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Understanding your community needs is essential in any organization, and as you’ve heard me say many times, data is the key to unlocking that. An organization’s ability to collect the right information and use it to make informed decisions is what will drive the success of programs and services.
And through many engagements with nonprofits, we know how challenging it can be to use data in a way that really provides value and meaning for your organization. We hosted a virtual tour of our Impact Accelerator program in August, and people in the session shared some of the challenges they face within their impact data practices.
The challenges we heard are not new. They are challenges that many organizations face:
The key to overcoming these challenges starts with strategy.
We find that organizations we work with are often asked by funders to collect certain data points, which end up having little utility other than for reporting. On top of that, many organizations start collecting data for things that would be interesting to know, but without really considering what they want to do with that data.
Based on these observations, we advise our clients that before you jump into any data collection or analysis, start with – why you need the data, and how can you use the data to help you get there.
In our Impact Accelerator, this is where we always start. Getting organizations aligned on the strategy behind their data practice is where we see some of the most significant moments of transformation.
If you’re experiencing any of these data challenges, does your organization have a solid strategy in place? Does everyone on your team know about it? Are there opportunities to refine it?
Check out the resources below to help you improve your data strategy.
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