Using External Datasets in Community Foundations

Data Champions in Community Foundations
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We’ll be talking about which external datasets are valuable to community foundations and how to get the most out of using them. Thursday, November 1st, at 15:00

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Notes from the first Data Champions Online Discussion, it was super useful to hear about people’s challenges and lessons learned in using external datasets. Here are some top-level learnings that came out of the conversation:

  • Everyone is striving to stay on top of finding relevant datasets. We all feel like we’re starting from scratch when we start a new one.
  • Understanding the gaps/what is missing from a dataset is critical. Also what was the primary purpose for collecting the data, for what, and when did it happen? Having a bibliography would help.
  • It’s often a huge culture shift for decisions at community foundations to be data-driven.
  • FInding data to answer a question is not necessarily the best way to get a picture of the truth.
  • Mor has been working with others to compile the Wall of Data, a collection of useful datasets.

Mor also shared:

  • https://findthatcharity.uk/ - A tool to identify a charity by its name and find the identifiers related to it and other charity commission data.
  • https://insights.threesixtygiving.org/ - A tool that takes any 360Giving formatted file (included GrantNav outputs) and returns visualisations related to the data.

The raw notes.

The Agenda:

  • Introductions
  • Discussion
    • What are external datasets you are using in your work?
    • What are helpful datasets?
    • What are your challenges in using them?
  • Some 360 Giving external datasets examples
  • The Wall of Data - a list of datasets
  • Best practices for identifying and applying external datasets
  • Where from here?
    • What’s next for Data Champions?

Notes:

Who’s here?: Dirk, Mor, Tom, Kate, Andy, Gareth, Angela, Nicola

Andy uses Indices of Deprivation, also - the annual Fuel Poverty Statistics Report, also

Pupil premium - l

It feels like starting from scratch everytime -

Data in an excel file -

Grants data - intuitive ways.

Other datasets - for making grants- imagines there are other stuff out there.

Using it to drive decisions. It’s a culture shift to use data to drive decisions is a culture shift. A primer for trustees would be helpful.

Have a confidence to know - where it is a valuable.

Knowledgeable -

Complex social issues - metrics - hang you hat on that number.

Kate used to use Surrey-i - which was supported by the county council. The challenge is that it is not updated.

Nicola is using Local Insights. The county council created a good online tool to look at useful profiles. DCLG made an app for depravation data.

Lots of ONS data but it is really time-consuming to get all the data on a local authority level. I have to start from scratch all the time. We are experts on a place but we are generalists on themes, and that takes time to find the relevant dataset.

School comparison data by Ofsted

It’s hard to look at data from different types of councils and local government.

If you don’t know what is there you don’t know what to ask.

Learnings:

  • Mechanism - interesting stuff that is out there
  • Really enthralled to the local authority and their data
  • Adhoc basis - sometimes using them for stuff for what they are already asking.
  • Missing the charity commission

What Mor is talking about:

  • https://findthatcharity.uk/ - A tool to identify a charity by its name and find the identifiers related to it and other charity commission data.
  • https://insights.threesixtygiving.org/ - A tool that takes any 360Giving formatted file (included GrantNav outputs) and returns visualisations related to the data.
  • Wall of Data: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N-ef0RUC1eSxqLQmBWmXxN-KNiEMiOuY0k-5S93wEYM/edit - 360Giving resource for most used datasets by grantmakers.

Lessons Learned -

Andy - More systematic - not ‘just do something when it is needed - really figuring it out.

Tom - Check out how old the data is - how you can prove the questions is. Know where the

Communicating what each other is doing - what have other people in the office found. A really good filing system

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Also - you can view the online conversation here: https://zoom.us/recording/share/LT56Cox_AoW_QQDzlQqQYYwhgRJhNzdzlKFMHOHOJaCwIumekTziMw?startTime=1541084580000