others in the organisation’. This is a great start – by beginning these conversations, you are already on your way to improved data maturity.</p><h2>3. Compare results with colleagues</h2><p class="">If colleagues have already completed an assessment too, then now’s the time to compare your results. There are very likely differences between how different people or departments within the organisation think you’re doing. Our last survey of users found that over 50% said the tool moderately or extensively highlighted different perceptions about data across the organisation. </p><p class="">One of our key aims in developing the tool was to ensure it helps educate people on data and data maturity. Pleasingly, people often say that the tool helped them share a better understanding and language for talking about data with colleagues. </p><p class="">If colleagues haven’t already done an assessment, then you could use the link in your report to invite them to do it, and then arrange a time to get together and discuss your results.</p><blockquote><p class="">“This was a great tool for giving us a shared language to assess and discuss the issues and where we needed to improve. We are struggling to find the right resources to take it forward fully but have implemented key gaps - thank you.” Anonymous user</p></blockquote><h2>4. Take an organisational assessment</h2><p class="">Since there can be such different perceptions and uses for data, having a good spread of involvement from across the organisation is a key aspect of building engagement, learning and collective thinking about data. The<a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/organisational-dma-packages-and-prices"> organisational version of our tool</a> makes this easy. You can invite all staff in your organisation to take an assessment and be provided with a collated report and central dashboard to review your combined results (plus everyone gets their own individual report showing how they personally assess the organisation). You’ll also have the option to add customised questions to explore specific issues. Silver and Gold packages get even more exciting, with more advanced analysis, a huge treasure trove of charts, workshops and more.</p><h2>5. Be inspired by how other organisations have used their assessment data</h2><p class="">As a nonprofit community, we are stronger when we learn from each other. We have a bank of <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/category/Case+study">case studies</a> and videos on organisations like Citizens Advice Manchester, Prostate Cancer UK and Scottish Government, who all used data maturity assessments as a springboard for improving their use of data. Take a look to help inspire you into action.</p><blockquote><p class="">“The assessment has been really useful to gain an understanding of the organisation’s view on data and what would make things better for people. But another thing that’s been really important, has been its role as a communications tool. Now that I have this data set, it’s a really useful conversation starter” Clare Shanklyn - former Data Strategy Lead, Prostate Cancer UK.</p></blockquote><p class="">You can also <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/datafolk-club">join our Nonprofit Datafolk Club gatherings</a> to meet other data people working in or with nonprofits, and share challenges, solutions and inspiration.</p><h2>6. Use the results to make a case for data improvement</h2><p class="">You don’t know what you don’t know… Your leadership team may think the organisation is doing better than it is with data. Your Data Maturity Assessment can be the start of a more objective, analytical look at the situation. Importantly, the sector benchmarking indicates how you are doing compared to others in your sector. Use this information to start a conversation with senior leaders about how your organisation could improve its use of data. With an objective measurement of how you actually fare vs others in your sector, your leadership team should be encouraged to take data more seriously.</p><blockquote><p class="">“We shared the results with our leadership team to benchmark transparently where we were at, build a plan to improve based on the results, and advocated for resources to implement our improvement plan. The results pushed our leadership to make progress on our data maturity. We set a target for increasing our data maturity from a 2.1 to a 3.0 in one year, using the assessment as a tool to measure progress, and were able to meet our goal.” Anonymous user</p></blockquote><h2>7. Start small </h2><p class="">Your Data Maturity Assessment report helps you prioritise the most urgent areas to address. Pick one area from your assessment (probably in one of your lowest scoring themes) and think of a few distinct, manageable projects you could do first to improve. It will be most impactful if these are also things that you know will help make people’s jobs easier on a day to day basis. Once you’ve had a few ‘quick wins’, you should find that enthusiasm and confidence builds within the organisation, as people start to see the power of data to make their lives easier, and improve your service(s).</p><h2>8. Think big </h2><p class="">42% of users say they implemented a data strategy/improvement plan following their Data Maturity Assessment.. That might sound like a bit of a daunting task, but remember, your Assessment report has already set you on the right track, with the themes to consider, priority areas and measurable metrics that give you a starting point for a plan for improvement.</p><p class="">Don’t be afraid to seek advice. Did you know we offer a free 30-minute call to all users of our Data Maturity Assessment tool to discuss your report and how you could use the results to take action and improve? This isn’t a sales call (although there may be ways we can help you) – it’s genuinely because we want to help. That’s why we built the tool in the first place. <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/dma-next-step-form">Request a call</a>.</p><p class="">We also provide a <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/data-support-providers">list of support organisations</a> who can help not-for-profits to build their knowledge of data maturity, provide support and training for staff, and develop data strategies to help you improve your impact. </p><h2>9. Invest to reap rewards</h2><p class="">The results of your assessment can give you the evidence base you need to argue for investment in data. 12% of users of our free Data Maturity Assessment tool say they’ve gone on to seek funding or resources, either internally or externally. What is really interesting though, is that almost all of them are successful!</p><p class="">Investment in data also doesn’t necessarily have to mean committing cash to increase headcount or buy in new technology. Sometimes it can mean shifting roles and responsibilities between existing staff, or committing time to improvement projects. One of the things we hear from small-to-medium sized organisations is that, with no budget to create a ‘data’ role or team, there is little recognition of the importance of data within the organisation. Sometimes just adjusting an existing person’s job title or role can be an important step towards letting everyone in the organisation know you are serious about data.</p><h2>10. Repeat the assessment</h2><p class="">The Data Maturity Assessment is designed to give you a clear picture of where you are now, so you can objectively measure progress as you (hopefully) improve the organisation’s data maturity. This is why we encourage you to repeat the assessment at regular intervals to track how well you are doing on your data maturity journey, and to identify which areas need the most effort and attention. </p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/contact">Get in touch</a> if you’d like to discuss the best way to do this.</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" class=""></p><p class=""><em>This guide was first published in March 2021 and updated in June 2024 with our latest advice and feedback from users of our </em><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/data-maturity-assessment-tool"><em>Data Maturity Assessment Tool</em></a><em>.</em></p> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/png" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1615503912245-9F1S0YI4TIO271BX2ET8/Inspiration-icon-blue.png?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="512" height="512"><media:title type="plain">10 things to do next after taking a Data Maturity Assessment</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>Communicating data accessibly</title><category>All</category><category>Tips and tools</category><category>Datafolk Club</category><dc:creator>Libby Harkins</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2024 08:59:19 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/communicating-data-accessibly</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:664327e7f56eef114192e1fc</guid><description><![CDATA[Our Nonprofit Datafolk Club gathered in March to wrangle with the challenges of communicating data accessibly. The group was full of tips and experiences that have come together in this essential guide on accessible data communication.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1a20b646-f8a6-4b5c-bad9-d30b93f1dccd/unsplash-image-SyRlD4s_amw.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1668x1112" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1a20b646-f8a6-4b5c-bad9-d30b93f1dccd/unsplash-image-SyRlD4s_amw.jpg?format=1000w" width="1668" height="1112" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1a20b646-f8a6-4b5c-bad9-d30b93f1dccd/unsplash-image-SyRlD4s_amw.jpg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1a20b646-f8a6-4b5c-bad9-d30b93f1dccd/unsplash-image-SyRlD4s_amw.jpg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1a20b646-f8a6-4b5c-bad9-d30b93f1dccd/unsplash-image-SyRlD4s_amw.jpg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1a20b646-f8a6-4b5c-bad9-d30b93f1dccd/unsplash-image-SyRlD4s_amw.jpg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1a20b646-f8a6-4b5c-bad9-d30b93f1dccd/unsplash-image-SyRlD4s_amw.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1a20b646-f8a6-4b5c-bad9-d30b93f1dccd/unsplash-image-SyRlD4s_amw.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1a20b646-f8a6-4b5c-bad9-d30b93f1dccd/unsplash-image-SyRlD4s_amw.jpg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">Our Nonprofit Datafolk Club is a friendly group of like-minded data folk working in or with nonprofits. Every month we get together online for a free interactive workshop to share expertise, ask questions and discuss anything data-related. In March, we took on the topic of “Communicating data accessibly”. We asked participants to answer three questions in small groups:</p><h2>Q1: How do you make sure your data visualisations are clear and inclusive?</h2><h3>Colours and fonts</h3><p class="">People generally agreed that you should use colours with high contrast, but acknowledged that this can be difficult to implement, particularly when trying to align with organisational branding guidelines. They also mentioned that using traffic-light colours (red, amber, green) to indicate status was not accessible for red-green colourblindness. One way to address this is to make sure not to use colour alone to communicate meaning, for example using patterns or labels to also distinguish visual features. Fonts should be easy to read, ideally a sans-serif font in large size. </p><h3>Describing images</h3><p class="">As most data visualisations present as images, it is important to provide an alternative (or ‘alt’) text description so that a screen reader can explain what they are, for those who are visually impaired. Another way to include those who use screen readers is to ensure there is written narrative as well as visuals in the story you are trying to tell. This is helpful not just for those using screen readers, but to accommodate variations in how people best absorb information. Writing alt text is a balance, as you don’t want to make it too long but you also don’t want to leave out necessary information. Be aware that you are deciding what information is most important for those using screen readers to receive. </p><h3>Less is more</h3><p class="">When it comes to visualising data, the consensus was ‘less is more’. Focus on the important areas that communicate the story you want to tell. Keeping it simple also applies to animated or interactive components of your visualisation, which can become overwhelming and confusing unless used in a considered way. It is good to think about how much mental processing your visualisation and its context require, and what you can do to reduce this (e.g. always having the same colour background and reducing visual clutter).</p><h3>Tools </h3><p class="">There are many tools out there that can help increase the accessibility of data visualisations, from free basic accessibility checkers, to full accessibility testing companies. Visualisation software such as Power BI or Tableau may also have some in-built features that can help you with improving accessibility. Generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT) can also be helpful if you use them with caution and double check the outputs. For example, you can feed in charts and ask them to write clear and concise alt text for them - but be wary of submitting sensitive data.</p><h2>Q2: What do you need to consider when telling a data story to ensure it is accessible?</h2><h3>Be clear on your message </h3><p class="">People agreed that in order to tell a good story you need to be clear on exactly what the message is you want to tell. Follow the structure of a story arc with a beginning, middle and end. What is the message and the general learnings from your story? It is also helpful to consider the purpose of the data story - do you want to influence, entertain, explain? All these things help shape a clear and effective message.</p><h3>Explain the underlying data</h3><p class="">Several people mentioned how the audience needs to understand where the underlying data came from and how it was manipulated - especially if it is a self-serve data service (such as a dashboard). You should consider how much explanation this needs.</p><h3>Use clear language</h3><p class="">People agreed that you want to avoid jargon and acronyms, but you should use standardised terms to be clear about what is being shared. You may want a terminology page to bridge the gap of prior knowledge. </p><h3>Keep it simple</h3><p class="">As was mentioned when discussing data visualisations - simplicity is the key. Don’t try to communicate lots of different things at once, but do give enough detail so that people don’t misinterpret or lose context. It’s a balancing act of making sure all the information that is needed is there, but you are not overloading people with things to process. Breaking the information into chunks can help with this.</p><h2>Q3: What are the most important accessibility factors to consider?</h2><p class="">We then gave participants the difficult task of discussing what the <em>most important</em> accessibility factors are to consider.</p><p class="">The number one factor was<strong> </strong>knowing your audience, as everything else is dependent on that. </p><p class="">Nothing can be 100% accessible to everyone. Different people have different needs, as well as different levels of data literacy. It is important to think about who will be receiving the information and how to make it as accessible as you can to them. Sometimes you will need to make multiple versions of a document so that it caters to different accessibility needs among your target audience. Engaging your audience in the design of your data visualisation or story is a good idea and will make your accessibility measures more effective.</p><h2>Shared resources</h2><p class="">At the end we asked participants to share any links they find helpful for communicating data accessibly:</p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/create-reports/desktop-accessibility-creating-reports" target="_blank">Design Power BI reports for accessibility - Microsoft Learn</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://analysisfunction.civilservice.gov.uk/support/communicating-analysis/" target="_blank">Communicating statistics and analysis - Government Analysis Function</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://color.adobe.com/create/color-contrast-analyzer" target="_blank">Colour Contrast Checker - Adobe Color</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://passion4social.com/" target="_blank">Accessibility audits - Passion4Social</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://hemingwayapp.com/" target="_blank">Hemingway Readability Editor App</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://data-feminism.mitpress.mit.edu/" target="_blank">Data Feminism by Catherine D’Ignazio and Lauren F. Klein</a></p></li></ul><h2>Join the Nonprofit Datafolk Club</h2><p class="">If you found this resource interesting, or if you have any curiosity in nonprofit data more generally, please come and join us at our next workshop. Each month has a different topic, and you will be able to find the details on<a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/events"> our events page</a>. Previous topics have included: </p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/impact-measurement-nonprofits">Measuring impact in nonprofits</a></p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/ai-in-nonprofits">AI in nonprofits</a></p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/3-big-questions-about-resourcing-data-roles-in-nonprofits">Resourcing data roles in nonprofits</a></p><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/nonprofit-data-storage">Data storage in nonprofits</a></p> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/jpeg" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1715678519124-TCIDOBKKDOE3JEP6R52M/christina-wocintechchat-com-Q8IgAlmHAUA-unsplash.jpg?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="1500" height="1001"><media:title type="plain">Communicating data accessibly</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>Measuring impact in nonprofits</title><category>All</category><category>Tips and tools</category><category>Datafolk Club</category><dc:creator>Libby Harkins</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 16 Apr 2024 14:28:20 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/impact-measurement-nonprofits</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:661e8b0452421669296d1ccb</guid><description><![CDATA[Our Nonprofit Datafolk Club gathered in February to discuss impact measurement in nonprofits. During the discussion, many had useful tips and advice to share. Here’s a writeup of the discussion.