What does it mean to be data-driven as a nonprofit or smaller grassroots organization?
You’re navigating being responsive to the communities you serve, providing services and programming that provide a more just and equitable world, while also being responsive to demands on your organizational capacity.
Despite anecdotes and maybe a survey here or there that generally confirms you’re doing a good job, there’s still a demand for more proof, and it usually comes from whoever is holding the purse strings.
Being data-driven is bigger than the numbers you see and the stories you hear.
It’s also bigger than taking the numbers and molding them into stories that not only speak to hearts and minds, but generate research ideas and influences policy change.
So much of being data-driven prioritizes the demands and requests of external stakeholders, particularly funders.
In fact, many evaluation projects I’ve led started with the client organization seeking an external evaluator. They mentioned doing an external evaluation their grant as a deliverable, and now it’s anticipated by their funder.
Even with this as a deliverable, interpersonal barriers to being data-driven persists.
Being data-driven means moving beyond decision-making that primarily benefit funders and external stakeholders. It means making intentional learning investments that champion questioning, reflection, and action that directly benefit your staff AND stakeholders.
So how can nonprofits and small grassroots organizations become more data-driven? Here’s one simple, accessible way to get started:
Many nonprofits and small grassroots organizations understand the concept of data collection and analysis. It’s the value of this knowledge, however, that gets lost.
When data collection and analysis are seen as a need-to-do as opposed to the pursuit of a deeper understanding of perspectives that lead to action, it’s hard to convince staff to see the the value of this practice.
You can start with an evaluative thinking process, which is more in depth, or you can start with this three-part question:
What does success look like for our organization, how does this directly influence my work, and what will I learn about myself and our organization in the process?
Key takeaway
It’s easy to tie our program and service successes to funder and stakeholder expectations, but articulating what this success will look like for staff AND what they desire to learn about themselves in the process generates buy-in. It shows mutual investments in both the work, in staff’s needs being met to do the work, and the connections among the staff working together to make it work.
Starting with a simple question can lead to bigger impact on the road to becoming more data-driven.
Raise Your Voice: In what ways can your organization become grassroots AND data driven? Share below in the comments section.
