Five Steps to Get a Better Handle on Your Data
Organizations collect a lot of data for a variety of purposes. One of which is to show the impact of their work. Using data to show the impact of your organization is easier said than done and requires thought, planning, and resources to execute effectively. Over several years, organizations often get to the point of collecting so much data for so many different purposes that it becomes very difficult to keep track of and ensure that these data are still of value. With this in mind, we provide five steps to help you get a better handle on your data and ensure they are working for you.
We recommend starting with an Excel file where you mark which metrics or measurement tools measure which outcomes.
Reflect on desired outcomes. Does your organization have a clear idea of what success looks like? The first step is to really take the time to reflect on and document what short, intermediate, and long-term outcomes you are trying to achieve. Consider the activities of your organization and ask yourself, if we do these things successfully, what will we see happen? Facilitate conversations with leadership and those in other departments and roles to help ensure you are thinking holistically and identifying the most critical outcomes of your organization.
Conduct a data scan. Once you have a clear idea of what success looks like for your organization and what short, intermediate, and long-term outcomes should be achieved, you can move on to conducting a scan of your current data. A data scan is focused on documenting what you are looking to measure (i.e., the outcomes you identified) and comparing that to the current data collected to identify gaps as well as data that may no longer be needed. We recommend starting with an Excel file where you mark which metrics or measurement tools measure which outcomes. To be comprehensive, you may want to do this at the item-level for measurement tools. This scan will highlight your gaps and where you need to focus more attention.
Identify and fill gaps. Once you have completed your data scan, you can work to identify and fill any gaps you have. Maybe you have some outcomes that aren’t covered at all and some that are covered by numerous metrics or measurement tools. How can you balance this out? Maybe you don’t actually need all those measurement tools and they could be condensed into fewer or shorter instruments or maybe you need to build something entirely new. Before making a final decision, it is also a good idea to mark any metrics or tools that are required by an external entity (e.g., government, funder). That way you know which ones you may not be able to adjust.
Create a data collection plan. After you have identified gaps or areas to streamline, you can begin work on a data collection plan. How are you going to collect the information you have decided is most critical to demonstrating your organization’s impact? The data collection plan should focus on documenting the necessary steps for collecting and analyzing data from all sources and should outline the who, what, when, and how of data collection, storage, and analysis. This plan can help streamline internal collection processes and ensure data quality and consistency.
Create a plan to share. Once you have decided how data will be collected, analyzed, and stored, you can make a plan for distribution. A data distribution plan specifies how data and findings will be shared internally and externally including with leadership, employees, partners, funders, customers, and other stakeholders. The plan likely looks a bit different based on the stakeholder group and should include the purpose for sharing findings, distribution timeline (e.g., quarterly, annually), and method of delivery (e.g., dashboard, report, fact sheet) for each group. Documenting this plan can help ensure your data is shared as effectively as possible.
The thought of tackling your organization’s data may feel a bit overwhelming, but the effort is worth it to streamline your data collection processes and be able to better communicate the impact of your work. We hope these steps are helpful as you work to wrangle the data at your organization. If you have any questions or need support in implementing any of these steps at your organization, feel free to reach out!