3/15/2013. Creating and Building a Foundation Dashboard. Logistics. Logistics. Ask questions! Otherwise I m speaking to a black hole!

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1 Creating and Building a Foundation Dashboard March 2013 Logistics Ask questions! Otherwise I m speaking to a black hole! Use the Raise Hand button Make the slideshow or demo bigger Enter questions into the Chat with Presenter box Logistics ABC 1 2 DEF 3 GHI JKL MNO *6 to Mute *7 to Un-mute PQRS TUV WXYZ * 0 # 1

2 Creating and Building a Foundation Dashboard March 2013 Introduction Laura Quinn Idealware s Founder and Executive Director Introductions 2

3 What We ll Cover Today What is a Dashboard? Seven Steps to Your Own Dashboard 1. Define Who and What It s For 2. Understand What Your Users Want 3. Map Metrics to Your Needs 4. Choose Your Dashboard Platform 5. Design Charts and Displays 6. Implement and Roll Out 7. Plan to Iterate Examples of successful Dashboards Dashboards consolidate information to help measure, monitor, and manage the way you work. rd? What Data Does A Dashboard Track? It depends greatly on the foundation, but it could include: Operational data Program spend and budget Program impact. Or all of these things! 3

4 Operational Data They can show day-to-day data like the number of requests in the pipeline or metrics to track the efficiency of the process. Energy Foundation, built in Fluxx Grant Money Allocated and Budgeted The vast majority include program spend information to see the money allocated compared to budgeted for a program Kresge Foundation, built on Gracombe IT Solutions GivingData Program Impact A few have created dashboards to track program impact. Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, built in Excel 4

5 What Software Should You Use? There is, unfortunately, no magical dashboard software. You might use anything from Excel to your grants management system to more complex reporting tools. Where Do I Start? Let s look at the seven steps to dashboard success! 1. Define Who and What Your Dashboard is For 5

6 Who Will Be the Highest Priority Users? Who are you designing the dashboard for? Will there be additional types of users? Is Your Goal to Centralize Key Metrics? Do you want everyone to be able to see the same set of metrics, to help keep everyone on the same page? Some kind of centralized flow metaphor Maybe the board, or the public? Or Will Staff Choose Their Metrics? Customized metrics will help people with their own job..but don t necessarily help get everyone on the same page. 6

7 Is Data Self-Service A Goal? Do you want to allow staff to look up data themselves rather than requesting it from your grants team? Define What Success Looks Like Resist the urge to make something that s all things to all people. Too much stuff in a stack/ pile/ carrying 2. Understand What Your Users Want From the Dashboard 7

8 Find Out What They Currently Do People meeting? Convene staff members, and talk about their current process. Pay more attention to gaps and workarounds than to what they say they d use. Consider The Magical Dashboard Asking people to draw out the information they d like to have can be useful often desires are surprisingly simple. Define What They Really Need Simple summary of key data? More complex indicators? Ability to tailor to their own needs? To be able to drill into details? To do scenario planning? 8

9 3. Map Metrics to Your Needs Find Your Sweet Spot What you want to know What you can collect What Data Will Help You Make Decisions? Defining the right metrics might take a conversation or a two year strategic process. 9

10 Where Will The Data Come From? Merging multiple things into one Do you have the data? How easy will it be to pull it for your dashboard? What kind of transformation will it need? Don t Underestimate This Process For many organizations, designing the right metrics those that are both useful and practical is the hardest part of a dashboard process. 4. Choose Your Dashboard Platform 10

11 What Platform Will Work Best? What can pull together all the data you need and support the features your users want? Your Existing Grants Management System An Excel Spreadsheet Also consider Google Docs/ Google Charts 11

12 A Plug-In Reporting or Dashboard Tool Gracombe IT Solutions GivingData Such As Tableau Tableau Specific Dashboard Tools. idashboards 12

13 Or An External Reporting Tool Crystal Reports A Custom-Built Dashboard Custom Kellogg Dashboard 5. Design Charts and Displays 13

14 Match Your Metrics to Visuals Let the data itself take center stage. Bar Charts Line Charts Plotted Chart Pie Chart Beware the Glitzy Graphic How much room are you taking up with glitz rather than information? 6. Implement and Roll Out Your Dashboard 14

15 Make the Dashboard Magic Happen Bring the data together with your visuals and platform, to let the magic happen! Obviously, the effort and process will depend hugely on what you re doing. Roll it Out Thoughtfully Don t forget about training and the process of getting people on board it doesn t matter how great it is if no one uses it. Computer training photo (it s in the Tactical Tech Understanding Tech Projects deck) 7. Plan to Iterate 15

16 It Makes Sense to Start Small Start with baby steps. It s much easier to figure out what s needed by iterating than through a huge design process. Baby steps Make these: Goals, FEATU RES, Metrics Plan to Refine Over Time Implement Make this Implem ent Features Refine Your Data as Well Your dashboard is only as good as your data but making it more visible can often inspire improvements in data quality. 16

17 Some Dashboard Case Studies: Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation Using an Excel-based dashboard to track program outcomes and measurable goals providing a feedback loop for board and staff. Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation The reports are static, but an accompanying Word document provides more information. In addition to grant dollars, they cover staff time, consultant information, and other data not tracked by their grants management system. 17

18 Some Dashboard Case Studies: Kresge Foundation The Kresge Foundation A tailored solution built on Gracombe IT Solutions GivingData a dashboard tool that plugs into GIFTS. The Kresge Foundation Shows payments and social investments in real-time, allowing staff to forecast and drill down into more detail. 18

19 The Kresge Foundation Approached dashboard creation collaboratively, with the help of peer-to-peer group and a team of consultants. Some Dashboard Case Studies: W.K. Kellogg Foundation W.K. Kellogg Foundation Extracting data from a custom grants management system using Microsoft Business Intelligence and Sharepoint

20 W.K. Kellogg Foundation Looking at their process, portfolio, and impact to create highly visual, meaningful reports, with the ability to slice and dice. W.K. Kellogg Foundation Working with a cross-functional team, they went from a first meeting to their first production dashboard in about 18 months Questions? 20

21 This Stuff Is Extra, In Case It Comes Up (As We Had it Anyway) The Energy Foundation Creating a custom open source software on top of a grants management system The Energy Foundation Each user can create their own dashboards in a sharable, cloud based solution. 21

22 The Energy Foundation Data updates in real time Some Dashboard Case Studies: The Surdna Foundation The Surdna Foundation Can look at funding by quarter, by line of work, or by program area- not just what they have done, but what-if analysis on what they could do. 22

23 The Surdna Foundation They export from their grants management system into Excel, to create a cost-effective solution that meets their needs well. 23