Heart, Soul & Data

It's not just a bad idea to try to make decisions from pure logic - it's actually impossible. Join me in today's podcast episode to walk through my framework for understanding why values are a requirement for any sized decision, personal or professional, and how you can combine a clearer understanding of your values with the right data to make more effective choices.  Values are essential for maki...

What does it mean to build an effective learning culture? Why is it important to expect that we have a learning culture? Why are your questions are your most valuable assets? Listen to today's podcast with Tait Kellogg to hear about how you can implement a learning culture in your team or organization. She outlines a 4 step process to help create a structure to build an effective learning culture,...

Determinig the right technology for your organization can be challenging. There are many options out there for any one function in an organization. Balancing the inherent capabilities, the amount of customization needed, and the price of the technology is key. Today, Sarah Epting discusses how to find the right technology stack for an organization. She discusses things to consider when making an d...

We use data in our everyday lives - even when we go on vacation. Listen to Luke Komiskey explain how his data analytics knowledge empowered him and his wife to take an extended vacation and travel around the world. Luke discusses how he was able to accomplish his goal of traveling for a full year, and how a simple data collection model made this trip of a lifetime possible What gets measured, gets...

Any of us can find our way to data. So many of the guests on this show have accidentally fallen into data, and the diversity of backgrounds, academic disciplines and skillsets add strength to the data community. It's truly the difference between the mindset of I can learn anything given time and support vs. I'm not a numbers person. Ryan Rucker is an example of someone who accidentally found her w...

There's a difference between data maturity and analytics maturity. Data is about the foundation, and analytic maturity is the work to get the insights from data. Maturity is not about fancy tech or how complex things are, it's about consistency. A data organization is mature when they can do all the of activities that are involved in succeeding with data consistently .  Analytic maturity and data...

Are you at the start of your journey with data? Or maybe you're in the middle of it and not sure what your next step should be? Today, let's hear about an incredible journey that the League of Conservation Voters has been on with data that may provide inspiration or answers for anyone walking a similar path right now. Listen in as Amanda tells her story and shares what has worked and what hasn't a...

Research will always be done through the lens of the researcher – we can never fully leave behind who we are and how we see the world. But by bringing awareness to our own cultural biases and the diversity of others’ cultures, we can mitigate many of the possible errors our blind-spots produce. Kim Hunt joins Heart, Soul & Data to talk about cultural competency in data collection, analysis, an...

Marillac St Vincent has served Chicago for over a century, and its data needs have evolved along with its services. Kevin McGhee, the Senior Director of Data Management, walks us through the journey of how this dynamic nonprofit has grown its data and leaned into data for measuring quality of its programs to drive improvement. Day-to-day, Kevin ensures data quality integrity and approves policies,...

We can't amplify our good work with data if we don't have the right people to work on the data. Today's guest, Claudia Juech of the Patrick J McGovern Foundation explores the scope of the analytic workforce shortage and how we as social organizations can creatively solve it.   Claudia Juech, Vice President of Data and Society at the Patrick. J. McGovern Foundation, is a technology-focused strategi...

I believe that a foundational level of data literacy is as important to each and every one of us as knowing how to read and write. Today's episode is an audio recording of a presentation I gave at the NTC 2022 conference this year about the imperative we have to build our own and our team's data literacy.  Not only will data literacy help you in both your personal and professional life, but invest...

What does making chocolate chip cookies have to do with data? Join Jennifer Otremba of Nonprofit Data Geeks as she explains through the power of baking how to take the logic model of your organization's operations and turn it into your data model. If you aren't familar with logic models, don't worry! Jennifer explains what they are and how you can make your own.  The basic idea is that everything...

Should there be a Hippocratic oath for data? A kind of fiduciary responsibility oath for analysts? We explore the ethics of responsible data collection, analysis and reporting with Alexandra Robinson, the Head of Data Ethics and Social Impact at Threshold World. Alexandra shared several resources for learning more about ethical data work. All Tech Is Human engages in the development of Responsible...

"Agile" is a formally designed approach meant to help software developers turn out better software faster and with fewer bugs. Today's guest, Bo Ruan, Head of Data at the Alzheimer's Society, helps us see how we can leverage the core concepts of agile to create more impactful data systems, analytics, and insights. Now, if you Google Agile Methodology, you can quickly get sucked into a rabbit hole...

How do you measure 'social good' in a remotely standardized or comparable way? How do you decide whether it would be better to invest in a program to improve childhood literacy or a STEM program?  We tackle these difficult questions with Kyle Kerrigan of Upbring, a nonprofit dedicated to breaking the cycle of child abuse by empowering children, families and communities. At Upbring, Kyle and his te...

While we each may lean a little bit (or a lot bit) towards more heart-centered or more cerebral in how we think and process decisions, both approaches are valid and even necessary for success with data in nonprofits. Today we talk with Blaire Hamelehle, a senior analyst and manger with a knack for "marrying quantitative and qualitative data to uncover compelling stories about our communities."  Bl...

Designing an impactful data product isn't just about the data - in fact, it's mostly NOT about the data. It's about the people at the heart of the endeavor. Join me for a conversation about human-centered design with Brian O'Neill from Designing for Analytics , a consulting company that focuses on creating data products people will actually use. Brian is also the host of the acclaimed Experiencing...

Data are useful for determining and implementing impactful communications strategies. Hear success stories from communications expert Jessica Montana on how she uses data to identify her key audiences, measure a nonprofit's ability to reach those audiences, and tweak the communication plan to continually improve.

Today's episode explores a complex kind of data - crime data. We speak with veteran crime analyst Debra Piehl. 

Data literacy is a skill we all need. But the particular flavor will vary based on your data usage, your current level of data knowledge, and your mindset around data. David Marco from EWSolutions shares insights from his years teaching data literacy to organizations of all kinds.  David Marco is the founder and president of EWSolutions, a data management consultancy based in Chicago. Be sure to c...

Health equity and social determinants of health are hot topics in many spaces today, but do they really mean? How can we use data respectfully and effectively to tackle these huge challenges? My guest today offers a nuanced, thoughtful, and practical approach to balancing data with a human-centered focus.  Essey Yirdaw is the director of data analytics at the Colorado Hospital Association. Essey r...

"The scientific method is objective. The application of the scientific method is NOT objective," says today's guest, Heather Krause of We All Count. This is the heart of data equity, the concept that unexamined, unconscious decisions we make around data, analytics, and science can have unequal impacts and even result in inaccurate or misleading findings. It isn't about getting rid of data or givin...

Nonprofits can benefit hugely from YouTube, but knowing what data to use to measure your progress and impact can be overwhelming. Itai Nusbaum from the nonprofit PocketTeacher and the consulting company YouTuber's Toolkit, shares his concise framework for which metrics to look at, how to interpret what you see, and how to respond. Check out the shownotes at www.heartsouldata.com/ep-25/  to see a h...

Picking the right financial metrics for your nonprofit is like choosing your navigation points for sailing a ship: you don't need to track everything, but you do need to track points that will help you get to your desired destination. Nonprofits aren't the same as for-profit companies, and that's why they need a different set of financial metrics. This episode with Dr. Elizabeth Searing leverages...

There are many methods for data analysis, but we often focus on technical methods. Veena Pankaj of Innovation Network joins me to discuss another approach – participatory data analysis. In this method, the “sensemaking” or interpretation phase of data analysis doesn’t take place in a black box (or the analyst’s cubicle…) in isolation. Instead, key stakeholders and frontline participants in the pro...