In the world around us, be it public institutions, corporations, businesses, and government, the race is to unearth new wealth … Data. The consumption of data in recent times has been further fuelled by the extent of insights that can be generated. Additionally, almost everything today has a way to measure, be it behaviours, preferences, and actions. From surveys that market researchers used, whether it was in the discerning of attitudes and preferences for understanding consumer behaviour, to instant feedback and rating surveys on almost everything, data collection and consumption have exploded.
Impact managers at Social Purpose Organisations are increasingly exploring how data can be leveraged to understand better and solve those persistent problems that continue to drive inequities in society. It, therefore, raises questions along the lines of, “Are you leveraging the data that you collect to unearth new insights towards greater impact outcomes of your programs? Did the data you collect allow for course corrections?”
Historically, data has been primarily gathered for the presentation of impact to the external world and largely social capital providers for impact. However, data insights allow for redefining enterprise solutions that include people’s functions and communication. If implemented correctly, your data can pinpoint some of the common trends that organisations can then zero in and analyse better. Whether identifying the best channel for talent spotting while hiring, donor management, communication strategies, or growth plans on digital media platforms, data analytics allows for improved and real-time structures to collection mechanisms and analyses corrections.
Program performance tracking through data analysis enables the reworking of interventions to deliver improved impact outcomes. Effective impact management hinges on the entire lifecycle, from data design to data analyses and actions. More fundamentally, organisations need to assess the extent of data understanding and capacity. And the question to ask is where is one on their data readiness journey?
Raghav Raheja is a data scientist and enthusiast spearheading the Data Excellence Program for Non-profit organisations, enabling them to understand their data journeys better at Social Lens Consulting. To know more, visit www.slens.co.
