Heart, Soul & Data

Dr. Ama Nyame-Mensah, an expert in data storytelling and visualization, discusses the problem of oversimplification in data visualization in this podcast episode. She explains how this issue can occur during data aggregation, visualization selection, and a lack of artistic expression. Emphasizing critical thinking, she advocates for a balance between complexity and accessibility, using interactivi...

Dr. Tasha Parker, a clinical social worker and community psychologist, shares her journey into data and founding the Institute of Development. She emphasizes using data in a therapeutic, trauma-informed way to address systemic inequities and promote harm reduction. Dr. Parker discusses barriers like fear of judgment and lack of resources, stressing the importance of trust and cultural humility. Th...

Dan Wagner, CEO and founder of Civis Analytics, discusses the importance of understanding the data journey for nonprofits. He emphasizes the risks of rushing into artificial intelligence without having the fundamentals in place.  By highlighting the challenges of automation, Dan offers solutions for nonprofits without dedicated data teams, including collaboration and resource pooling. In this epis...

Taj Carson, founder of Inciter, shares her journey from academia to creating Inciter. She discusses the challenges of data collection, the need for efficient systems, and thoughtful tool selection. Taj emphasizes data governance, clear policies, and regular quality assessments, exploring data strategy and the choice between building internal capacity or partnering. Key Takeaways Regular data quali...

Erin MacKenney from the St John Learning Exchange discusses her journey to implement a data plan and outcomes-based funding model. Through collaborative efforts and engaging practices like 'data parties,' she's embraced a culture of data-driven decision-making. Erin's expertise highlights the importance of focused learning, balanced with a commitment to progress over perfection, for nonprofits nav...

Today we explore the Practitioner Data Initiative (PDI) and what we can learn from their effective approaches to improve our own nonprofit data. We discuss the importance of taking a holistic approach to data, including measuring impact, collecting and managing data, and leveraging technology. Erin shares her organization's journey with PDI and the improvements they made in data collection and cle...

Are you ready for data? This isn't always a question we realize we need to ask. Luckily, Cindy Eby from Results Lab is here to help us ask and answer that key question.  In this episode, we cover the importance of: Defining Clear Objectives: It's crucial to have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve with your program and define specific outcomes. By doing this, you can design intervent...

In this enlightening episode, join Alexandra as she engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Corey Newhouse, founder of Public Profit, about the essential intersection of values and evaluation in the nonprofit sector. Corey provides profound insights into the significance of aligning organizational values with the process of data collection and evaluation, challenging the extractive roots...

Join Alexandra and data science guru, Peter Bull, as they dive into the fascinating world of data analytics and its impact on the nonprofit sector. They explore the common misconception that data science is only for large corporations and how nonprofits can leverage it to supercharge their impact. Learn about real-life data science projects that have made a difference for nonprofits, including the...

In this episode, SaaS CFO, data nerd, and Excel fanatic Matt Brattin joins Alexandra to explore the key elements of successful data management. They emphasize the importance of consistency and integrity in data collection, as well as the need for data to be accurate and usable for its intended purpose. The conversation covers practical tips for cleaning and transforming data using Excel, highlight...

In this episode, we sat down with Rebecca Gosla of Simplicity Education to discuss what it takes to succeed as a data manager, how being a data manager can mean different things to different orgs, what the day to day experience of a data manager looks like, and what those of us who are not data managers can do to better support this role so that we all have the information that we need to be succe...

"When you're thinking about doing a research study, define and design. So you define what you wanna know, then you design how you're gonna find that out. That's everything. Everything goes back to those two words." If you're one of those people who think that scientific research is just for academic scientists or the lab rats working hard at their lab bench benches with their pipettes, today's epi...

Think about the pieces of technology in use in your organization or your team today. In most nonprofits out there, you'd be surprised that there are dozens and even up to 50 different pieces of technology being used across your organization. In today's episode, I am joined by Tim Lockie of The Human Stack, who specializes in optimizing this interface between technology and humans. Learn how these...

In this two-part episode, you will get a better idea of how we use data as humans and understand how our brains work to analyze the data that we acquire every day in powerful and effective ways and the possible mistakes we might make along the way. Learn more about the four biases and what you can do about them: Pattern-seeking - What you can do: Triangulate your data Causality - What you can do:...

In this two-part episode, you will get a better idea of how we use data as humans and understand how our brains work to analyze the data that we acquire every day in powerful and effective ways and the possible mistakes we might make along the way. Learn more about the four biases and what you can do about them: Pattern-seeking - What you can do: Triangulate your data Causality - What you can do:...

"Make friends with Google" In today's episode, we're going to take a broader view of how Google Analytics can be an incredibly powerful tool for understanding the performance of your content and marketing efforts on your websites. By connecting Google Analytics to your website, you can gain insights into how users are interacting with your content, where they are coming from, what pages they are s...

“Data is a labor of love” Children can teach us valuable lessons about work and inspire us to be better workers, and as parents, both Tasha and I can definitely attest to that. In this episode, we talked about how we apply these lessons in marketing, data, supporting non-profits, and more. From sleepless nights to endless battles over wearing underwear, we deep dive into the ways we can lean into...

“Don’t be fooled – EVERY system needs maintenance.” Nonprofits are often chronically under-resourced, and thus unable to put in the time, money, and expertise required to optimize their operational systems. The old comic of the guy pushing the square wheel because he doesn’t have time to invent the round one is painfully true for nonprofits everywhere! Fortunately, we have Adam Kogeman here today...

Khahn Vu immigrated to America as a young child. As he grew up among American friends and worked for American companies, he found himself straddling two worlds - he was expected to act one way at home and another in American society. In his role now as the leader of the Society of Asian Scientists & Engineers, he helps others who find themselves existing across different spaces. In today's epi...

If you have a website or blog, or produce content for others, you may be wondering how to determine if your content is effectively reaching the right audience. How do you know if your website/blog posts are working? Can you optimize it?  Listen along this week as we talk to Brian Piper about how to break down this question into manageable parts that allow us to decipher if our content is effective...

On today's podcast, we're trying something new for the first time - a live coaching session. Listen as I talk to Dr. Haywan Chiu about what he should measure in his business to help determine its impact. Dr. Chiu had a unique idea during the pandemic to record his and his partner's surgeries and add voice overs and descriptions for specific parts of the surgeries. In doing so, he has assembled a c...

Great, so you have data! Now how do you make it useful? There is a difference between looking at data and using data. The successful use of data is when an organization is using data to take strategic action related to its goals/direction. Come listen along as Data Bloom co-founders David Mackay and Tim NeCamp discuss their method for making data useful. The four stages they outline are Planning,...

Imagine your organization is a house. The tech stack is the pipes in the house, and the data is the water that flows through the house. When building a house, there are lots of things to take into account to build a successful plumbing system. The same goes for data - your tech stack needs to be correctly accepting the data from the business process that feeds it, you need to size the pipes adequa...

To celebrate my 50th episode of this podcast, I'm sharing four major mistakes I make in analytics and life. It's part of a resolution I made for 2023, to share one mistake every Monday on LinkedIn for the entire year. I HATE making mistakes, but I am committed to try to learn everything I can from them and hopefully help others learn something too.  In this episode, I talk about how I'm not the be...

Success with data isn't about having all the resources, it's about being resourceful (thank you, Tony Robbins!). We dive into exactly what this can look like with Joshua Burkhow, Chief Evanglist at Alteryx. It's starts with recognizing that data underlie virtually  everything we do, professionally and personally. Nearly all our actions generate some kind of data, every choice or change has data at...