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713278597753-Y942HSKLLWUAME6BL5UC/image-asset.jpeg" data-image-dimensions="2500x1667" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713278597753-Y942HSKLLWUAME6BL5UC/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w" width="2500" height="1667" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713278597753-Y942HSKLLWUAME6BL5UC/image-asset.jpeg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713278597753-Y942HSKLLWUAME6BL5UC/image-asset.jpeg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713278597753-Y942HSKLLWUAME6BL5UC/image-asset.jpeg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713278597753-Y942HSKLLWUAME6BL5UC/image-asset.jpeg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713278597753-Y942HSKLLWUAME6BL5UC/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713278597753-Y942HSKLLWUAME6BL5UC/image-asset.jpeg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713278597753-Y942HSKLLWUAME6BL5UC/image-asset.jpeg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">Our Nonprofit Datafolk Club is a friendly group of like-minded data folk working in or with nonprofits. Every month we get together online for a free interactive workshop discussing a data-related issue. In February, the session was all about measuring impact in nonprofits. As usual, we discussed three key questions… </p><h2>Q1: What do you understand by impact measurement and how does your organisation measure impact currently? </h2><p class="">This question led to our participants discussing the challenges and opportunities presented by using a theory of change to measure impact. </p><p class="">While some organisations did have a theory of change, people noted that it requires a significant investment of time and effort to develop one, and this is a potential barrier. Some felt that the wording of ‘theory of change’ could be off-putting, coming across as jargon and sometimes being misinterpreted as referring to internal change (which can make people unnecessarily worried about motives). There was also some discussion on the purpose and intended audience for a theory of change – was it to help staff rally around the mission, or to explain the work to funders? </p><p class="">Nevertheless, people whose organisations had a theory of change emphasised that the process could be very rewarding when done well. </p><p class="">People also spoke about the friction between measuring outputs (for example, what activities/interventions/services were delivered), compared with outcomes (the change or difference in attitudes, behaviours, skills or knowledge that happened as a result). Many felt that key performance indicators (KPIs) don’t always measure what is meaningful. Most agreed that you need senior buy-in and commitment to be impact-led rather than income-led. </p><p class="">People felt that qualitative data gave a better reflection of impact (but they didn’t always have the processes or framework in place to analyse it), yet grant-makers tend to want quantitative evidence. This is where standardised measurements could come in useful, such as the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWEBS) or ONS wellbeing measures. </p><h2>Q2: What advice do you have around impact measurement? </h2><p class="">We identified five top tips that appeared frequently in our participants’ discussions: </p><h3>1. Start early </h3><p class="">Think about impact from the start of a programme or project - before you begin collecting data. Ideally, use a theory of change to determine clear outputs and outcomes, and develop a plan to implement it which includes a feedback loop to share insights. </p><h3>2. Regularly review and adapt </h3><p class="">Be flexible and willing to make continuous improvements. One person suggested an annual cycle of ‘decide – pilot – review'. Strategic goals, demand and other things change, so you also need to be able to change. </p><h3>3. Invest in good data collection practices </h3><p class="">Bearing in mind that impact measurement is often low on the priority list for frontline staff and participants, ensure that data collection methods are straightforward and user-friendly. Actions to consider include: </p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">Invest in training for frontline staff so that they can thoroughly understand and embed evaluation processes throughout their work with participants. </p></li><li><p class="">Identify measures that are specific and relevant, so you only require people to spend time collecting data that is absolutely necessary. </p></li><li><p class="">Make sure key methodologies and assumptions are clearly documented for reference. </p></li><li><p class="">Ensure data collection methods are appropriate for both staff and participants (whether it’s a paper or digital form filled in directly, or a discussion in person or via a phone call). </p></li></ul><h3>4. Keep communication clear </h3><p class="">The benefits of collecting and reporting on data should be clearly communicated with staff from early in the process. When presenting data, it should be accessible for people to engage with so they can understand it’s importance. If you have a dashboard, show people what they're looking at and get their feedback. </p><h3>5. Encourage a positive data culture </h3><p class="">Work to embed impact measurement into the culture of the organisation, ensuring staff at all levels see the value in data. It is important to have someone at strategic or board level advocating for data and impact. Senior staff tend to see value in data, data gathering, monitoring and evaluation when they have been able to use it in lobbying and campaigning. </p><h2>Q3: What concerns do you have about impact measurement? </h2><p class="">Some people were unsure about how to build capacity around impact measurement in their organisation – for example, how best to structure roles or teams relating to evaluation and impact. </p><p class="">Others said it can be challenging to develop effective methodologies for collecting data from participants, particularly where interventions are short-term. They were keen to ensure that people don’t feel harassed or over-surveyed, whilst also wanting to be able to evidence change. Some people suggested using unconventional contact methods, such as WhatsApp, and sharing the impact that feedback has with participants to encourage engagement. </p><p class="">People also questioned how best to balance obtaining responses from as broad a range of participants as possible (for example, by having both paper and digital forms, as well as conversational feedback options), with resource limitations. </p><p class="">One person was concerned that the brand loyalty of long-term clients influenced their feedback, and asked the group how to encourage objective responses. People suggested a common feedback model – asking for one thing to start, stop, and continue doing – or asking for ‘a feedback sandwich’, which is one piece of constructive criticism sandwiched by two pieces of praise. </p><p class="">Some people were also unsure of the best analysis techniques for qualitative data, such as conversational feedback. They wanted to be able to capture robust and meaningful insight from such data in a time-efficient way. Some hoped that developments in AI would help with this over the next few years. </p><h2>Support in measuring impact in nonprofits </h2><p class="">If you’re looking for <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/impact-measurement">support with impact measurement</a>, we can provide both strategic and practical support to explore, define, and articulate the impact your organisation has. <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/contact">Get in touch</a> for a no-obligation chat. </p><h2>Join the Nonprofit Datafolk Club </h2><p class="">If you found this resource interesting, or if you have any curiosity in nonprofit data more generally, please come and join us at our next workshop. Each month has a different topic, and you will be able to find the details on <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/events">our events page</a>. Previous topics have included: </p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/ai-in-nonprofits">AI in nonprofits</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/nonprofit-data-storage">Data storage in nonprofits</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/getting-leadership-buy-in">Getting leadership buy-in</a> </p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/career-paths-datafolk">Career paths for data folk in nonprofits</a> </p></li></ul> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/jpeg" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713279222199-G7WBK6YWNX8TS962KTBJ/image-asset.jpeg?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="1500" height="1000"><media:title type="plain">Measuring impact in nonprofits</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>Announcing: Data Bake Off</title><category>All</category><category>Tips and tools</category><dc:creator>Sian Basker</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 16 Apr 2024 11:12:55 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/how-to-data-bake-off</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:661e33320ac85137ed036061</guid><description><![CDATA[In a salute to Saku Chandrasekara, 2023 Great British Bake Off contestant and one of Data Orchard’s founding directors, here Sian Basker shares our new creative resource for unlocking hearts and minds around data.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p class="">In a salute to Saku Chandrasekara, 2023 Great British Bake Off contestant and one of Data Orchard’s founding directors, I’m delighted to share our new creative resource for unlocking hearts and minds around data: the Data Bake Off.</p><p class="">We know one of the biggest challenges for people in data roles is engaging staff in conversations around data. And you can’t beat a bit of in-person fun and creativity for getting people started. So, here’s a recipe we’ve cooked up to get the juices going… We can deliver and facilitate this fun data workshop for you and your team(s), but we’re also sharing the idea here, so you can deliver it yourself.</p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/ed12d6ee-23ca-478f-9949-4c98f23f481f/saku-the-great-british-bake-off-series-14-65082734936a7.jpg" data-image-dimensions="980x656" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/ed12d6ee-23ca-478f-9949-4c98f23f481f/saku-the-great-british-bake-off-series-14-65082734936a7.jpg?format=1000w" width="980" height="656" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/ed12d6ee-23ca-478f-9949-4c98f23f481f/saku-the-great-british-bake-off-series-14-65082734936a7.jpg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/ed12d6ee-23ca-478f-9949-4c98f23f481f/saku-the-great-british-bake-off-series-14-65082734936a7.jpg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/ed12d6ee-23ca-478f-9949-4c98f23f481f/saku-the-great-british-bake-off-series-14-65082734936a7.jpg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/ed12d6ee-23ca-478f-9949-4c98f23f481f/saku-the-great-british-bake-off-series-14-65082734936a7.jpg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/ed12d6ee-23ca-478f-9949-4c98f23f481f/saku-the-great-british-bake-off-series-14-65082734936a7.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/ed12d6ee-23ca-478f-9949-4c98f23f481f/saku-the-great-british-bake-off-series-14-65082734936a7.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/ed12d6ee-23ca-478f-9949-4c98f23f481f/saku-the-great-british-bake-off-series-14-65082734936a7.jpg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> <figcaption class="image-caption-wrapper"> <p class="">Saku Chandrasekara. Credit: The Great British Bake Off, Channel 4</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h1>How to: Hold a Data Bake Off</h1><h2>Ingredients</h2><p class="">You’ll need:</p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">Ideally, 25-30 people, working in groups of around 6. </p></li><li><p class="">A theme. For this example I’m going to use ‘impact’ which I used in my session on ‘Maximising the value of your data’ at the <a href="https://www.uk.coop/events-and-training/practitioners-forum/practitioners-forum-2023" target="_blank">UK Cooperatives Practitioners Forum</a> in November 2023.</p></li><li><p class="">Some A1 flip chart paper (pre-prepared - see exercise 2)</p></li><li><p class="">A basket of creative materials per table (scissors, glue dots, ribbons, buttons, pens, wool).</p></li><li><p class="">Some A3 paper (plain)</p></li></ul><p class="">You’ll ask your participants to work through three exercises, inspired by the three challenges contestants face on Bake Off. I’ve used different names here (because the Bake Off challenge names are trademarked) but if you’re a Bake Off fan, they should feel familiar ;-)</p><h2>Exercise 1: Tried and Tested Recipes</h2><p class="">The first challenge is always a bit personal and encourages people to unveil their well-rehearsed recipes. In this case, it’s about getting people to think about the data they do and don’t collect. With a theme of ‘impact’ I introduced the <a href="https://www.thinknpc.org/resource-hub/the-cycle-of-good-impact-practice-the-five-types-of-data/" target="_blank">five types of data (from NPC)</a>:</p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">User data</p></li><li><p class="">Engagement data</p></li><li><p class="">Feedback data</p></li><li><p class="">Outcomes data</p></li><li><p class="">Impact data.</p></li></ul><p class="">I asked participants to write down for each: </p><ol data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">What data they collect that’s really useful </p></li><li><p class="">What data they don’t collect but wish they did.</p></li></ol><h2>Exercise 2: Data Gathering</h2><p class="">In this round, things get more technical. This is all about asking people to focus in and gather actual data. On an A1 flip chart it’s just about possible to collect six rows and six columns of data. You’ll need to pre-prepare your A1 sheet with the column titles showing the data you want to gather. It’s important to include some easy wins that people can quickly fill in (and don’t take up much space) and some that are going to be harder and likely to elicit some debate. Ideally, you want some geographic/location data, some numeric data, and some temporal (time-related) data. </p><p class="">In the UK Cooperatives workshop, I was working with attendees from different organisations, so asked participants to think about organisational data. For easy wins we collected: organisation location, number of employees, how long participants had worked in their organisation and number of members. For the trickier data, we got them to use their responses from the signature dish ‘Most useful data you collect about members’ and ‘Missing data you wish you collected’. </p> <a role="presentation" class=" image-slide-anchor content-fill " > <img class="thumb-image" elementtiming="system-gallery-block-grid" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713260405467-RX3ALLCDAGBWD2F2Z6ER/53360569603_5b876507da_o.jpg" data-image-dimensions="5418x3612" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="53360569603_5b876507da_o.jpg" data-load="false" data-image-id="661e476fe8a89d0413429b14" data-type="image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713260405467-RX3ALLCDAGBWD2F2Z6ER/53360569603_5b876507da_o.jpg?format=1000w" /><br> </a> <a role="presentation" class=" image-slide-anchor content-fill " > <img class="thumb-image" elementtiming="system-gallery-block-grid" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713260404572-8DEJ502LNEKA2VJCMDJH/53360569268_410d6b028f_o.jpg" data-image-dimensions="5715x3810" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="53360569268_410d6b028f_o.jpg" data-load="false" data-image-id="661e476f52421669295c3be5" data-type="image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713260404572-8DEJ502LNEKA2VJCMDJH/53360569268_410d6b028f_o.jpg?format=1000w" /><br> </a> <p class="">If you’re working with participants who are all from the same organisation, you could think ‘down a level’, such as team size, how far they travel to work, service user/client data.</p><p class="">The exercise is less about the data itself, and more about aiming to draw out discussion around the challenges of data collection. For example, when I asked how many members an organisation had, the question assumed all the people around the table worked in organisations that have members. Whilst many did, some did not, or had different descriptions/structures. Similarly, some may use different units for data, for example people employed less than a year will describe how long they’ve been in their job in ‘months’, whilst more long-serving employees are likely to use ‘years’. These types of conversations can emerge just as often with internal audiences – often different teams, or even individuals within the same team, will think about and record the same data in different ways.</p><p class="">When you move on to the trickier data, this is most likely to appear as text for which patterns/similarities may or may not be apparent. In some cases there might be some gaps where people just don’t know (especially with the missing data). </p><h2>Exercise 3: The Finale</h2> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d35acd9c-c885-488e-9cf9-502602bfef7a/workshop+materials.jpg" data-image-dimensions="3333x2500" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d35acd9c-c885-488e-9cf9-502602bfef7a/workshop+materials.jpg?format=1000w" width="3333" height="2500" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d35acd9c-c885-488e-9cf9-502602bfef7a/workshop+materials.jpg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d35acd9c-c885-488e-9cf9-502602bfef7a/workshop+materials.jpg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d35acd9c-c885-488e-9cf9-502602bfef7a/workshop+materials.jpg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d35acd9c-c885-488e-9cf9-502602bfef7a/workshop+materials.jpg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d35acd9c-c885-488e-9cf9-502602bfef7a/workshop+materials.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d35acd9c-c885-488e-9cf9-502602bfef7a/workshop+materials.