Data isn’t just about numbers and statistics, or even stories; it’s about asking the right questions of the valuable information at your disposal, so that you can better meet the needs of the people you support.

Small charities and community organisations are capturing useful data all the time. So are local authorities, national government, big charities and companies. Both our own data and that of others can help us understand why our interventions work, ensure policy makers listen and prevent us being overlooked for vital funds.

Ultimately it helps us make the right decisions, spotting problems before they happen and identifying solutions in ever changing political and socio-economic conditions.

But where do you start?

• What exactly do we mean by ‘data’?
• What do we mean by robust?
• Where do we go to find relevant data from others?
• And are we collecting information in a way that’s suitable for comparison?

What you'll learn:

This session for beginners will cover some of the core principles which should be used when working with data at all stages of the data journey:

• collection
• analysis and
• presenting data.

You’ll also learn some key pitfalls to avoid when working with data. You’ll come away with some best practice tips for drawing conclusions, identifying your data’s limitations and presenting data findings.

Ultimately we’ll start you on a journey of practice that will help you back your hunches with data that people can understand and create and share your own findings that will stand up to scrutiny.

Who should attend:

Anyone in a small charity or community organisation that is responsible for making decisions about what you do and how you deliver your activities based on the information you have. This is for beginners and anyone who wants to explore the role of data in shaping their own services or influencing others.

More about the programme

This is the first session in our Datawise London series. London’s community data is one of our greatest assets, our mission at Datawise is to help you unlock it.