Hiring Dedicated Data Staff

Many nonprofits dream of a day when they could be able to hire staff dedicated solely to data and evaluation. While it may not be a reality (yet) for every nonprofit to hire such a position, Good Measure is interested in identifying best practices in this type of role and how foundations can support nonprofits who may want to fund dedicated positions for data and evaluation work.

A few weeks ago, funders from Good Measure’s Steering Committee, including representatives from Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and St. David’s Foundation visited Central Texas Food Bank to learn more about their recent hire, a Director of Research and Evaluation.

Prioritizing Data and Evaluation

By the time Central Texas Food Bank made the decision to hire a person dedicated to data and evaluation, there had been a lot of steps along the way that set the stage for a position.

For years they have been working to build capacity within their organization to collect and analyze data. What they realized over time is that they were collecting a lot of data internally and from partners across the region but were struggling with capacity to review and use the data.

In addition, there was buy-in from staff at all levels to do this work. Derrick Chubbs, Central Texas Food Bank’s Chief Executive Offer was committed to better understanding community need and programmatic impact. Program staff were also excited about bringing data into their work more regularly and effectively. A culture of learning and evaluation had already been established, which is critical.

“The Food Bank serves a huge, 21-county area in Central Texas which is undergoing rapid growth and geographical shifts among those we serve,” Chubbs said. “Being extremely mission-driven helped us establish a case for creating a Director-level position to help us synthesize and act on the data we gather so we can better serve our clients and be the best stewards possible of the funding we receive.”

The staff was eager for support and data to be able to bring numbers to validate staff’s hunches and efforts to guide strategy.

Growing Demand within the Organization

Central Texas Food Bank reached a point when staff was struggling to do the types of analyses they needed in-house. They were asking complex questions such as: What are the needs of the 21 county regions we serve? What is our partners’ capacity to distribute food? They were gathering data but not necessarily having the capacity and expertise to truly identify and utilize findings. The leadership team, the board of directors and senior staff members discussed options such as bringing in outside expertise or building capacity within their current team. They had to consider all budgetary implications, beyond the position itself, including the tools (databases, data visualization software, etc.) needed for success.

Ultimately, the decision was made to hire a person dedicated to data and evaluation. Central Texas Food Bank then faced challenges in hiring, realizing that they needed to go beyond simply hiring a data analyst, and instead create a Director-level position that could bring in a strategic understanding of data work. This is a unique skill set, with specific technical training, the ability to train staff and build cross-functional relationships, as well as provide strategic leadership to the organization. Most importantly, a Director-level position would be able to guide the organization in how to build the role to best meet the needs of the Food Bank.

Once a candidate was identified, they worked together to refine the position’s job description to better match the needs of the organization and the skill set of the hire.

A key piece of the position is to build evaluation capacity throughout the organization. The Director of Research and Evaluation reports to the Chief Program Officer. Putting the position within the programs team was very intentional in trying to help break apart silos and share information across programs.

The work of the Director of Research and Evaluation is categorized into a few specific functions:

• Data Governance and Management – Working with program staff and IT to make sure they have the right databases in place, as well as implementing data management and protection practices.

• Measurement and Evaluation work – Program-level monitoring and quality improvement, data collection and implementation, including getting the right metrics in place to look at outcomes.

• Research – Better understanding community needs and gaps in services. Data collection that could be used by the Central Texas Food Bank and other social services organizations to better understand the areas of food scarcity, poverty and community health.

Through it all, one of the cornerstones of success in this role will be for her to empower staff with tools and skills to achieve their goals. Using tenets from Empowerment Evaluation, the Director of Research and Evaluation has worked with staff to develop logic models and identify what outcomes to strive for and what data needs to be collected.

Steps to Data Evaluation Success

While we may not all be ready to hire staff dedicated to data and evaluation, there are several takeaways any organization can learn from the work at Central Texas Food Bank.

Lay the groundwork for a culture of learning and evaluation. Identify ways to regularly collect and use data to improve your work and strengthen your mission. When staff across the organization begins to view data as key to achieving their own goals, it is easier to make the case for and integrate a data champion.

Work to build data-champions throughout the organization. Even in an organization like Central Texas Food Bank with a dedicated data and evaluation position, the success still comes from building capacity within the organization rather than concentrating on one person.

Importance of leadership buy-in. A strong commitment from the Executive Director/CEO and leadership team is critical to truly being able to use data for strategic learning.

At Good Measure, we encourage data champions to ask: “how can we support our organization’s efforts to use data to amplify impact?” These principles serve as a good base for setting up an organization for data and evaluation success.