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d35acd9c-c885-488e-9cf9-502602bfef7a/workshop+materials.jpg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">The finale is where the creative juices really start to flow, and everyone does their best to produce a visualisation of their data that will stop people in their tracks. For this exercise, you’ll need to provide materials. Ribbons, wool, and buttons in different sizes and colours make a perfect mix (I got mine from the <a href="https://www.echoherefordshire.org.uk/services/rose-tinted-rags/" target="_blank">ECHO’s charity shop</a> which specialises in reclaimed textiles and haberdashery).</p><p class="">Depending on how much time you have, you could ask teams to make just one or several visualisations. Twenty minutes is about the right length of time to get them to think and produce their visualisation. Having the clock ticking will create a sense of urgency.</p> <a role="presentation" class=" image-slide-anchor content-fill " > <img class="thumb-image" elementtiming="system-gallery-block-grid" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713265507160-SBW2SNHM2EI5CEN7IEEA/53360808750_223e5c3ea3_o.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1837x1667" data-image-focal-point="0.0,0.0" alt="53360808750_223e5c3ea3_o.jpg" data-load="false" data-image-id="661e599f55c739618ccce1e4" data-type="image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713265507160-SBW2SNHM2EI5CEN7IEEA/53360808750_223e5c3ea3_o.jpg?format=1000w" /><br> </a> <a role="presentation" class=" image-slide-anchor content-fill " > <img class="thumb-image" elementtiming="system-gallery-block-grid" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713263709059-C3YUPDR5DUAVCKVF5XF8/20231123_142913.jpg" data-image-dimensions="4032x3024" data-image-focal-point="0.37943262411347517,0.4893869364036704" alt="20231123_142913.jpg" data-load="false" data-image-id="661e5451497d00300dd3a05b" data-type="image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713263709059-C3YUPDR5DUAVCKVF5XF8/20231123_142913.jpg?format=1000w" /><br> </a> <a role="presentation" class=" image-slide-anchor content-fill " > <img class="thumb-image" elementtiming="system-gallery-block-grid" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713263709982-RJLVHGE3OY4MEO84MY51/20231123_143009_1.jpg" data-image-dimensions="4032x3024" data-image-focal-point="0.450354609929078,0.4893869364036704" alt="20231123_143009_1.jpg" data-load="false" data-image-id="661e5451925330272ef228d8" data-type="image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713263709982-RJLVHGE3OY4MEO84MY51/20231123_143009_1.jpg?format=1000w" /><br> </a> <a role="presentation" class=" image-slide-anchor content-fill " > <img class="thumb-image" elementtiming="system-gallery-block-grid" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713263772809-3BO0YTKLITRWODNM2RZR/20231123_143032.jpg" data-image-dimensions="3024x4032" data-image-focal-point="0.4893867924528302,0.4148936170212766" alt="20231123_143032.jpg" data-load="false" data-image-id="661e5496a2833d3d32c3bad5" data-type="image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713263772809-3BO0YTKLITRWODNM2RZR/20231123_143032.jpg?format=1000w" /><br> </a> <a role="presentation" class=" image-slide-anchor content-fill " > <img class="thumb-image" elementtiming="system-gallery-block-grid" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713263714376-EZZWPNDQC0D8THW3LFSM/20231123_143642.jpg" data-image-dimensions="3024x4032" data-image-focal-point="0.4893867924528302,0.4574468085106383" alt="20231123_143642.jpg" data-load="false" data-image-id="661e545d569dc854cba181e6" data-type="image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713263714376-EZZWPNDQC0D8THW3LFSM/20231123_143642.jpg?format=1000w" /><br> </a> <a role="presentation" class=" image-slide-anchor content-fill " > <img class="thumb-image" elementtiming="system-gallery-block-grid" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713265226827-0QRPLVOFSO6M9O5BZOK1/53360808370_006bb42f62_o.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1939x1667" data-image-focal-point="0.0,0.0" alt="53360808370_006bb42f62_o.jpg" data-load="false" data-image-id="661e59b670b32f5e84557b54" data-type="image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713265226827-0QRPLVOFSO6M9O5BZOK1/53360808370_006bb42f62_o.jpg?format=1000w" /><br> </a> <h2>The Judging</h2><p class="">Once all the tables have produced and selected their best visualisation/s, it’s time for the judging. You’ll need to give each participant a token (I used recycled wooden hearts) to take on a tour of the other tables. This gives everyone the opportunity to view all the other teams’ visualisations and vote with their heart for their favourite one. (It’s important to say teams can’t vote for their own.)</p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/da2f2dbb-49c0-4dd3-a425-265182add0db/20231123_143543.jpg" data-image-dimensions="2212x1506" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/da2f2dbb-49c0-4dd3-a425-265182add0db/20231123_143543.jpg?format=1000w" width="2212" height="1506" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/da2f2dbb-49c0-4dd3-a425-265182add0db/20231123_143543.jpg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/da2f2dbb-49c0-4dd3-a425-265182add0db/20231123_143543.jpg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/da2f2dbb-49c0-4dd3-a425-265182add0db/20231123_143543.jpg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/da2f2dbb-49c0-4dd3-a425-265182add0db/20231123_143543.jpg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/da2f2dbb-49c0-4dd3-a425-265182add0db/20231123_143543.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/da2f2dbb-49c0-4dd3-a425-265182add0db/20231123_143543.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/da2f2dbb-49c0-4dd3-a425-265182add0db/20231123_143543.jpg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> <figcaption class="image-caption-wrapper"> <p class="">One of the more popular visualisations at the UK Cooperatives Practitioners Forum</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/5645149c-ac0f-4174-adc9-d999dbd81b37/53360358026_9cdf686b03_o.jpg" data-image-dimensions="5760x3840" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/5645149c-ac0f-4174-adc9-d999dbd81b37/53360358026_9cdf686b03_o.jpg?format=1000w" width="5760" height="3840" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/5645149c-ac0f-4174-adc9-d999dbd81b37/53360358026_9cdf686b03_o.jpg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/5645149c-ac0f-4174-adc9-d999dbd81b37/53360358026_9cdf686b03_o.jpg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/5645149c-ac0f-4174-adc9-d999dbd81b37/53360358026_9cdf686b03_o.jpg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/5645149c-ac0f-4174-adc9-d999dbd81b37/53360358026_9cdf686b03_o.jpg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/5645149c-ac0f-4174-adc9-d999dbd81b37/53360358026_9cdf686b03_o.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/5645149c-ac0f-4174-adc9-d999dbd81b37/53360358026_9cdf686b03_o.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/5645149c-ac0f-4174-adc9-d999dbd81b37/53360358026_9cdf686b03_o.jpg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">To round things off, you might want to invite people to share their thoughts about what was good about the winning visualisation and you also might want to provide a small prize for the winning team. Or you could gather all the visualisations together to create a grand dashboard of everyone’s efforts.</p><h2>What next?</h2><p class="">We would love to hear back from any of you who try out ‘Data Bake Off’ (or other exercises) with your teams/members.</p><p class="">If you would like to book Data Orchard to come and deliver an in-person Data Bake Off workshop for your staff or network do <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/contact" target="_blank">get in touch</a>. We also offer a range of online <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/training-and-capacity-building" target="_blank">workshops to build data culture and data literacy</a>. </p><p class="">Watch out for a how-to on our Data Task Master workshop next!</p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c87d3135-5f2d-494b-93ae-df245d17040c/53360356431_9dc31652e3_o.jpg" data-image-dimensions="5364x3576" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c87d3135-5f2d-494b-93ae-df245d17040c/53360356431_9dc31652e3_o.jpg?format=1000w" width="5364" height="3576" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c87d3135-5f2d-494b-93ae-df245d17040c/53360356431_9dc31652e3_o.jpg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c87d3135-5f2d-494b-93ae-df245d17040c/53360356431_9dc31652e3_o.jpg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c87d3135-5f2d-494b-93ae-df245d17040c/53360356431_9dc31652e3_o.jpg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c87d3135-5f2d-494b-93ae-df245d17040c/53360356431_9dc31652e3_o.jpg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c87d3135-5f2d-494b-93ae-df245d17040c/53360356431_9dc31652e3_o.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c87d3135-5f2d-494b-93ae-df245d17040c/53360356431_9dc31652e3_o.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c87d3135-5f2d-494b-93ae-df245d17040c/53360356431_9dc31652e3_o.jpg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> <figcaption class="image-caption-wrapper"> <p class="">There’s nothing more satisfying than producing a great piece of data viz!</p> </figcaption> </figure> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/jpeg" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1713257294838-5ENZYACWTSPPD4ERB9A6/saku-the-great-british-bake-off-series-14-65082734936a7.jpg?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="980" height="656"><media:title type="plain">Announcing: Data Bake Off</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>AI in nonprofits</title><category>All</category><category>Tips and tools</category><category>Datafolk Club</category><dc:creator>Libby Harkins</dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 21 Feb 2024 09:39:24 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/ai-in-nonprofits</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:65d5c3d99b781d2eb8771557</guid><description><![CDATA[Recently, our Nonprofit Datafolk Club gathered to discuss AI in nonprofits. What are people using it for? What are the concerns about using it? What are the barriers? Here’s a writeup of the discussion.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/22e971f0-e00b-4481-907b-db4e4c771051/hitesh-choudhary-t1PaIbMTJIM-unsplash-AI.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1500x842" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/22e971f0-e00b-4481-907b-db4e4c771051/hitesh-choudhary-t1PaIbMTJIM-unsplash-AI.jpg?format=1000w" width="1500" height="842" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/22e971f0-e00b-4481-907b-db4e4c771051/hitesh-choudhary-t1PaIbMTJIM-unsplash-AI.jpg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/22e971f0-e00b-4481-907b-db4e4c771051/hitesh-choudhary-t1PaIbMTJIM-unsplash-AI.jpg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/22e971f0-e00b-4481-907b-db4e4c771051/hitesh-choudhary-t1PaIbMTJIM-unsplash-AI.jpg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/22e971f0-e00b-4481-907b-db4e4c771051/hitesh-choudhary-t1PaIbMTJIM-unsplash-AI.jpg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/22e971f0-e00b-4481-907b-db4e4c771051/hitesh-choudhary-t1PaIbMTJIM-unsplash-AI.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/22e971f0-e00b-4481-907b-db4e4c771051/hitesh-choudhary-t1PaIbMTJIM-unsplash-AI.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/22e971f0-e00b-4481-907b-db4e4c771051/hitesh-choudhary-t1PaIbMTJIM-unsplash-AI.jpg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">Every month we run an interactive workshop for our Nonprofit Datafolk Club. It’s an opportunity for data folk in nonprofits to come together and discuss a data-related issue. </p><p class="">In November, we covered a topic that has been hotly discussed in every corner of the data world (and beyond): artificial intelligence. </p><p class="">As is our usual style at our Datafolk Club workshops, we asked participants to discuss three broad questions about their thoughts and experience of AI in nonprofits. </p><h2>What do you currently use, plan to use or would like to use AI for in your organisation? </h2><p class=""> The extent of AI use in people’s organisations was extremely varied. Some people hadn’t used it for work at all yet, due to security concerns or technical barriers (more on this below), although they might have explored AI in a personal capacity. Many said their organisations were already using AI in different ways such as: </p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><strong>Summarising </strong>– A common use of AI was to summarise bodies of text that would take a long time to read and understand otherwise – such as policy summaries or reports – using large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Microsoft Copilot (previously Bing Chat). Some people used machine learning tools to analyse open-ended responses to questionnaires, for example, topic modelling of a public consultation about the use of open spaces. </p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Content creation</strong> – Another popular use of AI was to generate marketing content. People said it helped them to get started with a piece of work, get over writer’s block, or gave suggestions and direction to those not used to writing copy. It could also help to ensure that content was written using accessible language. Built-in AI functionality in customer relationship management (CRM) and fundraising software was being used by some people to predict what kind of marketing their audience would respond best to, based on behaviour patterns. However, concerns about personal data still held some organisations back from using AI to personalise communications with their audience, even though some felt this would be valuable. </p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Technical tasks</strong> – AI was also used to support technical tasks, for example to help in writing Excel formulae or programmatic queries (such as in SQL, R, or Salesforce’s Apex). People reported that using AI as a tool in this way helped make their jobs easier. Particularly in the nonprofit sector, staff workloads are high and roles are often multifaceted, and the general feeling was that anything that can make work more efficient is welcomed. Along these lines, automation was another use of AI that people would like to implement (although no examples of this currently in practice were given). <br>Some people were thinking about using AI for data analysis. For example, the paid version of ChatGPT includes a data analysis component. This has the possibility of making complex data analysis accessible to more people. </p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Other</strong> – Other uses that were mentioned, included transcribing audio, identifying gaps in business planning, automating administrative tasks, and using chatbots to improve website user experience. </p></li></ul><p class="">Despite this wide range of current and planned use of AI, there was still a strong feeling of caution amongst attendees. It was noted that there are different attitudes towards AI in the general public and within organisations themselves. </p><h2>What are your main concerns about using AI in your organisation?</h2><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><strong>Ethical concerns</strong> – Ethical concerns were one of the main barriers preventing people from using AI in their organisations. <br>Most of the discussion centred around large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT. A lack of transparency and privacy concerns about what happens to data when it gets put into such tools stopped many people from using them. People felt this inability to fully understand how their data was processed and stored by AI tools made it difficult to develop appropriate organisational policies for using them. There was a general lack of trust in the companies who developed and distributed AI tools, including the idea that companies providing these services may be storing input data for future use. <br>People also raised concerns about the environmental impacts of AI usage, and whether these could be justified. </p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Reliability</strong> – There was also a lack of trust in the reliability of outputs. People didn’t like not being able to see the steps an LLM has taken to generate an output (as compared with a human using a recorded method), so they felt they couldn’t adequately check and validate the results. People were also aware that popular LLM tools were known for giving biased outputs that reflect the biased data that they are trained on. There were also concerns about issues raised around intellectual property, ‘deep fakes’, and harmful content that may have been fed into LLMs. People felt this needed to be addressed before they would feel comfortable in using these tools, particularly for any kind of decision-making. Related to this, were concerns about who would be responsible and accountable if decisions were made by an algorithm. <br>Several people felt it was difficult to assess the risks associated with AI, given their limited understanding of how it worked. Without understanding it they couldn’t be fully transparent about how they were using it, or guarantee errors weren’t being made in its implementation and use. </p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Unrealistic expectations</strong> – Some people were worried that expectations around levels of productivity and performance may increase as AI tools become more widely adopted, and that upskilling may not keep pace with the rate of change. This could be stressful for those who find it difficult to adapt to the use of this technology. <br>Finally, in a sector with limited resources and where expenditure is often heavily scrutinised by donors and funders, there were questions about how much benefit AI could bring to nonprofit organisations in terms of value for money. While perhaps big tech companies with huge amounts of data and resources could get a lot of value out of AI, was this also the case for nonprofit organisations, particularly those that were smaller in size? </p></li></ul><h2>What barriers do you face in using AI in your organisation? </h2><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><strong>Knowledge and skills</strong> – Many people felt they didn’t understand enough about AI, and lack of digital/IT skills in general could be a barrier. People found it difficult to keep abreast of all the latest developments, as it was such a rapidly evolving area. Inability of nonprofit organisations to compete against the private sector in trying to hire people with the right skills, was also raised. </p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Resources<em> </em></strong>– Cost was a common barrier, with a shortage of funds available to pay for off-the-shelf or bespoke products, or to source the necessary skills. Lack of capacity to invest time in relevant research and knowledge-building was also an issue. </p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Governance<em> </em></strong>– Some people reported that their organisation lacked a robust AI policy, and that the absence of guidance about acceptable use held them back from being able to adopt AI tools. </p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Culture<em> </em></strong>– The complex and controversial nature of AI was another common barrier. Differing attitudes to the adoption of AI meant it was difficult to get others on board or secure leadership buy-in. There is an underlying fear (for example, “it will take my job”). One person from a local government organisation said they are typically risk-averse in these areas, so are waiting for AI integration in ‘trusted products’. On the other hand, others said they found ‘over-hype’ was unhelpful in trying to meaningfully engage with AI, sometimes pushing organisations towards using it where it’s not really needed. They also found that, amidst the whirlwind of excitement, there was little actual guidance available to help people get started. </p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Data<em> </em></strong>– People widely recognised that you need good data – and lots of it – to be able to do anything useful with AI. They acknowledged that poor quality data would result in the ‘garbage in, garbage out’ effect and render AI useless. Some said their work was still primarily paper-based and would need a digital transition before being able to make the most of AI. </p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Service requirements<em> </em></strong>– There were a few cases where people noted the importance of needing a human to carry out a service – for example, so that they could build relationships and make immediate judgement calls – particularly where organisations work with vulnerable people who need personalised support or are engaging with research participants. </p></li></ul><h2>What if Chat-GPT wrote this blogpost? </h2><p class="">One of our Nonprofit Datafolk Club members suggested we use AI to write this blogpost. An excellent idea! I gave Chat-GPT the notes made at the workshop and asked it to write a blogpost. