Leading Through Data Blog Entries

We used the Independent Sector NGen Blog as the home for our online discussion on data in the social sector. We invited and secured blogs posts from 20 leaders, including: Phil Buchanan, President of the Center for Effective Philanthropy; Sarah Hunter, Behavioral Scientist at RAND Corporation; and Brian Gallagher, CEO of United Way Worldwide.

Blog posts covered issues ranging from dealing with extremely large and overwhelming data sets to the use of data in decision-making and leadership. We strongly encourage you to check out all of the posts or to add your own.

Key insights from some of our blog post authors:

• "We tend to think of data as merely the facts and figures that represent our cause. But when taken and wrapped in our passionate stories, that data becomes an emotional pitch by which we engage others. Data that supports the validity of many causes demonstrates to supporters that an urgent need must be met. To personalize the data and make it “real” to our audiences, our stories need to be woven in from beginning to end." Pamela Acosta Marquardt, Founder and Director of Donor Relations of Pancreatic Cancer Action Network 

• "This is about values and leadership, but it is also about using data to convince a deeply distrustful American public that at least one sliver of American institutions are capable of working together effectively for the good of the community. Feel-good stories and outreach have a role, but people thinking about making significant commitments need to know that they are investing in organizations or networks of organizations that are making a difference."  Thomas Pollak, Expert at The Urban Institute

• "We know that data-based decision making works. New and better data not only allows for more effective local strategies, it provides greater opportunity to align our efforts at scale and genuinely move the needle on community issues. But you don’t have to be a statistician to pass along useful information. Everyone possesses their own unique understanding of their community. Seek local input, insist on inclusion, and co-own the strategies by turning outward and listening to the community. Too often, strategies are based on untested assumptions or on the experiences of just a select few. Strategies that aren’t rooted in the realities of people’s lives may send you down a course that doesn’t contribute to a solution at all." Brian Gallagher, CEO, United Way Worldwide

• "If what we want to do is inspire nonprofit leaders to use data more effectively to improve the impact of their work, we should look within the sector for examples. In that vein, This should not be hard because, while we can all agree that there should be more, the fact is, examples abound" Phil Buchanan, President, The Center for Effective Philanthropy