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A Blueprint For Your Nonprofit Data
Today we explore the Practitioner Data Initiative (PDI) and what we can learn from their effective approaches to improve our own nonprofit data. We discuss the importance of taking a holistic approach to data, including measuring impact, collecting and managing data, and leveraging technology. Erin shares her organization's journey with PDI and the improvements they made in data collection and cleanup. Alberta explains how PDI helps organizations identify gaps and develop skills to achieve the next level of data. We'll also dive into recommendations for organizations to start their own data journey.
Takeaways
Bios
Erin MacKenny has a background in education and close to 10 years of experience working in poverty reduction in the non-profit sector. Throughout her career she has developed a passion for evaluation as a means to understand impact. Currently she is the Program Director and Measurement, Evaluation and Learning Lead at the Saint John Learning Exchange in Saint John, NB Canada. In her role she leads the charge in developing stronger and more efficient data collection processes, creating and incorporating new tools, building the organization's data culture, and getting the team excited about the impact of their work. She loves to make talking about data fun and has been known to throw a great data party!
Alberta Johnson is the Manager of Data Solutions and Strategy at Blueprint. She leads a team of amazing humans that work on both the Practitioner Data Initiative and Blueprint's Data Solutions team.The Practitioner Data Initiative is a portfolio of projects funded by the Future Skills Centre, that seeks to develop a set of tool to improve data capacity in the non-profit sector. This includes managing a team to work directly with non-profits and engaging in a set of strategic sector-wide research activities. Blueprint's Data Solutions team implements, manages, and integrates Salesforce to support Blueprint's various research activities. Using agile methodologies, we work with every research team across the organization to support the distribution of surveys and incentives, the tracking of administrative data for programs, reporting at the project/program level, and data security and management practices to ensure the protection of participant's research data.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
01:21 Practitioner Data Initiative (PDI)
03:08 Importance of a Holistic Approach to Data
04:05 St. John Learning Exchange's Journey to PDI
06:21 Developing Skills to Achieve Next Level Data
07:38 Building Comfort and Confidence with Data
08:07 Improving Data Collection and Cleanup
09:26 Identifying Gaps and Interventions
10:51 Making Informed Decisions with Data
12:38 Prioritizing and Incremental Improvements
13:30 Discovering Unexpected Gaps
14:53 Standardizing Processes for Consistency
16:19 Balancing Data and Human Touch
18:20 Recommendations for Organizations
20:31 Taking the First Step and Being Brave
23:42 Developing Effective Learning Questions
26:05 Importance of Curiosity and Interest
30:31 Defining Terms and Prioritizing Questions
36:08 Conclusion and Contact Information
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By Alexandra Mannerings
5
33 ratings
Today we explore the Practitioner Data Initiative (PDI) and what we can learn from their effective approaches to improve our own nonprofit data. We discuss the importance of taking a holistic approach to data, including measuring impact, collecting and managing data, and leveraging technology. Erin shares her organization's journey with PDI and the improvements they made in data collection and cleanup. Alberta explains how PDI helps organizations identify gaps and develop skills to achieve the next level of data. We'll also dive into recommendations for organizations to start their own data journey.
Takeaways
Bios
Erin MacKenny has a background in education and close to 10 years of experience working in poverty reduction in the non-profit sector. Throughout her career she has developed a passion for evaluation as a means to understand impact. Currently she is the Program Director and Measurement, Evaluation and Learning Lead at the Saint John Learning Exchange in Saint John, NB Canada. In her role she leads the charge in developing stronger and more efficient data collection processes, creating and incorporating new tools, building the organization's data culture, and getting the team excited about the impact of their work. She loves to make talking about data fun and has been known to throw a great data party!
Alberta Johnson is the Manager of Data Solutions and Strategy at Blueprint. She leads a team of amazing humans that work on both the Practitioner Data Initiative and Blueprint's Data Solutions team.The Practitioner Data Initiative is a portfolio of projects funded by the Future Skills Centre, that seeks to develop a set of tool to improve data capacity in the non-profit sector. This includes managing a team to work directly with non-profits and engaging in a set of strategic sector-wide research activities. Blueprint's Data Solutions team implements, manages, and integrates Salesforce to support Blueprint's various research activities. Using agile methodologies, we work with every research team across the organization to support the distribution of surveys and incentives, the tracking of administrative data for programs, reporting at the project/program level, and data security and management practices to ensure the protection of participant's research data.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
01:21 Practitioner Data Initiative (PDI)
03:08 Importance of a Holistic Approach to Data
04:05 St. John Learning Exchange's Journey to PDI
06:21 Developing Skills to Achieve Next Level Data
07:38 Building Comfort and Confidence with Data
08:07 Improving Data Collection and Cleanup
09:26 Identifying Gaps and Interventions
10:51 Making Informed Decisions with Data
12:38 Prioritizing and Incremental Improvements
13:30 Discovering Unexpected Gaps
14:53 Standardizing Processes for Consistency
16:19 Balancing Data and Human Touch
18:20 Recommendations for Organizations
20:31 Taking the First Step and Being Brave
23:42 Developing Effective Learning Questions
26:05 Importance of Curiosity and Interest
30:31 Defining Terms and Prioritizing Questions
36:08 Conclusion and Contact Information