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7166025369504968704" target="_blank">We’ve posted the AI-generated text on our LinkedIn feed</a>. Why not head over to the post now and let us know what you think. Do you have observations on the copy the AI has generated? How do you see this technology being used in nonprofits in the future? </p><p class="">(Full disclosure on prompts: The AI’s first attempt was pretty boring so I asked it to do it again but more like a story. It was still splitting the narrative into what each group said individually, whereas I wanted a more general picture. So, I told it not to split the notes into groups. What was generated is what you see on our LinkedIn post). </p><h2>Join the Nonprofit Datafolk Club </h2><p class="">If you found this resource interesting, or if you have any curiosity in nonprofit data more generally, please come and join us at our next workshop. Each month has a different topic, and you will be able to find the details on <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/events">our events page</a>. Previous topics have included: </p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/nonprofit-data-storage">Data storage in nonprofits</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/getting-leadership-buy-in">Getting leadership buy-in</a> </p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/career-paths-datafolk">Career paths for data folk in nonprofits</a> </p></li></ul> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/jpeg" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1708508147443-E0PSZ11I5W6UWIY4TCSN/hitesh-choudhary-t1PaIbMTJIM-unsplash-AI.jpg?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="1500" height="842"><media:title type="plain">AI in nonprofits</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>3 big questions about resourcing data roles in nonprofits </title><category>All</category><category>Tips and tools</category><category>Datafolk Club</category><dc:creator>Libby Harkins</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 16 Jan 2024 12:25:29 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/3-big-questions-about-resourcing-data-roles-in-nonprofits</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:65a672277d9b9c4934c17316</guid><description><![CDATA[Following recent analysis by the team into data roles and salaries in the nonprofit sector, we summarise some of the big issues nonprofits need to consider when thinking about how to resource data roles.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1705407462730-0C945GSO3KQDLGRIX7I4/image-asset.jpeg" data-image-dimensions="2500x1668" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1705407462730-0C945GSO3KQDLGRIX7I4/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w" width="2500" height="1668" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1705407462730-0C945GSO3KQDLGRIX7I4/image-asset.jpeg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1705407462730-0C945GSO3KQDLGRIX7I4/image-asset.jpeg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1705407462730-0C945GSO3KQDLGRIX7I4/image-asset.jpeg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1705407462730-0C945GSO3KQDLGRIX7I4/image-asset.jpeg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1705407462730-0C945GSO3KQDLGRIX7I4/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1705407462730-0C945GSO3KQDLGRIX7I4/image-asset.jpeg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1705407462730-0C945GSO3KQDLGRIX7I4/image-asset.jpeg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">Every month we run the Nonprofit Datafolk Club. A place for data-folk in nonprofits to come together and discuss a data related issue. </p><p class="">In October 2023 we decided to look at ‘resourcing data roles in nonprofits’, inspired by our recent <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/news/surprising-facts-about-data-jobs-in-nonprofits">job vacancy data analysis</a>. The analysis showed a rise in salaries, particularly for analysts. It also showed that for several data role-types nonprofit organisations offered lower salaries than the commercial average. </p><p class="">We had a brilliant discussion around 3 key questions that I have summarised below. </p><ol data-rte-list="default"><li><h2>How might nonprofits compete for data roles? </h2></li></ol><p class="">It was acknowledged that the voluntary sector isn’t as well funded as the private sector and therefore trying to compete with salaries is a big challenge. But there are other benefits that attract people to the nonprofit sector. </p><p class="">Firstly, jobs in the nonprofit sector offer interesting work and the opportunity to make a positive contribution to the world, which appeals to some people disillusioned with the academic/private sector. Also, the data you work with in nonprofits is often about people and situated in a complex space, which can be both more interesting and more challenging than data primarily about profit. However it was also noted that as many nonprofits have a limited number of data staff (often only one) you may have to take on a lot of responsibilities that you’re not so interested in. </p><p class="">Attendees expressed their experience of working in nonprofits as having a good working culture, full of nice people. It’s easier to be fulfilled in your job when your values align with the organisation you're working for and with your colleagues. Often, you can see how your work informs decision making in a nonprofit organisation and this lets you know you are making a difference. </p><p class="">It was discussed how benefits such as flexible working and a wider compensation package (eg a good pension or employee assistance programmes) also compete with salary as these are valuable additions to a person’s life. </p><p class="">Practically, it was noted that links with other organisations can help with appealing to data role candidates. Collaborative working, learning partnerships and networks are all important – especially if you have a small data team. </p><h2>2. How might nonprofits access data skills in other ways than hiring staff? </h2><p class="">We also discussed methods of increasing an organisation's data capabilities and capacity without hiring staff. A few great suggestions were made: </p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><strong>Join an apprenticeship scheme</strong> (eg Cambridge Spark): it’s not a huge investment of money but needs a day per week and support for on-the-job exercises </p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Access pro bono support or volunteer data work:</strong> this can be good for specific projects or work requiring tools the nonprofit organisation wouldn’t be able to otherwise access, however it can be difficult to come up with what work would be appropriate and helpful in this context </p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Take part in data sharing agreements and partnerships between organisations:</strong> especially for matched cohorts with sensitive data that can’t necessarily be handed over or made public. This might be easier for some issues (where lots of data is being collected) than others. </p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Engage consultants:</strong> this is more expensive, but easier to justify for project evaluation (it adds a level of credibility), particularly where funders stipulate a certain proportion of the funding to be allocated to monitoring and evaluation </p></li></ul><h2>3. How might nonprofits work together to address skills and pay issues across the sector? </h2><p class="">The first suggestion was to raise the profile of data in the sector to get more resources available to nonprofit organisations. Highlighting how much time nonprofit staff spend on data, regardless of whether it's in their job title or not, helps organisations and funders to value data and data skills. Also communicating the power of data and how simple it can be could help garner more support. There was agreement we need to emphasise that increasing capacity in data roles really does pay off. </p><p class="">It was also highlighted that there is a lot of variation across the sector as each organisation is tackling their own particular problem – so would an organisation by organisation approach be more appropriate than addressing ‘the sector’ as whole? There is a balance between making changes as a whole sector, and acknowledging that every organisation in the sector is unique. </p><h2>Join the Nonprofit Datafolk Club </h2><p class="">Please let us know if you have any thoughts or reflections on this topic you think we missed. </p><p class="">And if you found this resource interesting, or if you have any curiosity in nonprofit data more generally, <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/datafolk-club">please come and join us at our next workshop</a>. Each month has a different topic. Previous topics have included: </p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/nonprofit-data-storage">Data storage in nonprofits</a> </p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/getting-leadership-buy-in">Getting leadership buy-in: Challenges and effective approaches</a></p></li></ul><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/data-science-in-nonprofits">Data science in nonprofit organisations</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/geodata-in-nonprofits">Geographical data in nonprofits</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/data-tools-used-in-nonprofits">Data tools in nonprofits</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/news/what-data-professionals-in-nonprofits-think-about-data-culture">Data culture in nonprofits</a></p></li></ul> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/jpeg" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1705407219792-MMCRVSU5FKQ6LW3LFWCS/image-asset.jpeg?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="1500" height="1001"><media:title type="plain">3 big questions about resourcing data roles in nonprofits</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>Orchestras Live - A leading light in data maturity</title><category>Case study</category><category>All</category><dc:creator>Data Orchard</dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 23 Nov 2023 15:17:19 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/orchestras-live-leading-data-maturity</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:6555eb6a37b9d5261c6e4941</guid><description><![CDATA[Orchestras Live recently completed their second data maturity assessment, with impressive results. Here, we tell their story towards mastering data maturity and why we think they’ve been successful with data.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1d237162-cd20-4a08-b2fd-179bb0948d6a/orchestras-live-logo-1.jpg" data-image-dimensions="607x148" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1d237162-cd20-4a08-b2fd-179bb0948d6a/orchestras-live-logo-1.jpg?format=1000w" width="607" height="148" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1d237162-cd20-4a08-b2fd-179bb0948d6a/orchestras-live-logo-1.jpg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1d237162-cd20-4a08-b2fd-179bb0948d6a/orchestras-live-logo-1.jpg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1d237162-cd20-4a08-b2fd-179bb0948d6a/orchestras-live-logo-1.jpg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1d237162-cd20-4a08-b2fd-179bb0948d6a/orchestras-live-logo-1.jpg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1d237162-cd20-4a08-b2fd-179bb0948d6a/orchestras-live-logo-1.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1d237162-cd20-4a08-b2fd-179bb0948d6a/orchestras-live-logo-1.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1d237162-cd20-4a08-b2fd-179bb0948d6a/orchestras-live-logo-1.jpg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">Orchestras Live believes orchestras are for everyone. They are a national charity passionate that people from all backgrounds, areas and ages should have the opportunity to participate in and be inspired by the highest quality orchestral experiences. They create projects where music and creativity can thrive and their collaborations with professional orchestras, educators, venues, promoters and communities are at the heart of their work. Each year around 30,000 people benefit from these experiences.</p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/220e2a16-6cab-47a3-98be-75c7bc5419db/OL+image.jpg" data-image-dimensions="2000x847" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/220e2a16-6cab-47a3-98be-75c7bc5419db/OL+image.jpg?format=1000w" width="2000" height="847" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/220e2a16-6cab-47a3-98be-75c7bc5419db/OL+image.jpg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/220e2a16-6cab-47a3-98be-75c7bc5419db/OL+image.jpg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/220e2a16-6cab-47a3-98be-75c7bc5419db/OL+image.jpg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/220e2a16-6cab-47a3-98be-75c7bc5419db/OL+image.jpg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/220e2a16-6cab-47a3-98be-75c7bc5419db/OL+image.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/220e2a16-6cab-47a3-98be-75c7bc5419db/OL+image.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/220e2a16-6cab-47a3-98be-75c7bc5419db/OL+image.jpg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <h2>Monitoring targets vs understanding impact</h2><p class="">Sarah Derbyshire, CEO, joined the organisation in 2016. Even then, Orchestras Live’s data-use was considered ‘ahead of the game’ for a cultural organisation. Thanks to the connections of one of their trustees, they had a bespoke dashboard which recorded progress against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and was used to report to the board. </p><p class="">But Sarah was increasingly aware that the dashboard was useful for recording success against finite targets, rather than exploring data in ways that helped understand and improve the impact of the organisation.</p><p class="">The team embarked on a journey to begin improving and refining their data use and reporting. Although they made improvements toward this, Sarah was conscious that more needed to be done to improve their ability to make data-informed decisions, and they needed to map out their journey to improvement.</p><h2>Assessing data maturity a first time</h2><p class="">In 2020, Orchestras Live used the Organisational version of our <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/data-maturity-assessment-tool">Data Maturity Assessment Tool</a> to take their first assessment. </p><p class="">Unusually, 100% of staff and many trustees took part, giving them a rich picture of how data was seen and used in different parts of the organisation. Sarah said: </p><blockquote><p class="">“Principally we learned that within the organisation, people had very different ideas about what data is and how we could use it. Staff weren’t using data for planning. They had a clear picture of the process for inputting data, but not the results. Only the people close to reporting to the board were really actually engaging with data.”</p></blockquote><p class="">The results of the first data maturity assessment prompted Orchestras Live to put a new emphasis on data in the organisation. Over the next few years they:</p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">developed and implemented a data strategy that fed into the business planning for 2022/23.</p></li><li><p class="">created a new data-focused role (which has evolved into the current role of ‘Production, Data and Insight Analyst’). Soon after, they also added a data and administration assistant. </p></li><li><p class="">completed a full data audit and worked on streamlining processes and focusing the data they were collecting. </p></li><li><p class="">adopted and rolled out a new customer relationship management (CRM) system.