Measuring impact: How the Innovation Lab helps applicants deliver high-quality data
SmartyGrants users might already be familiar with the tools developed by the Our Community Innovation Lab, which include CLASSIE, CLASSIEfier and the Outcomes Engine.
These tools enable grantmakers to manage, classify and derive insights about their grantmaking activities. But as grantmakers become better equipped to measure the impact of their funding programs, the need for their applicants to become more data driven increases.
To meet this need, Our Community’s Innovation Lab has also created free online resources, workshops and events to build the data capacity of not-for-profit organisations that apply for grants.
These resources include a step-by-step guide, Data Projects from Go to Whoa!, that helps organisations to scope and complete their first data projects.
The guide is designed to be used with Developing Data Capability in Your Not-for-Profit, a framework for using data.
The guide incorporates lessons distilled from the Innovation Lab’s work with Australian not-for-profits and from various research projects:
- the Grants in Australia survey
- the ICDA Not-for-Profit Governance Roadmap
- the Who Gives? analysis of GiveNow donor preferences
- Funding to LGBTIQ+ causes in Australia, a report by Our Community and GiveOUT
- data collaborations with not-for-profits TaskForce Community Agency and Berry Street.
SmartyGrants trainer David Bradley says that when grant applicants employ evidence-based practices, grantmakers can better measure the impact and effectiveness of their programs.
“Building that capacity will allow you to have a lot more confidence in the data that you’re reporting on,” Mr Bradley says.
“We’d like to be able to support not-for-profit organisations to be able to provide the best data and then that flow-on for the grantmaker will mean that when you’re looking at your SmartyGrants reports or you’re looking at your widgets – so the effectiveness of programs – you’ll have a lot more confidence that the data you’re reporting on is accurate and rigorous.”
The Innovation Lab was recently recognised for its work with not-for-profits at the Connecting Up Not-for-Profit Technology Awards and the Social Impact Measurement Network Australia (SIMNA) Awards.
MORE INFORMATION
Jump to the 30-minute mark of this SmartyGrants webinar to learn how applicants can gain insights into the programs and services they are delivering on your behalf. The webinar also incorporates demonstrations of SmartyGrants features such as CLASSIE.
Developing Data Capability in Your Not-for-Profit | Data Projects from Go to Whoa!
Contact the Innovation Lab team at [email protected]
The Our Community Innovation Lab receives support from Equity Trustees.