What We Do
The conventional approach to data and analytics governance is on increasing profits or growing the customer base. But what if neither of those are key goals for your organization? Mission-driven organizations still need to have the ability to collect, understand, and use data but they have different needs, values, and requirements than most corporate entities. Therefore, the standard advice on how to effectively govern, manage, or use data often doesn’t align with their experiences or challenges. We can help.
We are a boutique consultancy specializing in helping collaborative enterprises tackle data management and governance challenges. We understand that mission-driven organizations face different obstacles than profit-driven companies. With global experience in government and higher education, we understand the unique challenges of large, decentralized institutions where data activities are often distributed, governance is generally local, and strategy may feel disconnected from data operations. We have worked in the highly regulated world of central banking as well as the collegial academic environment of universities. We appreciate that much of the common advice on data strategy and data governance is more appropriate for a corporate environment and we know how to adapt best practices to the unique situations our clients face.
Leaders and management of organizations are often told they need to “do data governance” but don’t really know what that means. We can breakdown the jargon and help staff and executives alike to understand how to start, restart, or fine tune a data governance program. Whether virtual presentations or onsite workshops, our data governance education provides the right level of learning for organizations to know what works for them.
Everyone is told they need it, but not everyone knows what it is or how they should do it. We understand that developing a data management strategy or implementing a data governance program can be daunting. We can help with everything from framework development to maturity and skills assessments. We have deep insight into how decentralized, mission-driven organizations need to define their roles and decision rights within a complicated yet collaborative environment.
Data are everywhere and are often the lifeblood of an organization. But do you know what to do with them? Or what not to? Do you need business intelligence or machine learning? Or both? We help you understand what analytics make sense for your business goals. We can evaluate your current state and develop a plan to ensure you have the skills, technology, and processes to actually do the kind of analytics that will bring value to your organization. Whether you want to focus on more efficient business intelligence to streamline operations and reduced administrative burden or you want to explore next generation data science and analytics to find new insights that advance your mission, we provide evaluations and guidance to ensure your environment is optimized for your data use.
People often mistakenly think of data as a technology issue. Technology is important and data are hard to use without it – but it’s people who need to use the data. People need to understand what data can or can’t tell them. Even people who are very tech savvy may not be data savvy. Being data literate is an important skill for people at all levels of an organization. We can help teach what to do and not to do with data and why it matters. We can create role-specific training in places where there are specific challenges. And once you know what skills you need, we can help show you how to bridge those skill gaps.
Improving your data landscape inevitably involves some change. People find change to be scary – especially if they don’t have all the information or understand the reason for the change. We help create tailored communications and change management plans to address a variety of concerns at all levels. We create content for, and often facilitate or lead, workshops, senior leader forums, town halls or other meetings to help spread the word. We also provide guidelines and talking points or other artifacts to help people feel engaged with any new data work.