</p></li><li><p class="">created working groups made up of trustees and staff to inform organisational decisions and regularly reflect on progress. Four working groups were formed around the Arts Council England Investment Principles, with two of these having a particular focus on data:</p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><strong>Ambition and quality</strong> - looking at perceptions of the organisation and measurement of impact</p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Dynamism</strong> - looking at how they use data to inform planning, understand costs and drive income generation.</p></li></ul></li></ul><p class="">As Orchestras Live developed this more sophisticated approach to data, they were able to explore new areas where data could help them improve their services. </p><p class="">They began using data to track their performance around diversity and inclusion, as well as environmental responsibility, and were now able to develop data-informed processes in relation to these, with support from their working groups. Another of the key developments is a new model for looking at their impact in terms of ‘return on investment’. Sarah says:</p><blockquote><p class="">“Following on from our first assessment and the groundwork we’d done, we were now able to take a much more considered approach to assessing the extent to which our investment of resources helps us deliver on the aims of our business plan. Our return on investment model doesn’t give us cold hard scores, but it encourages us to ask questions of ourselves to inform planning and decision making.”</p></blockquote><h2>Taking stock and refocusing: A second data maturity assessment</h2><p class="">After all this hard work, by 2023, the team felt it was time to take stock and objectively measure their progress. Karys Staddon, the Production, Data and Insight Analyst was keen to take the organisation through a second data maturity assessment:</p><blockquote><p class="">“We obviously made some conclusions about where we were on our journey after doing the first data maturity assessment. To be able to come back a few years later and revisit that - at what felt like quite a different point in time - was really useful.”</p></blockquote><p class="">Sarah adds: </p><blockquote><p class="">“There isn't another way that we could gauge our progress independently. Without the assessment, we would be forced into the area of anecdote, which, given our focus on the importance of data, isn't what we wanted to do!”</p></blockquote><p class="">Again 100% of staff completed the assessment, along with most of the trustees. Sarah and Karys both noticed that the process of doing their first data maturity assessment had caused a shift in how people thought about data in the organisation. They had used their initial learning to reframe how they talked about data, and made changes to how they used data. They didn’t necessarily have more data, but they were making better use of the data they did have. Consequently, people were seeing and talking about data in a more positive way and relating to it differently. Sarah says:</p><blockquote><p class="">“One of the positives of doing a follow-up assessment was the increased level of enthusiasm we saw. People had a better understanding of what we were doing the second time around, because we had reported back on the first assessment and taken specific actions. The follow up, in itself, was a demonstration of the fact that we're using data in a planned and intelligent way - or hoping to do that - and people had a new appreciation of that.”</p></blockquote><h2>Reaching Mastery</h2><p class="">One thing we know about data maturity is that it takes time and effort to implement changes and see results from all that focused work. Back in 2020, Orchestras Live was already relatively advanced in their data maturity compared to their peers. Their first assessment put them in the upper developing stage (scoring 3.7 out of 5 on the five-stage journey). Three years on, Orchestras Live is a fantastic example of how a concerted effort on data can pay off in time.</p><p class="">Very few of the nonprofits using our Data Maturity Assessment Tool are assessed as reaching Mastering level. In particular, organisations in the culture and recreation sub sector tend to lag behind others, with an average overall data maturity score of 2.4 out of 5, according to our latest <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/sots-data-maturity-in-nonprofit-sector-2023">State of the Sector analysis</a>.</p><p class="">Orchestras Live bucked both these trends in their second data maturity assessment. Their overall data maturity score was 4 out of 5 - placing them just within Mastering level, and well above other culture and recreation organisations.</p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700749683650-V3NMDQJX06PX7RAZTU43/Overall+barchart.png" data-image-dimensions="2952x2196" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700749683650-V3NMDQJX06PX7RAZTU43/Overall+barchart.png?format=1000w" width="2952" height="2196" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700749683650-V3NMDQJX06PX7RAZTU43/Overall+barchart.png?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700749683650-V3NMDQJX06PX7RAZTU43/Overall+barchart.png?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700749683650-V3NMDQJX06PX7RAZTU43/Overall+barchart.png?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700749683650-V3NMDQJX06PX7RAZTU43/Overall+barchart.png?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700749683650-V3NMDQJX06PX7RAZTU43/Overall+barchart.png?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700749683650-V3NMDQJX06PX7RAZTU43/Overall+barchart.png?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700749683650-V3NMDQJX06PX7RAZTU43/Overall+barchart.png?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">Comparison between 2020 and 2023 showed that Orchestras Live saw improvements in all seven key themes of our data maturity framework.</p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/055cb510-6638-4831-8af3-b3b9710464fc/Theme+dumbells.png" data-image-dimensions="2952x2196" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/055cb510-6638-4831-8af3-b3b9710464fc/Theme+dumbells.png?format=1000w" width="2952" height="2196" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/055cb510-6638-4831-8af3-b3b9710464fc/Theme+dumbells.png?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/055cb510-6638-4831-8af3-b3b9710464fc/Theme+dumbells.png?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/055cb510-6638-4831-8af3-b3b9710464fc/Theme+dumbells.png?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/055cb510-6638-4831-8af3-b3b9710464fc/Theme+dumbells.png?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/055cb510-6638-4831-8af3-b3b9710464fc/Theme+dumbells.png?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/055cb510-6638-4831-8af3-b3b9710464fc/Theme+dumbells.png?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/055cb510-6638-4831-8af3-b3b9710464fc/Theme+dumbells.png?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">In particular, the organisation is excelling when it comes to Leadership, Uses and Culture, with Data and Analysis also showing great progress over the three years.</p><h2>Seeing the benefits</h2><p class="">Orchestras Live has also seen demonstrable increases in the benefits and rewards of better data maturity. Overall, data and analytics is influencing services much more than before, with the top three areas of improvement showing increases of 14-25 in percentage of influence:</p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">Evidencing impact to stakeholders</p></li><li><p class="">Design and delivery of services and products</p></li><li><p class="">Targeting of services/interventions to clients</p></li></ul><p class="">In particular, ‘design and delivery of services and products’ was one of the areas Orchestras Live least used data for in 2020. Now it is joint second. </p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/4013b4dd-17f0-483a-b12b-94d45412db31/Increasing+influence+on+services+v1.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1280x720" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/4013b4dd-17f0-483a-b12b-94d45412db31/Increasing+influence+on+services+v1.jpg?format=1000w" width="1280" height="720" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/4013b4dd-17f0-483a-b12b-94d45412db31/Increasing+influence+on+services+v1.jpg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/4013b4dd-17f0-483a-b12b-94d45412db31/Increasing+influence+on+services+v1.jpg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/4013b4dd-17f0-483a-b12b-94d45412db31/Increasing+influence+on+services+v1.jpg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/4013b4dd-17f0-483a-b12b-94d45412db31/Increasing+influence+on+services+v1.jpg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/4013b4dd-17f0-483a-b12b-94d45412db31/Increasing+influence+on+services+v1.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/4013b4dd-17f0-483a-b12b-94d45412db31/Increasing+influence+on+services+v1.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/4013b4dd-17f0-483a-b12b-94d45412db31/Increasing+influence+on+services+v1.jpg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">Data is also increasingly influencing Orchestras Live’s core capabilities. The top three areas of benefit in 2023 showed increases of 11-23 in the percentage of influence of data and analytics on: </p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">Strategic planning and decision-making </p></li><li><p class="">Levels of knowledge and expertise</p></li><li><p class="">Strength of partnerships/networks</p></li></ul> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d74ea3ae-4308-4638-a329-c708fb35b811/Influence+on+core+capabilities+v1.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1280x720" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d74ea3ae-4308-4638-a329-c708fb35b811/Influence+on+core+capabilities+v1.jpg?format=1000w" width="1280" height="720" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d74ea3ae-4308-4638-a329-c708fb35b811/Influence+on+core+capabilities+v1.jpg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d74ea3ae-4308-4638-a329-c708fb35b811/Influence+on+core+capabilities+v1.jpg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d74ea3ae-4308-4638-a329-c708fb35b811/Influence+on+core+capabilities+v1.jpg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d74ea3ae-4308-4638-a329-c708fb35b811/Influence+on+core+capabilities+v1.jpg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d74ea3ae-4308-4638-a329-c708fb35b811/Influence+on+core+capabilities+v1.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d74ea3ae-4308-4638-a329-c708fb35b811/Influence+on+core+capabilities+v1.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/d74ea3ae-4308-4638-a329-c708fb35b811/Influence+on+core+capabilities+v1.jpg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">Notably, influence on efficiency savings has also increased considerably (up from 22% to 60% over the three years).</p><h2>The key to success</h2><p class="">Orchestras Live is an organisation that's always known where it's going and how it's going to measure its success. Among the reasons they score so highly in leadership is that all their staff know there’s an overarching business plan with defined measurable goals, and understand that data and analytics is a major organisational priority. In particular, their ongoing investment in people, skills, learning and tools has clearly paid off in helping them reach a level of data maturity that not many organisations do.</p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/b5df94a9-e2ac-4581-8696-f5deb61ea09d/Leadership+investment.jpg" data-image-dimensions="2500x2055" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/b5df94a9-e2ac-4581-8696-f5deb61ea09d/Leadership+investment.jpg?format=1000w" width="2500" height="2055" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/b5df94a9-e2ac-4581-8696-f5deb61ea09d/Leadership+investment.jpg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/b5df94a9-e2ac-4581-8696-f5deb61ea09d/Leadership+investment.jpg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/b5df94a9-e2ac-4581-8696-f5deb61ea09d/Leadership+investment.jpg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/b5df94a9-e2ac-4581-8696-f5deb61ea09d/Leadership+investment.jpg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/b5df94a9-e2ac-4581-8696-f5deb61ea09d/Leadership+investment.jpg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/b5df94a9-e2ac-4581-8696-f5deb61ea09d/Leadership+investment.jpg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/b5df94a9-e2ac-4581-8696-f5deb61ea09d/Leadership+investment.jpg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <h2>The work never stops</h2><p class="">The work to improve data maturity never stops - it just gets more rewarding. </p><p class="">Orchestras Live is a particularly interesting case study for data maturity because it’s one of only a few organisations where ALL the staff have participated in BOTH assessments (actually most of the trustees took part in the latest one too, but we’ve focused on the responses from staff, as they are closer to the day-to-day operations and better placed to assess first hand). </p><p class="">Given staff salaries are often the highest area of expenditure in many organisations, we’re keen to understand how much of people’s work relates to data. For Orchestras Live, in 2020 the results showed an average of 38% of staff time was spent working with data. In 2023, it had increased to 41%. So only a little more time spent overall, but delivered with much greater efficiency and effectiveness, and they are already reaping the rewards!</p><p class="">Of course though, the work continues. Orchestras Live used their first data maturity assessment to inform a new data strategy, which then fed into business planning. Now it’s time to rinse and repeat, as Sarah and Karys prepare to use the results of the second data maturity assessment to develop a new impact and insight strategy (an updated version of their data strategy), which will, in turn, feed into delivering their business plan in 2024/25. Some key areas they plan to focus on include:</p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><strong>Data management and data protection</strong> - A theme that emerged from our last State of the Sector analysis is that many organisations are seeing their confidence in data security, policies and practices decrease. Orchestras Live is aware of the risks and will continue to invest in good data management, security and protection.</p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Predictive analysis</strong> - Orchestras Live want to take their data use to the next level, by using data to predict need, increase efficiencies and assess potential return.</p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Sharing more data</strong> - Orchestras Live want to improve their sharing of data, particularly internally, for instance by allowing staff to ‘self-serve’ data.</p></li><li><p class=""><strong>Data visualisation</strong> - As data becomes richer and more complex, it becomes more challenging to present. The team wants to improve their ability to effectively present large amounts of data in accessible ways.</p></li></ul><h2>Our final thoughts</h2><blockquote><p class="">“Orchestras Live is a perfect example of a small but mighty charity that really understands how to use data to shape and change what it does and how to do it in the best possible way. That their board of trustees is so engaged and supportive of investment in data is undoubtedly a key driver. We look forward to seeing the next chapter in their story when they take another data maturity assessment in 2026!” </p><p class="">Sian Basker, Co CEO, Data Orchard.</p></blockquote> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/jpeg" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700751511028-JPEEK9VQUNFF0YXQR74B/OL+image.jpg?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="1500" height="635"><media:title type="plain">Orchestras Live - A leading light in data maturity</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>Data storage in nonprofits</title><category>All</category><category>Tips and tools</category><category>Datafolk Club</category><dc:creator>Hannah Khwaja</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:50:14 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/nonprofit-data-storage</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:655cb48de98bfc546f66b8a0</guid><description><![CDATA[In June’s Nonprofit Datafolk Club workshop, we discussed the topic of data storage with an excellent group of data folk. Read Hannah’s writeup for a summary of the discussion about how nonprofits store data and wishes for the future.