– By Kavneet Kaur and Toshal Gandhi
In today’s digital age, data plays an important role in sparking transformation across industries and endeavors by harnessing its analytical power to unravel hidden patterns, capture insights and optimize processes. It not only serves as a lever in many operational situations but also helps make strategic informed decisions leading to innovation and growth.
The catalytic power of data is particularly groundbreaking in the non-profit world, where data can reach the first mile (often known as the last mile) to build agency for the remote and vulnerable communities. From improving healthcare and education to addressing poverty and inequality, data-driven insights have the potential to create significant positive impact. By leveraging the power of data, nonprofits can make more informed decisions, track progress, and demonstrate impact, ultimately achieving their mission and making a positive difference in the world.
Understanding the significance of data for non-profits
In a rapidly evolving country like India, with its immense diversity and existing inequalities, data is critical in highlighting the intersectionality of different socio-cultural parameters and the challenges that arise with them. Data is also particularly important for non-profit organizations seeking funding or support from other external stakeholders, as data-driven evidence of impact can be a powerful tool in demonstrating the value of their work. Similar to telecom and banking industries, data can also act as a strong lever for accelerating non-profits’ scale and impact along with strengthening organizational strategy, operations and program effectiveness.
There is a significant role to be played by different stakeholders including civil society, funders, academia and government to leverage data to drive evidence-based decision-making and shape development interventions. Advancements in technology and increased accessibility to data sources can pave the way for data-driven development initiatives, including data collection, analysis, and visualization. From tracking progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to addressing climate change and improving public service delivery, data can play a pivotal role in driving positive change.
“One visible gap while tackling developmental issues in a large country like India has been the lack of good quality data to aid and inform the planning and decision-making process. This has hence prompted an increased interest amongst non-profits, funders, and the government to work towards strengthening the data ecosystem for India’s development sector. There is a real need and opportunity to bring together the best minds to not only share and learn from their collective experience but also to come together as a community to create and support solutions for greater impact,” says Vandna Ramchandani, Head of Corporate Philanthropy, APAC, Bloomberg LP.
The need for building capacity for a data-driven lens
Non-profit organizations have begun to reimagine the scope of data and setting up processes to make data and data-driven systems the backbone of programs and organizational development. A common challenge faced by them on this journey is the lack of capacity within their teams to build data infrastructure, manage data and support leaders in data-driven decision making.
“The gap that most non-profits face is the lack of human resources and capacity within the organizations to manage and strategize with data as the core,” highlights Donald Lobo, founder of Project Tech4Dev, an initiative helping non-profits streamline the usage of data and the processes around it.
For the past few years, nonprofits operating in urban and rural remote areas with extensive operations and programs have been collecting data as a way of gathering information and recording insights. For example, Nourishing Schools Foundation, a non-profit established in 2015 collects and analyses data regarding school children’s nutritional status and nutrition-related behaviors. The data-based insights developed from this are shared with school children, teachers and parents to help them identify actions to tackle malnutrition. Till date through this data-led innovation they have impacted over 60,000 school children across India.
While NGOs are at the forefront of development efforts, they still face many challenges in leveraging data effectively. There are multiple tools being used, and numerous dashboards being built to collect and consolidate data, but there is a lack of infrastructure in place to use data for informed decision-making. Moreover, given the limited financial resources as well as the lack of the right expertise, non-profits continue to struggle to incorporate a data lens in their work.
To summarise, building data and technology capacities within non-profits is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it enables them to unlock insights from the vast amounts of data available, leading to more targeted interventions and better outcomes. Secondly, it empowers them to collaborate and share data with other stakeholders, fostering collective impact. Lastly, in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, data and tech capacities are essential for non-profits to remain relevant and adapt to new challenges.
A lever for accelerating change, a storyteller for unheard voices
As India strives to achieve the SDGs by 2030, nonprofits are working relentlessly towards deepening their impact, driving change for the most vulnerable communities in the remotest regions of the country. While the passion and expertise in programs is a strong base, data can act as a strong lever in accelerating this work. What goes unheard, the stories, the issues, the unseen contexts of the marginalized, data can highlight. Data, not just information, but insights, can act as the storyteller for many unheard voices in India, hence being a catalyst as the development sector works for a billion to thrive with equity and dignity.
(Kavneet Kaur is the associate director and Toshal Gandhi is the manager at Dasra.)
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