Help nonprofits thrive
Let us work to build the capacity of nonprofits you support so they can do the great work you know is possible. Through CTData Strategic Planning, your partners can improve the quality of their data so they can make good decisions about their future.
Empowering nonprofits to use their data as a strategic asset.
As a nonprofit, we know what it means to be dedicated to a mission, and how challenging decisions can be when we don’t have the data we need to inform them. We have also supported thousands of Connecticut professionals so they can use data for good.
And we have developed a way for nonprofits to transform their data from a source of frustration to a strategic asset.
Data Strategic Planning helps nonprofits move from…
How does it work?
You can bring Data Strategic Planning to your nonprofit partners in two ways.
First, you can fund the full Data Strategic Planning service (see what this looks like below). This involves hiring CTData to work with nonprofits to whom you offer this service. The nonprofits who go through this service build a Data Strategic Plan while increasing their data literacy skills.
Phase I involves approximately 12 nonprofits who participate in labinars and consultations. Phases II-IV involve about 5 nonprofits who receive coaching to build, implement, and monitor their Data Strategic Plan. While you, as the foundation, pay CTData to provide this service, you can choose whether to charge nonprofits for participation.
Second, CTData can coordinate with you and other funders to offer this service to your nonprofit partners. For example, CTData could coordinate with four foundations to provide this service for 3 nonprofits from each funder’s network. CTData would run CTData Strategic Planning for the combined 12 nonprofits simultaneously, allowing them to be in the workshops together, learn from one another, and develop relationships with other nonprofits in the state focused on improving their data.
What does the service look like?
“Phase I got us thinking about data more as an asset than something we need to collect for external stakeholders.”
Data Strategic Planning involves a series of workshops, consultations, and homework that gives nonprofits the tools and skills to develop a Data Strategic Plan. Similar to a Strategic Plan, the process allows nonprofits to discuss decisions related to data collection, analysis, and communication and documents their processes and decisions in a Data Strategic Plan.
Some nonprofits may not be ready for full implementation. This may be due to capacity (how much time they have to devote to creating their plan), leadership support (organizational leaders may not yet see the value of turning data into a strategic asset), or staff interest (staff may not be invested in high-quality data collection). For this reason, Phase I gives organizations the opportunity to take stock of whether they are genuinely ready to move into the development of their Strategic Plan.
Once organizations move into Phase II, however, to achieve the most benefit, nonprofits must be able to commit to Phases II-IV to participate in the service.
Here’s what this service looks like.
Phase I: Building a Framework for a Data Strategic Plan
Duration: 5 Months
Number of nonprofits: Approximately 12
A series of interactive learning labs during which nonprofit teams learn data literacy concepts so they can complete "homework" focused on developing the foundational components of a Data Strategic Plan.
CTData provides 1:1 consultations between the learning labs to trouble-shoot and ensure the participants have the information they need to create their foundational documents.
Readiness for Phase II is assessed during Phase I. This includes CTData’s observations from participation in Phase I, self-reflection by the nonprofits, and discussions with your foundation staff. We realize there may need to prioritize what nonprofits you support through this service based on your mission and strategies. We will recommend to you whom we believe is ready and coordinate with you to determine which organizations will move on.
Phase II: Developing Your Data Strategic Plan
Duration: 5 Months
Number of nonprofits: Approximately 5 (who will complete Phases II-IV)
CTData provides twice-monthly coaching and technical assistance as they create their Data Strategic Plans. This phase includes several cohort meetings during which participants will receive training on creating and finding measurement tools, conducting data analysis and communicating results. This training will increase participants' data capacity, so their plan's design will be of high quality and actionable.
Phase III: Implementing Your Data Strategic Plan
Duration: 6 Months
Phase III is where nonprofits start making changes to their data systems and structures based on their plans. CTData provides monthly coaching to assist nonprofits in implementing and continuously improving their Data Strategic Plan. During implementation, CTData assists nonprofits with data improvement practices such as testing and implementing new measurement tools, researching best practices, and helping them think about how to adjust their systems to collect additional data.
Phase IV: Tracking and Monitoring Implementation
Duration: 5 Months
During the final phase, nonprofits see all of their hard work paying off. As they implement their changes, they identify adjustments that are needed and receive coaching as they do so. CTData tracks and monitors the progress of implementation of Plans by meeting with nonprofits monthly to help ensure the changes they have made are working.
What kind of data can participants be working with?
There is no requirement or prohibition on the kinds of data that participating nonprofits could be working with. Previous participants have been working with:
Intake records
Survey responses
Newsletter analytics
Website analytics
Contact Relationship Management reporting
Case records
Registration
Attendance
“CTData staff have a passion for data collection, evaluation and outcomes and they have shared their knowledge in a way that can be easily understood and implemented….We look forward to working with CTData in the future.
”
How can we work with your grantees?
If you are as excited about Data Strategic Planning as we are, schedule a complimentary consultation so we can assess the fit of our service for your organization and your partner’s needs.
Why work with CTData?
“The Connecticut Data Collaborative is a high-quality resource for nonprofits and funders looking to build their data capacity – either through one-one-one consultation or in group settings. In my experience, CTData staff are not only data experts, they are collegial partners who are supportive in helping you identify and address your organization’s data needs.”
“Reports and data like [Essential Equity: the Impact of Covid on Women and Girls] continue to be the basis of our means to make a bigger impact in the community….Since the discovery of these findings, we have partnered with a number of community partners as well as supporters to help inform our work. ”