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700578117002-OAOX2LDWV25VTCGL989T/image-asset.jpeg" data-image-dimensions="2500x1403" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700578117002-OAOX2LDWV25VTCGL989T/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w" width="2500" height="1403" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700578117002-OAOX2LDWV25VTCGL989T/image-asset.jpeg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700578117002-OAOX2LDWV25VTCGL989T/image-asset.jpeg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700578117002-OAOX2LDWV25VTCGL989T/image-asset.jpeg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700578117002-OAOX2LDWV25VTCGL989T/image-asset.jpeg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700578117002-OAOX2LDWV25VTCGL989T/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700578117002-OAOX2LDWV25VTCGL989T/image-asset.jpeg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700578117002-OAOX2LDWV25VTCGL989T/image-asset.jpeg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <h2>What we learned from our June nonprofit datafolk club</h2><p class="">Every month we bring together data folk from the nonprofit community for a workshop as part of our <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/datafolk-club">Nonprofit Datafolk Club</a>. It’s a relaxed, interactive online event where we chat informally about a data topic of interest. </p><p class="">In June, we discussed the topic of data storage with an excellent group of data folk, ranging from analysts and officers up to senior managers across data and data visualisation, business intelligence, and impact and evaluation roles. </p><p class="">We asked attendees about what data their nonprofit held and how they stored it; the strengths and weaknesses of different data storage approaches; and where they would like their nonprofit’s data storage stack to be in 5 years’ time. </p><p class="">Please note: We are not affiliated with and do not endorse any of the service providers mentioned in this article. </p><h2>What data did people have and how did they store it? </h2><p class="">Our attendees held a wide range of different types of data in their organisations, including service user and donor data, marketing, finance, HR, feedback, and outcomes data. Some organisations were using the Cloud, while others stored their data on local hardware such as servers and computers (on-premises storage). Data was held in a variety of locations including: </p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">Spreadsheets including CSV files, <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/excel" target="_blank">Microsoft Exce</a>l, <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/sheets/about/" target="_blank">Google Sheets</a> </p></li><li><p class="">File-sharing cloud platforms such as <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/sharepoint/collaboration" target="_blank">Microsoft Sharepoint </a></p></li><li><p class="">Data warehouses such as <a href="https://cloud.google.com/bigquery" target="_blank">Google BigQuery</a> </p></li><li><p class="">Databases using software such as <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/access" target="_blank">Microsoft Access</a>, <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb" target="_blank">Microsoft Azure</a>, <a href="https://www.oracle.com/uk/database/" target="_blank">Oracle </a></p></li><li><p class="">Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions such as <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/uk/" target="_blank">Salesforce</a>, <a href="https://www.charitylog.co.uk" target="_blank">Charitylog</a>, <a href="https://www.blackbaud.com/products/blackbaud-raisers-edge-nxt" target="_blank">Raiser’s Edge</a>, <a href="https://www.donorflex.com" target="_blank">Donorflex</a>, <a href="https://dynamics.microsoft.com/en-us/" target="_blank">Microsoft Dynamics</a> </p></li><li><p class="">Grants management software such as <a href="https://www.goodgrants.com" target="_blank">Good Grants </a></p></li><li><p class="">Cloud-based survey tools such as <a href="https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk" target="_blank">SmartSurvey </a></p></li></ul><h2>Opportunities and Challenges </h2><p class="">Many of our attendees mentioned benefits of using cloud-based services, such as being able to share links to files that can be worked on together, instead of attaching copies and then having to integrate changes. They appreciated that some services provided ‘hot’, ‘cool’ and ‘frozen’ zones that were priced according to how often you wanted to access the data, and that several services provided good in-built reporting and easy data export for further analysis. They also noted that nonprofit discounts were always worth investigating as they can significantly reduce costs. </p><p class="">Some people were finding it difficult to work out the potential costs of cloud storage – with price being a significant barrier to access – and where best to store different data types based on what they are used for. There were also concerns about the security and ethics of storing data with third party contractors, and data interoperability (being able to share information between different systems). People noted that dealing with data could become quite complex when organisations ended up with a mixture of cloud-based and on-premises storage. Whatever the storage approach, people emphasised that it was important to have clear guidelines and standards, a shared understanding across the organisation, and linked datasets where necessary. </p><h2>Looking to the future </h2><p class="">In 5 years’ time, people generally agreed that they wanted their data to all be in one place – or otherwise for there to be well-established links between different storage locations. They wanted data to be more accessible in real time, and for the process of accessing it to be intuitive and user-friendly, helping to contribute towards good quality, validated data that can be used to inform decision-making. Some mentioned automated update and retrieval processes and connections with visualisation and analysis software. People were divided between whether they hoped that their storage would be entirely cloud-based, or entirely in-house, removing reliance on 3rd party providers. Importantly, they wanted improvements in data storage to come at a reasonable financial cost for their organisation. </p><h2>Join the Nonprofit Datafolk Club </h2><p class="">If you found this resource interesting, or if you have any curiosity in nonprofit data more generally, please come and join us at our next workshop. Each month has a different topic, and you will be able to find the details on our <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/events">events page</a>. Previous topics have included: </p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/getting-leadership-buy-in">Getting leadership buy-in: Challenges and effective approaches</a></p></li></ul><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/data-science-in-nonprofits">Data science in nonprofit organisations</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/geodata-in-nonprofits">Geographical data in nonprofits</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/data-tools-used-in-nonprofits">Data tools in nonprofits</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/news/what-data-professionals-in-nonprofits-think-about-data-culture">Data culture in nonprofits</a></p></li></ul> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/jpeg" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1700578011146-2BSQ8RVTHM6M924OCBW9/image-asset.jpeg?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="1500" height="1000"><media:title type="plain">Data storage in nonprofits</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>Discussing the State of the Sector: Data maturity in the Nonprofit Sector 2023</title><category>All</category><category>Tips and tools</category><category>Datafolk Club</category><dc:creator>Libby Harkins</dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 18 Oct 2023 09:50:00 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/discussing-state-of-the-nonprofit-sector-2023</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:652fa348611f39268eb93177</guid><description><![CDATA[In September, our Nonprofit Datafolk Club spent some time unpacking the results of our report, released in July - State of the Sector: Data maturity in the Nonprofit Sector 2023. Here’s some of the questions and reflections they had.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/8cbd5f53-29f4-4d60-8f07-af58eb806fce/SOTS2023%2Bfish%2B1.%2B-%2Ball%2Bsectors%2Ball%2Bfish.png" data-image-dimensions="1500x1285" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/8cbd5f53-29f4-4d60-8f07-af58eb806fce/SOTS2023%2Bfish%2B1.%2B-%2Ball%2Bsectors%2Ball%2Bfish.png?format=1000w" width="1500" height="1285" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/8cbd5f53-29f4-4d60-8f07-af58eb806fce/SOTS2023%2Bfish%2B1.%2B-%2Ball%2Bsectors%2Ball%2Bfish.png?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/8cbd5f53-29f4-4d60-8f07-af58eb806fce/SOTS2023%2Bfish%2B1.%2B-%2Ball%2Bsectors%2Ball%2Bfish.png?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/8cbd5f53-29f4-4d60-8f07-af58eb806fce/SOTS2023%2Bfish%2B1.%2B-%2Ball%2Bsectors%2Ball%2Bfish.png?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/8cbd5f53-29f4-4d60-8f07-af58eb806fce/SOTS2023%2Bfish%2B1.%2B-%2Ball%2Bsectors%2Ball%2Bfish.png?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/8cbd5f53-29f4-4d60-8f07-af58eb806fce/SOTS2023%2Bfish%2B1.%2B-%2Ball%2Bsectors%2Ball%2Bfish.png?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/8cbd5f53-29f4-4d60-8f07-af58eb806fce/SOTS2023%2Bfish%2B1.%2B-%2Ball%2Bsectors%2Ball%2Bfish.png?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/8cbd5f53-29f4-4d60-8f07-af58eb806fce/SOTS2023%2Bfish%2B1.%2B-%2Ball%2Bsectors%2Ball%2Bfish.png?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <h2>Discussing State of the Sector: Data Maturity in the Nonprofit Sector 2023</h2><p class="">This September we resumed our Nonprofit Datafolk Club, after a brief summer break. For those who don’t know, our <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/datafolk-club">Nonprofit Datafolk Club</a> (usually) gathers online on the second Thursday of every month. It’s a rare occasion for people with varied data roles and experiences to get together in a relaxed, interactive forum to chat and share experiences of data in nonprofits. </p><p class="">In September, we were discussing our report ‘<a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/sots-data-maturity-in-nonprofit-sector-2023">State of the Sector: Data maturity in the nonprofit sector 2023</a>’ that was launched in July. In the session, people had a chance to discuss the findings from the report, pose questions to Sian Basker (Co-CEO and lead researcher), and reflect on any hunches, ideas or curiosities the research sparked. </p><h2>What questions were asked?</h2><p class="">In the Q&A section of the workshop, several questions were posed to Sian. I have summarised some of the main points here:</p><h3>Is there any explanation for why different sectors are ahead or lagging behind in their data maturity scores? </h3><p class="">It is difficult to know why some sectors score better than others in data maturity. A higher score can be pushed by having good data governance (several questions in the ‘culture’, ‘tools’ ‘data’ and ‘skills’ themes are around security and data protection practices) - which may contribute to the public sector being the highest scoring sector. As highly regulated organisations, they often commit relatively high levels of resources to legal compliance and security. </p><p class="">When looking at subsectors, organisations that operate in activities of research, umbrella bodies and law/advocacy tend to score higher. To some extent this is to be expected as their ‘business’ is inherently about data and they are directly reliant upon good data and data skills. </p><h3>Is the data maturity assessment "skewed" to organisations in the development stages? For example if their data maturity is very high they don’t bother taking one, and if it is very low and they are not open/aware of data maturity.</h3><p class="">This could well be the case, we are aware the sample is self-selecting. Certainly organisations that value and prioritise data are more likely to want to take an assessment to understand how they can improve. By contrast organisations that don’t care about data and aren’t interested in getting better, are VERY unlikely to invest time in taking a data maturity assessment. However we do see organisations at all five stages of data maturity across the seven themes. </p><h3>I’m curious to see how organisations’ data maturity has evolved over time (for organisations that have taken the assessment multiple times).</h3><p class="">This is something that we also have been curious about. We have had a number of organisations take repeat assessments - we’ve been tracking one charity that completed its first baseline assessment in 2018 and has <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/the-cart-sheds-4-year-data-maturity-journey">re-assessed every year</a> since. What we have found out is that it is not a linear journey, sometimes scores drop before they rise again (this could be due to staff realising ‘what’s possible’ with data). One surprising finding was that we expected organisations to spend less time with data as they became more data mature. In fact, we are actually seeing staff spend a bit more time on data - though they also reap many more rewards! This is an area we are particularly keen to do further research on, and is looking like it could be the focus of the next State of the Sector report. So keep an eye out for that.</p><h3>Scotland is leading the way in data maturity - do you have any idea why that is?</h3><p class="">Scotland is certainly championing data and is among those at the forefront of innovation in this area. Back in 2018, Scottish Government <a href="https://www.gov.scot/publications/first-ministers-speech-at-news-uk-scotland-in-business/">made a clear commitment to digital and data</a>; investing in research and development, in education and in business start-ups. There are some great initiatives coming out of Scotland’s universities - in fintech, data science and AI, and of course they have <a href="https://thedatalab.com">The Data Lab</a>, and a lot happening with data-driven services and health and welfare data. We’ve worked with Scottish Government’s data maturity programme since 2021 to support cohorts of public sector organisations on their journeys and will be starting with new cohorts this autumn. All this awareness and investment seems to be having really positive effects for nonprofit data in Scotland. </p><h2>What else was discussed </h2><p class="">Other more general ideas relating to the report that I think are interesting to note were:</p><p class="">One attendee realised, after reading the report, their organisation is not as behind as they initially thought, believing other charities would be using data in much more advanced ways than they are. They went on to reflect that many charities at least use a CRM and there are now some products which are free for nonprofits. This can help improve data maturity as they have to be GDPR compliant and have inbuilt ability to link data.</p><p class="">Another attendee had logged in from Germany and gave some really great insight into how the results compared to their own experience with nonprofit data. They found it interesting that Tools was the second highest scoring theme, as they said many organisations in Germany still use Excel, especially in smaller nonprofits. They also noted that administration in Germany is still largely paper-based, and the level of GDPR compliance varies. They agreed that evidencing impact is one of the first motivations to improve when in the Emerging/Learning stages.</p><p class="">Another topic of conversation was how to move small charities from paper based forms to more digital methods of collecting and storing data (as 31% of nonprofits say they still use paper questionnaires and forms moderately or extensively), and the challenges and opportunities that come from that. Relatedly, how to ensure charities understand and don’t feel excluded by “tech speak”. (By the way…data on paper is an issue across all sectors and for organisations of all sizes). </p><p class="">Finally, one group opened up the discussion of quantitative vs qualitative data in terms of how different skills may be required, and the uses of such data. </p><h2>Looking forward, what do people still want to know?</h2><p class="">We asked our datafolk to consider any opportunities for further research - any theories, ideas, hunches that we may be able to investigate. I have listed them below as they are really some food for thought:</p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">Why a badly implemented CRM may set back an organisation, and why does a well implemented CRM propel an org forward?</p></li><li><p class="">What is the influence of regulated sectors on data maturity scores?</p></li><li><p class="">What is the relationship between digital and data maturity?</p></li><li><p class="">What is the journey of those organisations that have improved their data maturity?</p></li><li><p class="">What works, what doesn’t, what causes some organisations to stay stagnant or regress in their data maturity? Are these factors different for different types of organisations?</p></li><li><p class="">What is the relationship between voluntary sector / NHS / statutory organisations - how does this affect data maturity and skills (also, where there is a federated charity model)?</p></li><li><p class="">What is the relationship between qualitative data skills and the Uses theme?</p></li><li><p class="">What concerns should we have around the ethical issues of using digital and data tools to collect and analyse data (including AI)?</p></li></ul><p class="">If you have any additional thoughts, reflections, or ideas for future research please do <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/contact">get in touch</a> and let us know!</p><h2>Join the Nonprofit Datafolk Club</h2><p class="">If you found this resource interesting, or if you have any curiosity in nonprofit data more generally, please come and join us at our next workshop. Each month has a different topic, and you will be able to find the details on our<a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/events"> events page</a>. </p><p class="">Previous topics have included:</p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/geodata-in-nonprofits">Geographical data in nonprofits</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/data-science-in-nonprofits">Data science in nonprofit organisations</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/getting-leadership-buy-in">Getting leadership buy-in: Challenges and effective approaches</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/career-paths-datafolk">Career paths for data folk in nonprofits</a></p></li></ul><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/data-tools-used-in-nonprofits">Data tools in nonprofits</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/news/what-data-professionals-in-nonprofits-think-about-data-culture">Data culture in nonprofits</a></p></li></ul> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/png" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1697622365399-CE00SLU9A8ARN10HOOA3/SOTS2023%2Bfish%2B1.%2B-%2Ball%2Bsectors%2Ball%2Bfish.png?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="1500" height="1285"><media:title type="plain">Discussing the State of the Sector: Data maturity in the Nonprofit Sector 2023</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>Career paths for data folk in nonprofits</title><category>All</category><category>Tips and tools</category><category>Datafolk Club</category><dc:creator>Hannah Khwaja</dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 18 Sep 2023 14:26:35 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/career-paths-datafolk</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:64774611bf4b366a5354c32d</guid><description><![CDATA[In May, our Datafolk Club focus was on pursuing a data career in the nonprofit sector, and we had some excellent discussions with folk ranging from data analysts and scientists to managers and heads of data. Hannah Khwaja shares the key learning points.