Overcoming Data- Procrastination
This article was written by Sophie Blondeau, Chief Strategy Officer at Sowen. Sophie helps companies and nonprofits define, execute, and measure strategies and activities that are at the intersection of doing good and doing well. She combines her decades in the advertisement industry with a deep understanding of data driven design, audience centricity, and cutting edge innovation.
Do you Suffer from Data Procrastination?
Data maturity is the unsung hero in the bustling world of nonprofits, where every dollar counts and every impact matters. Data maturity is the compass that guides organizations toward informed decisions, efficient operations, meaningful change, and innovation. But here’s the twist: many nonprofits suffer from Data Procrastination. Just like that report you’ve been putting off, nonprofits often procrastinate when it comes to elevating their data game.
Why do you Procrastinate?
Before we tackle the “how,” let’s explore the “why.” Why do we procrastinate? It would be easy to attribute procrastination to a time management issue. After all, who doesn’t feel like they’re spread too thin and wish for more hours in the day? It turns out that procrastination is not a time management problem but an emotion management problem. According to Adam Grant, “When you’re procrastinating, you’re not avoiding effort. You’re avoiding the unpleasant feelings that the activity stirs up.” Of course, the catch is that while you’re avoiding those negative emotions, you’re also avoiding your ultimate destination.
The Paradox of Procrastination
Nonprofits are passionate about their missions—feeding the hungry, educating children, and saving the environment. Yet, when it comes to data, they sometimes resemble a procrastinating student facing a term paper. Why? Let’s explore:
Fear of Complexity: Data maturity sounds intimidating. It conjures visions of intricate spreadsheets, confusing analytics tools, and jargon-laden reports. So, nonprofits delay, hoping the data fairy will magically organize everything.
Resource Constraints: Nonprofits wear many hats—fundraising, program delivery, and advocacy. Allocating resources to data initiatives often takes a backseat. After all, there are lives to save and communities to uplift.
Instant Gratification Bias: Like our brains crave Netflix over productivity, nonprofits prioritize immediate impact over long-term data investments. The urgent grant application trumps the data dashboard.
3 Steps to Tackle Data Procrastination
1. Clarify Your Purpose
Before embarking on data initiatives, nonprofits must understand their core purpose. What impact are they striving for? A clear vision guides data efforts, whether improving educational outcomes, addressing homelessness, or promoting environmental sustainability. Interestingly, the first step has nothing to do with data. The first step is having a clear North Star and having clarity on your mission, purpose, and core values.
2. Assess Your Data Landscape
Imagine your data as a vast terrain. Take inventory: What data do you have? How accessible is it? Is it reliable? Identify gaps and redundancies. Just like decluttering a messy room, assess and organize your data assets. An easy first step is using an assessment tool to give you a snapshot of your organization’s current data maturity. To move forward efficiently, you need to have a clear starting point. At Sowen, we offer our partners a free and fast tool called the Sowen Data Accelerator. In five minutes, you can see your organization's data maturity journey. No excuse for procrastination. You can try it here.
3. Translate Data into Action
Raw data alone won’t get you to your objective. In fact, collecting data for the sake of it is time-consuming and usually leads to dead ends. A recent survey by the Stanford Innovation Review found that 75% of nonprofits collect data, but only 6 % use it effectively. The goal should be to convert data into actionable insights. Remember, your ultimate goal is to use data to generate greater social impact. The best way to do that is to place data at the core of your organizational activities. This will enable you to identify patterns, measure impact, adjust strategies, and prioritize initiatives accordingly. If you need a starting point to help translate your data into impact, the Sowen Data to Impact may be helpful.
Remember, overcoming procrastination and moving toward data maturity is a gradual process. By following these steps, nonprofits can better manage the difficult emotions that arise around harnessing the power of data to drive positive social change. Take it one step at a time, and focus on the ultimate goal: greater social impact.