What are the best ways for philanthropic organizations to use data for decision making?

1 Define clear goals and indicators

Before collecting and analyzing data, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. This means defining your goals, objectives, and indicators that align with your mission and vision. You also need to establish a data strategy that outlines how you will collect, manage, store, share, and use data. Having a clear data strategy will help you avoid data silos, duplication, and inconsistency.

3 Use data to communicate and collaborate

Another benefit of data is that it can help you communicate and collaborate with your stakeholders, such as donors, beneficiaries, partners, and policymakers. You can use data to tell compelling stories about your work, your impact, and your challenges. You can also use data to solicit feedback, input, and support from your stakeholders, and to engage them in co-creating solutions. You can also use data to build trust and transparency, and to demonstrate your accountability and credibility. Using data to communicate and collaborate will help you increase your visibility, influence, and sustainability.

5 Use data ethically and responsibly

Finally, one of the challenges of using data is that it can pose ethical and legal risks, such as privacy breaches, data misuse, or bias. You need to use data ethically and responsibly, and to respect the rights and dignity of your data subjects. This means following the principles of data protection, such as consent, purpose limitation, data minimization, accuracy, security, and accountability. You also need to follow the principles of data justice, such as fairness, inclusion, empowerment, and participation. Using data ethically and responsibly will help you avoid harm and ensure compliance.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?