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1685538348510-W3JJKBBP87K1OY1HMV3O/image-asset.jpeg" data-image-dimensions="2500x1669" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1685538348510-W3JJKBBP87K1OY1HMV3O/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w" width="2500" height="1669" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1685538348510-W3JJKBBP87K1OY1HMV3O/image-asset.jpeg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1685538348510-W3JJKBBP87K1OY1HMV3O/image-asset.jpeg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1685538348510-W3JJKBBP87K1OY1HMV3O/image-asset.jpeg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1685538348510-W3JJKBBP87K1OY1HMV3O/image-asset.jpeg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1685538348510-W3JJKBBP87K1OY1HMV3O/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1685538348510-W3JJKBBP87K1OY1HMV3O/image-asset.jpeg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1685538348510-W3JJKBBP87K1OY1HMV3O/image-asset.jpeg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <h2>What we learned from our May nonprofit datafolk club</h2><p class="">Once a month, we bring people who work in the nonprofit community together for ‘Nonprofit datafolk club’ – an opportunity to chat informally about data topics of interest.</p><p class="">Back in May, our focus was on pursuing a data career in the nonprofit sector, and we had some excellent discussions with folk ranging from data analysts and scientists to managers and heads of data. We considered three main questions:</p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">What are the attractions of working in the nonprofit sector for data folk?</p></li><li><p class="">What kinds of skills, experience or qualifications are particularly important for working in data in the nonprofit sector?</p></li><li><p class="">What are the barriers to pursuing a career in the nonprofit sector and how might we address them?</p></li></ul><h2>What are the attractions of working in the nonprofit sector?</h2><h3>People widely agreed that the main attraction of the nonprofit sector is that the work is purpose-driven, meaningful, and ultimately helps to create a positive impact in society. </h3><p class="">People found that having a job that aligned with their personal values is highly motivating and helped to reduce stress. They appreciated that nonprofit work enabled them to see tangible real-world outcomes from their insights, and that they were not pressured to commercialise the data. They also found that the nonprofit sector tended to be more collaborative, with organisations being more willing to work together and colleagues being open-minded, passionate and friendly people.</p><p class="">Many of the challenges of working in the nonprofit sector are enjoyed. Although there are both upsides and downsides, people said that the tendency of having a broader job remit – with nonprofits being less likely to have highly specialised roles and teams – brought variety and interest to their jobs, and lots of opportunities for learning.</p><h2>What kinds of skills, experience or qualifications are particularly important?</h2><h3>The main skills that people felt are important for working in data in nonprofits are so-called ‘soft skills’ – the non-technical skills that relate to how you work. Critical thinking, resourcefulness, flexibility and adaptability were all thought to be crucial. </h3><p class="">People also felt that communication and relationship building skills are essential – they need to be able to convey complex information in appropriate ways for a variety of stakeholders, and to be able to build people’s trust in the data. People also felt that a deep understanding or lived experience of the challenges that your organisation was tackling are important in nonprofit data jobs.</p><p class="">It was noted that working in data in nonprofits tends to require breadth rather than depth in terms of technical knowledge and skills – you need to be more of a generalist than a specialist. Whereas in a private sector organisation you might have data engineers and other specialists doing some of the ‘background work’ to get data ready for analysis, often in a nonprofit you have to do everything yourself from end to end. People mentioned that nonprofit organisations also varied widely in their use of data tools, from basic spreadsheets through to advanced systems, so a breadth of knowledge and experience in these was important – with an emphasis on solid Excel skills.</p><p class="">People also mentioned that working in nonprofit organisations required much greater knowledge of external data, and the ability to bring this together with internal data in order to answer relevant questions. </p><h2>What are the barriers to pursuing a data career in the nonprofit sector?</h2><p class="">A key barrier mentioned was that there are limited data roles in the nonprofit sector – or at least, those that are explicitly described as such – and that salaries can’t compete with the private sector. (<a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/news/surprising-facts-about-data-jobs-in-nonprofits">I’ve been digging into the data about this recently with my colleague Ben</a>). </p><p class="">People also felt that there was a ceiling for data roles in nonprofits, with lots of analyst jobs, but few higher-level positions, meaning that many ‘data people’ were managed (sometimes poorly) by ‘non-data people’, or lumped in with IT. Some said that rigid hierarchies in nonprofit organisations made it difficult to practise skills such as strategic thinking and decision-making that would be necessary to progress to the next level.</p><p class="">People found that nonprofits are less likely to invest in training and professional development or to offer on-the-job training, such as through apprenticeships, due to lack of budget. They may have lower data maturity, meaning fewer opportunities to use advanced data techniques and tools that are common in the private sector. There may also be fewer opportunities to learn from others in the organisation, with people often being the only ‘data person’ and therefore having no one to share their workload with. Not being able to confirm with others whether you are doing the right thing can lead to lack of confidence, which can also be a barrier to career progression.</p><p class="">There were a number of ways in which people felt these barriers could be reduced. People had found that support from outside their organisation was really valuable, such as through mentorships, communities of practice like our Nonprofit Datafolk Club, or open online courses. In larger organisations, they felt that internal communities of practice could be helpful.</p><p class="">In general, though, people felt that guidance was lacking for people who wanted to pursue a data career in the nonprofit sector. They felt that clear advice and codes of practice could be helpful.</p><p class="">People felt that there should be more and better training for leaders and managers. They also thought that job titles could be thought about more carefully to offer career progression (e.g. providing the opportunity to move up from Analyst to Senior Analyst), and that potential avenues of funding could be explored to provide resource for data roles.</p><h2>Join the Nonprofit Datafolk Club </h2><p class="">If you found this resource interesting, or if you have any curiosity in nonprofit data more generally, please come join us on the 2nd Thursday of every month at 1-2pm. Each month has a different topic, and you will be able to find the details on our<a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/events"> events page</a>. </p><p class="">Previous topics have included:</p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/getting-leadership-buy-in">Getting leadership buy-in: Challenges and effective approaches</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/data-science-in-nonprofits">Data science in nonprofit organisations</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/geodata-in-nonprofits">Geographical data in nonprofits</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/data-tools-used-in-nonprofits">Data tools in nonprofits</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/news/what-data-professionals-in-nonprofits-think-about-data-culture">Data culture in nonprofits</a></p></li></ul> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/jpeg" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1685538679176-SC6RQP3FB2HM9U3BVOEH/image-asset.jpeg?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="1500" height="1001"><media:title type="plain">Career paths for data folk in nonprofits</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>Video: State of the Sector: Data Maturity in the Nonprofit Sector 2023</title><category>Video</category><category>All</category><category>Case study</category><dc:creator>Data Orchard</dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 14 Jul 2023 08:23:58 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/launch-state-of-the-sector-2023</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:64b1040716113c24664f391d</guid><description><![CDATA[On 4th July we launched our 2023 State of the Sector report - analysing levels of data maturity in the nonprofit sector. We held a launch webinar where Sian Basker gave a brief overview of the findings. Watch it here.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p class="">On 4th July we launched our 2023 State of the Sector report - analysing levels of data maturity in the nonprofit sector. It’s the third year we’ve produced this report and, for the first time, we’re able to take a long-lens look at how things are progressing in the sector.</p> <a href="https://youtu.be/LGJbJO8Yf7g" class="sqs-block-button-element--medium sqs-button-element--primary sqs-block-button-element" > Watch the launch webinar </a> <h2>Next steps</h2><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/sots-data-maturity-in-nonprofit-sector-2023">Read the full report</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/data-maturity-hub">Find out more about Data Maturity.</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/events">Find out what other events we have planned</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/contact">Get in touch</a></p></li></ul> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/png" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1689336064901-UOGK5BXVQK793IQ2NHYE/SOTS2023-webinar-screenshot-sq.png?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="645" height="645"><media:title type="plain">Video: State of the Sector: Data Maturity in the Nonprofit Sector 2023</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>State of the Sector: Data Maturity in the Nonprofit Sector 2023</title><category>Publications</category><category>All</category><dc:creator>Data Orchard</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 04 Jul 2023 11:19:50 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/sots-data-maturity-in-nonprofit-sector-2023</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:64a2caa2cdbde4567ce2f858</guid><description><![CDATA[Our 2023 State of the Sector report analyses the latest data from users of our online Data Maturity Assessment tool to see what it tells us about the state of data maturity in the not-for-profit sector..]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/7b65abc7-5cad-4980-9679-075bcca45f96/State+of+the+Sector+2023.png" data-image-dimensions="3508x2480" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/7b65abc7-5cad-4980-9679-075bcca45f96/State+of+the+Sector+2023.png?format=1000w" width="3508" height="2480" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 33.33333333333333vw, 33.33333333333333vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/7b65abc7-5cad-4980-9679-075bcca45f96/State+of+the+Sector+2023.png?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/7b65abc7-5cad-4980-9679-075bcca45f96/State+of+the+Sector+2023.png?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/7b65abc7-5cad-4980-9679-075bcca45f96/State+of+the+Sector+2023.png?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/7b65abc7-5cad-4980-9679-075bcca45f96/State+of+the+Sector+2023.png?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/7b65abc7-5cad-4980-9679-075bcca45f96/State+of+the+Sector+2023.png?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/7b65abc7-5cad-4980-9679-075bcca45f96/State+of+the+Sector+2023.png?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/7b65abc7-5cad-4980-9679-075bcca45f96/State+of+the+Sector+2023.png?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">With over 6,000 people now having completed our <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/data-maturity-assessment-tool">data maturity assessment</a>, and three years of data measuring and benchmarking how organisations are doing, we’re excited to be able to share some unique insights in our latest report into data maturity in the nonprofit sector.</p><p class="">In this report we analyse the most recent data from 2022-23, but also, for the first time take a long-lens look at what the data over the last three years tells us about what’s changing for people and organisations in the sector.</p><p class="">Read the executive summary below, or download the full report as a pdf.</p> <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/s/SOTS2023-State-of-the-Sector-Data-Maturity-in-Nonprofits-Report-2023.pdf" class="sqs-block-button-element--medium sqs-button-element--primary sqs-block-button-element" target="_blank" > Download the report in PDF </a> <hr /> <h2>State of the Sector: Data Maturity in the Nonprofit Sector 2023</h2><h3>Written and researched by Sian Basker and Libby Harkins, July 2023</h3><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" class=""></p><h1>Executive Summary</h1><p class="">Data maturity is an organisation’s journey towards improvement and increased capability in using data. Data Orchard created a framework model which describes data maturity on a five-stage journey. This progresses from ‘Unaware’ through to ‘Mastering’ across seven key themes: Uses, Data, Analysis, Leadership, Culture, Tools, and Skills.</p><p class="">In October 2019 we launched an <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/data-maturity-assessment-tool">online Data Maturity Assessment tool</a> which enables organisations to measure where they are on the five-stage journey to data maturity. There is a free version for individual users, an organisation version for multiple users, and a cohort version for multiple organisations.</p><h2>About the data</h2><p class="">Data Orchard’s Data Maturity Assessment tool has been used by thousands of people from all kinds of organisations and sectors, and from all over the world. This report focuses on those that have used the tool in the 2022-23 financial year and takes a longer-lens look using three years of user data between 2020 and 2023.</p><p class="">Whilst commercial organisations are included for sector comparisons, this report primarily presents findings on data from validated nonprofit (non-commercial) organisations. These include: non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like charities and social enterprises, public sector organisations, and universities.</p><h2>Key insights</h2><h3>Profile of data maturity by sector and type of organisation</h3><p class="">Perhaps surprisingly, we didn’t find much difference in data maturity between sectors. Our research shows the public sector slightly ahead, followed by the commercial sector and then NGOs but overall they are very similar. In every sector there are organisations at different stages with some leading the way and others lagging behind.</p> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c2b519b2-3391-409c-851b-139645583364/SOTS2023+fish+1.+-+all+sectors+all+fish.png" data-image-dimensions="3307x2834" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c2b519b2-3391-409c-851b-139645583364/SOTS2023+fish+1.+-+all+sectors+all+fish.png?format=1000w" width="3307" height="2834" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 75vw, 75vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c2b519b2-3391-409c-851b-139645583364/SOTS2023+fish+1.+-+all+sectors+all+fish.png?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c2b519b2-3391-409c-851b-139645583364/SOTS2023+fish+1.+-+all+sectors+all+fish.png?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c2b519b2-3391-409c-851b-139645583364/SOTS2023+fish+1.+-+all+sectors+all+fish.png?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c2b519b2-3391-409c-851b-139645583364/SOTS2023+fish+1.+-+all+sectors+all+fish.png?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c2b519b2-3391-409c-851b-139645583364/SOTS2023+fish+1.+-+all+sectors+all+fish.png?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c2b519b2-3391-409c-851b-139645583364/SOTS2023+fish+1.+-+all+sectors+all+fish.png?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/c2b519b2-3391-409c-851b-139645583364/SOTS2023+fish+1.+-+all+sectors+all+fish.png?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <p class="">The size of an organisation, by annual income or number of employees, doesn’t have any effect on data maturity. However, it’s possible the type of activity/subsector and the geographic location of an organisation may have an influence.</p><h3>How things are changing</h3><p class="">In the nonprofit sector there has been a shift over the last three years, with increasing numbers of organisations in the ‘Developing’ and ‘Mastering’ stages. In 2022-23 44% were in these two higher stages compared with 29% in 2020-21. The biggest advances have been in areas of Culture, Tools and Uses. Average scores for Leadership, Skills and Analysis have barely changed, and scores for Data have become a little worse.</p><h3>What’s improving?</h3><p class=""><strong>CULTURE:</strong> The sector is doing well in relation to openness. More than two-thirds of organisations share data externally with partners, networks, and stakeholders. Half openly publish their own data and analysis and/or share data with their clients/service users. For 60% polices and practices around security and protection fairly strong. However scores around ‘self-questioning’ and ‘team approach’ remain more mixed. </p><p class=""><strong>TOOLS:</strong> The tools theme has shifted from the 4th highest scoring theme amongst nonprofits to the 2nd highest in 3 years. This may be related to digital transformation/ investment initiatives, much accelerated during and since the pandemic. There’s more digital data (and less on paper) and more use of digital tools for collecting and storing data (including one in ten using mobile apps). Business intelligence/dashboards and data visualisation are on the increase and around 1 in 3 organisations use these moderately or extensively. Around 15% are making use of advanced analytics tools (e.g. coding, mapping). Around a quarter say they have good tools for joining and relating data from different sources.