When it comes to data, your organization requires different measures for different needs. You will likely want to monitor measures of community wellbeing AND measures that speak to the performance of your organization and its programs. We believe that effective performance measurement requires the collection and analysis of three types of data. At Clear Impact, we help organizations determine what data they should be measuring by helping them answer these three questions:

• What did you do?
• How well did you do it?
• Is anyone or anything better off as a result of your efforts?

At this point, you may be wondering “how do I even find or collect this data?” Or, “what do I do with the data once I collect it?”

If you hope to answer all of these questions effectively, a custom data collection software may be the answer to your prayers.

Organizations often favor objective measures like donations, inventory, outputs, and working capital due to the ease of collection and understanding. But if you’re only collecting this type of data, it will be difficult for you to understand the impact of your programs and services on the community.

Social Impact data may be overlooked due to apprehension related to the amount of resources and time required to collect and analyze it. 

Using software that is made specifically for public and social sector data collection can solve all of these problems by:

• Centralizing all the data you need to run your organization efficiently in one place so that it’s easier to find, organize, and analyze
• Allowing you to collect and upload program participant data remotely from any location with an internet connection
• Allowing you to create custom data collection tools, forms, surveys, tests, and assessments and send them directly to participants via email
• Automatically aggregating your selected participant data to create your program performance measures

What are the Advantages of Data Collection Software Compared to Traditional Methods?

Cloud-based data collection and survey systems (software systems that can be accesses anywhere with an internet connection) have many advantages over other traditional forms of data collection (paper-based surveys, Excel, Word documents, etc.). These include but are not limited to:

• Enhanced security
• Ease of access
• Ease of navigation
• Automate time-consuming data-entry tasks
• Are designed for specific use-cases and customized to industries

The best systems will take these benefits one step further and will offer:

• Multiple options for data input
• Higher processing speed and accessibility of results at all times
• High level of customization
• Access to advanced analytics
• Compatibility with other data software tools
• Participant tracking independent of or in conjunction with survey sets

You can read more about the benefits of cloud-based data collection tools here.

Implementing a software designed for public/social sector data collection and analysis can also immediately improve your performance measurement. Due to the benefits listed above, you will speed up and simplify the your data collection efforts immensely. 

If you take full advantage of the data analysis functionality available to you, your organization can gain valuable insights into your performance and impact that you would have never seen with traditional data collection methods. For example, some data collection software (like Compyle) allows you to disaggregate your data measures by race, gender, or any other custom variables to analyze potential inequities in your communities and program delivery. This will allow you to take corrective actions more quickly to improve your services. 

Data Collection Software + Performance Management Software = More Powerful Data Insights

Data collection tools are most effective when they can easily integrate with performance management systems (preferably with the system you already use). When your data collection system can transmit aggregate and disaggregated data directly into your performance management system, this will save you time and reduce the possibility of data transmission errors. 

How Can I Measure my Organization’s Efficiency with Data Collection Software?

One way to collect data is to design and distribute surveys to your program participants. If you want an accurate understanding of how well your programs are performing, custom survey software is a must. You can use surveys to ask your program participants directly about your services and convert their answers into longitudinal data sets to track improvement. 

This can tell you whether anyone is “better off” as a result of your programs and whether or not you are improving your performance over time. 

The scope and content of your surveys are dependent on the situation and can be molded to fit your own needs. Surveys can use numerical systems, paragraph responses, or a mixture of both. Ultimately, the questions are up to you; however, some suggested examples are include data that speaks to: 

• Customer satisfaction
• Program quality measures (perception of staff expertise, etc.)
• Demographic information
• Quality of life before, during, and after program completion
• Ease of program enrollment

Check out this blog for more information on creating effective surveys.

How Can I Use Data Collection Software to Better Understand Inequities?

The best data collection software allows you to disaggregate collected data into different variables. This may mean breaking down your data measures by race, class, gender, or any other variable that’s important to you. Doing this can lead to better insights into your community’s wellbeing, and it can help you understand whether a program is a good fit for your intended participants. For example, if your organization’s program satisfaction surveys are flatlining or decreasing for a specific demographic, this may represent issues related to ineffective communication and/or a lack of understanding of community needs.

Consider disaggregating your program participant data by race, gender, geographic location, and other factors to accelerate your diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. For these purposes, you’ll want to use survey software that collects demographic information in tandem with program evaluation metrics. 

Interested in Learning More About Data Collection Software? Consider These Next Steps:

1. Learn more about the 9 essential components of a data collection/ case management software.
2. Read this article to learn about one potential solution for your data collection needs: Clear Impact Compyle.
3. Ready to get started with more efficient data collection? See a quick intro video and sign up for a Compyle Demo.