</p><p class=""><strong>USES:</strong> With more organisations in the advanced ‘Developing’ and ‘Mastering’ stages, rewards and benefits of data and analytics are being seen more widely. In relation to services, data is improving the ability of organisations to evidence impact and needs, target and communicate with clients, and design and deliver better services and products. Internally, organisations are benefiting from increased levels of knowledge and expertise, better strategic planning and decision making, and improved impact. Many are also seeing increased income and efficiency savings. </p><h3>What’s getting worse?</h3><p class="">Exploring patterns over time suggest some measures of data maturity are getting worse. </p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">Fewer say they have good quality data. 57% tended to <em>disagree</em> that their data is complete, accurate and kept up to date in 2022-23, compared with 44% in 2020-21.</p></li><li><p class="">More organisations say their staff are not data literate. 58% tended to <em>disagree</em> that staff were data literate in 2022-23, compared with 47% in 2020-21. </p></li><li><p class="">There’s less confidence about data security. 51% tended to agree they were confident about the security of the data they held in 2022-23, compared with 61% in 2020-21.</p></li></ul><p class="">It’s possible these lower scores relate to an increase in awareness about the importance of these issues in organisations.</p><h3>What’s happening in leadership?</h3><p class="">Leaders are key to planning, decision-making and resourcing data maturity (and the second largest user group of the assessment tool by role type). Overall scores for Leadership haven't shifted much in the last three years, though there are indications things are starting to change in some areas. More respondents say: that their organisation has an overarching business plan with defined measurable goals; they have data and analytics expertise amongst their leadership; and leaders who are actively harnessing the value from their data. This research also shows data maturity is strongly related to leadership investment in people, skills, learning and tools.</p><h3>Where are the greatest weaknesses?</h3><p class="">Skills and Analysis are consistently the weakest of the seven key themes, with little change in the scores over the last three years.</p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">Fewer than one in five say they have appropriate numbers of staff managing and developing their data capabilities.</p></li><li><p class="">Fewer than a quarter say they have the right skills and capabilities to maximise the use of their data.</p></li><li><p class="">Fewer than half say they analyse data in useful and meaningful ways. Most are doing simple descriptive analysis of past data, rather than deeper exploratory, experimental, or predictive analysis.</p></li><li><p class="">Much reporting and analysis at a strategic level is manually collated from multiple sources. Just over a third have semi-automated reporting and fewer than 4% fully automated.</p></li></ul><h3>The elephant in the room</h3><p class="">Some aspects of data and data management have growing environmental, legal, and resource-waste implications, yet are often overlooked in data strategies. As volumes of digital data in ‘cloud’ based systems continue to grow at high speed, the environmental impact of data centres cannot be ignored. Just 36% say their digital files and documents are well organised and managed. And although paper-based data collection (and storage) has rapidly reduced in the last three years, 31% say they still use paper questionnaires and forms moderately or extensively.</p><p class="">Only 40% say they delete data about identifiable individuals that is no longer necessary (despite this being one of the key principles of the 2018 Data Protection Act). So it appears the tail-end of the data life cycle receives relatively little attention.</p><p class="">Salaries are usually among the highest areas of expenditure for nonprofits. Organisations in this research say more than half their staff’s time is spent working with data. Only a quarter of organisations say data is easily available and accessible to staff when they need it. Whilst there is much to be gained from technical efficiencies like reproducible analytics pipelines and interactive dashboards, it seems there is also much to be gained from good data management, governance, and housekeeping.</p><h2>Reflections</h2><p class="">Our research shows that the nonprofit sector is progressing in its data maturity. Those that are investing the extra effort and resources are reaping rich rewards for their organisations and those they serve.</p><p class="">Many still have a long way to travel on their data maturity journeys and there’s a clear need for improved skills and support. This is especially so for leadership teams, who are facing many new responsibilities that come alongside exciting opportunities.</p><p class="">We hope this research will stimulate policy makers and funders to channel resources into advancing data maturity. <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/data-maturity-assessment-tool">You can find out more about our data maturity assessments for organisations, cohorts and partners here</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/s/SOTS2023-State-of-the-Sector-Data-Maturity-in-Nonprofits-Report-2023.pdf" class="sqs-block-button-element--medium sqs-button-element--primary sqs-block-button-element" > Download the full report as pdf </a> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/png" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1688481894880-YYDP7D0YSPGQ17XVCMTM/State+of+the+Sector+2023.png?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="1500" height="1060"><media:title type="plain">State of the Sector: Data Maturity in the Nonprofit Sector 2023</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>Getting leadership buy-in: Challenges and effective approaches</title><category>All</category><category>Tips and tools</category><category>Datafolk Club</category><dc:creator>Libby Harkins</dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 22 May 2023 13:12:17 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/getting-leadership-buy-in</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:646b6a3132722b02aebdb502</guid><description><![CDATA[For our April Nonprofit Datafolk Club workshop, we discussed the challenges and approaches to get leadership buy-in around data. If this is something you’re tackling, read our crowd-sourced set of pointers.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1684762468558-467WNVT4JGO10KTMFDI7/image-asset.jpeg" data-image-dimensions="2500x1667" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1684762468558-467WNVT4JGO10KTMFDI7/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w" width="2500" height="1667" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 66.66666666666666vw, 66.66666666666666vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1684762468558-467WNVT4JGO10KTMFDI7/image-asset.jpeg?format=100w 100w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1684762468558-467WNVT4JGO10KTMFDI7/image-asset.jpeg?format=300w 300w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1684762468558-467WNVT4JGO10KTMFDI7/image-asset.jpeg?format=500w 500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1684762468558-467WNVT4JGO10KTMFDI7/image-asset.jpeg?format=750w 750w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1684762468558-467WNVT4JGO10KTMFDI7/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w 1000w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1684762468558-467WNVT4JGO10KTMFDI7/image-asset.jpeg?format=1500w 1500w, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1684762468558-467WNVT4JGO10KTMFDI7/image-asset.jpeg?format=2500w 2500w" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-loader="sqs"> </figure> <h2>What we learned from our April nonprofit datafolk club</h2><p class="">Every month we host a workshop for our Nonprofit Datafolk Club. It’s a relaxed, interactive online event where data folk with varied roles and experiences get together to chat about data in nonprofits. Each session focuses on a specific topic, and we usually pose three broad questions. </p><p class="">At our April datafolk club, we discussed the topic ‘Getting leadership buy-in’. </p><p class="">We asked attendees about what kind of relationship nonprofit leaders had with data; difficulties attendees had encountered when trying to get leaders to buy into the importance of data; and approaches that they had found effective for getting leadership buy-in. </p><h2>Perceptions and challenges</h2><h3>Every leader is different </h3><p class="">When asked how they would describe the relationship of nonprofit leaders with data, everyone agreed that attitudes to data vary between leaders and between organisations. A leader's relationship to data may depend on their general interest in and comfort around data, the time and money they invest into data, their willingness to ask questions about the data, and how open they are to incorporating data into the organisation. </p><p class="">However, there were some common themes that appeared in our discussions:</p><h3>Leaders struggle to make time for data </h3><p class="">Leaders are busy people and it can be difficult to carve out the time to discuss data, especially if you want to get into all the nuances that data holds. Leaders are sometimes only interested in data if the message is brief and easily relayed to funders and partners. </p><h3>Leaders can get stuck on data protection </h3><p class="">The word ‘data’ often makes people's brains go straight to data protection, which is generally seen as being boring or scary. It also means that leaders may tend towards locking data down, rather than seeing it as an asset the organisation can use to answer questions. This is one of the key barriers people experienced when trying to get leaders on board with data. </p><h3>Leaders can find it hard to admit that they don’t understand </h3><p class="">Being in roles in which they carry a high level of authority and responsibility, some leaders can find it difficult to admit when they don’t understand data that is presented to them; the tools used to collect, store, analyse or visualise that data; or why it is important to collect it in the first place. </p><p class="">Others may have a degree of understanding around data which can make them believe they know more than they actually do, and they then make promises at a leadership level that can’t be delivered on (or not within the desired timeframe). </p><p class="">Some leaders also simply trust in their own experiences, and don’t see why data is needed to back this up. </p><p class="">Participants agreed that the easiest leaders to work with were those who admitted what they didn’t know, and were happy to come to the data team as a first port of call. </p><h3>Leaders may be invested in telling a particular story </h3><p class="">One person observed that often if a leader has a positive relationship with data, that can be a result of data confirming or validating an existing bias or belief. If the data says what the leader wants it to, they see it as a useful tool, but if it challenges beliefs or practices then it can be difficult and uncomfortable to engage with. </p><p class="">Often there is pressure to tell the most positive story, especially if the data is needed for funding purposes, and it can be difficult to resist selective reporting. This links to the difficulty of evidencing impact. We discussed the long-term project that is creating a theory of change, and the complicated task of translating output data into outcome data. </p><p class="">We discussed how, if data is simply used to ‘look good’ or prove a point and there is no background infrastructure, then it will not have a long-lasting positive effect. So there is a difficult balance of looking for truth and looking for what you want to find. </p><h2>Effective approaches for getting leadership buy-in around data </h2><h3>Delivering quick wins </h3><p class="">Quick wins came up several times as a technique to help in securing leadership buy-in. Having a bad experience with data - such as a data product that doesn’t work, or data that tells leaders something they don’t want to hear - can put a person off data discussions. </p><p class="">Sometimes you need to provide something (with a level of integrity) that leaders want to see to get them on board, and then you can lead up to more difficult conversations. It is also useful to have some ‘low hanging fruit’ identified when seeking investment in long-term data collection that requires patience in order to see results. </p><h3>Building relationships </h3><p class="">One key piece of advice shared was to target specific individuals in leadership positions who are key to have on board. Given that leaders are often time-limited, this may require giving the same presentation/pitch several times, rather than being able to get everyone together in one room. Although this may feel like a lot of repetitive work, building these individual relationships means you can work on data solutions for things they care about and may increase your chances of success. </p><p class="">Having these connections can also help to give you an ‘inside scoop’ to what is taking place above your level. It can prevent you from working on something that won’t be accepted or used for reasons that are beyond your ability to influence. One attendee gave the example of creating a brilliant dashboard that then wasn’t used for political reasons that they hadn’t been aware of. </p><p class="">Also - target the ‘numbers people’! Even if their role isn’t directly in data, if they work with numbers they will probably be easy to get on board. </p><h3>Encouraging leaders to ask questions </h3><p class="">Attendees agreed it is important for leaders to be able to say “I don't know” and ask questions - both of the data itself, and of the data-people. </p><p class="">As a data person in an organisation, you can help to cultivate an environment where leaders feel able to ask questions. Different approaches may work to do this - small meetings and workshops, 1-1 conversations. Think about whether it will work better as a casual chat or a meeting people can prepare for. </p><p class="">Attendees discussed how it is difficult as you need to educate people in a way where they don't feel like you are trying to educate them - a tricky balance, especially with those in more senior positions than yourself. </p><h3>Focusing on the purpose of the data </h3><p class="">Once a leader becomes interested in data, they might say “show me everything!” - as it’s exciting to unlock this host of possibilities. But this can quickly result in wild goose chases and an overwhelmed data team. It can be helpful to encourage leaders to focus. What questions do they want to ask? To help them make what decisions? And what data do you need to collect to answer these questions? <a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/introducing-data-action-stories">Data Action Stories</a> are a helpful way to start this dialogue and frame discussions. </p><h2>Join the Nonprofit Datafolk Club </h2><p class="">If you found this resource interesting, or if you have any curiosity in nonprofit data more generally, please come join us on the 2nd Thursday of every month at 1-2pm. Each month has a different topic, and you will be able to find the details on our<a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/events"> events page</a>. </p><p class="">Previous topics have included:</p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/data-science-in-nonprofits">Data science in nonprofit organisations</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/geodata-in-nonprofits">Geographical data in nonprofits</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/data-tools-used-in-nonprofits">Data tools in nonprofits</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/news/what-data-professionals-in-nonprofits-think-about-data-culture">Data culture in nonprofits</a></p></li></ul> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/jpeg" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1684762276678-KT432CX0XRLAKAES9FNR/unsplash-image-dDYRYivNzbI.jpg?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="1500" height="2250"><media:title type="plain">Getting leadership buy-in: Challenges and effective approaches</media:title></media:content></item><item><title>Video: Assessing data maturity in the public sector - panel discussion</title><category>Video</category><category>All</category><category>Case study</category><dc:creator>Data Orchard</dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 01 May 2023 11:44:00 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/resources/panel-data-maturity-public-sector</link><guid isPermaLink="false">5d514d1775e9c90001345670:5d77bdfc8768c25a0954a5de:66f69aab8d97892b5d52c338</guid><description><![CDATA[Our panel - from Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, Scottish Government and Stirling Council - discuss assessing data maturity in the public sector.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p class="">On 19 April 2023 we hosted a panel discussion with three data professionals from different UK public bodies, discussing their experience of and perspectives on assessing data maturity in their organisations</p><p class="">The panelists were:</p><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class="">Robert Steele (Data and Insight Manager, Reigate & Banstead Borough Council)</p></li><li><p class="">Sally Kerr (Data Transformation Lead, Scottish Government)</p></li><li><p class="">Jonathan McDougall (Data Architect, Stirling Council)</p></li></ul><h2>Next steps</h2><ul data-rte-list="default"><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/data-maturity-hub">Find out more about Data Maturity</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/events">Find out what other events we have planned</a></p></li><li><p class=""><a href="https://www.dataorchard.org.uk/contact">Get in touch</a></p></li></ul> ]]></content:encoded><media:content type="image/jpeg" url="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d514d1775e9c90001345670/1727438222251-ZFGUMTNF65FW6FNEKMU2/Screengrab-Data+Orchard-Robert+Steele-Reigate-Public+sector-data+maturity.jpg?format=1500w" medium="image" isDefault="true" width="540" height="540"><media:title type="plain">Video: Assessing data maturity in the public sector - panel discussion</media:title></media:content></item></channel></rss>
