How might we...
- Base Building: How might we improve our engagement with our members/base to build power?
- How might we support a core of organizers to translate what lives in their heads and hearts about their deep base into our database to build power?
Hypothesis
If we listen to stories from organizers then we can inform improved data practices across all organizers.
Design
Defining PICO CA’s base and determining the data we need and want to track. Examining organizational cultural practices around data.
- 4 convos, Lisa identifies:
- 2 organizers who are being successful in it
- 2 organizers who want to be more successful in it.
- Then in conversation!!!
- Questions for Convos:
- LLT: Data has been used as a tool of oppression historically. When it doesn’t match the stories we want to tell, it gets thrown out.
- It’s been a very white space, how does it feel for you as a POC to hold that?
- How does race play into your experience with data entry and usage?
- What do you want to see from the data? What’s the story you want to tell?
- What would be most helpful to you in the moment?
- What are the sticking points in organizing? (Example: now that we’re moving virtually, I want to email folks, but we only have 15% good emails)
- Then this connects to “what you can/can’t do”
- Have you ever done stuff with data and then no one ever did anything with it?
- What do you want to try together?
- What do goals/benchmarks look like for us?
Metrics
Success:
- Clarity and insights on how organizers actually view data.
- Then organizers can start to draft the story they want to tell with data.
- Some ideas sprout on how organizers can support each other around data culture. (eg. one hour block where did data entry )
- That Lisa can ID more organizers who have an interest in leaning into this conversation.
- Lisa feel collaborative, like when you’re successful on a team and you know you’re part of something that is moving somewhere.
Learnings
- They wished there was a more visual dashboard so they could see their work. Want to see what others are doing but more so for themselves to see what the work adds up to.
- Folks interviewed us, data for their own sense of success in a job that is vague, hard to measure and capture success and know when you’ve achieved success on a short term basis week by week or month by month. Also if had doubt in their work, could look back at data to reflect on how self perception might differ from their work. See the power of the work over time.
3 priorities around why people collect data:
- See own progress, week to week (these folks also feel uncertain about how colleagues and self are holding work, like they are doing more work than co-workers, speaks to staff dynamic and trust and equitable labor)
- For coaching and accountability
- For use in organizing
- Storytelling purpose for integrity (not b/c of power), want to be truthful when say we work with 250 congregations.
- No one talked about better data for power when talking to elected and funders.
- No one talked about it being easier to talk to development director/grants manager.
- Surprised that no one talked about data collection for a staffing transitions and continuity, especially with COVID because people might have to be out for multiple reasons.
Decisions
- Requesting changes to data dashboard so people can see their and others data with more ease.
- Considering how to integrate a data vision across all PICO CA internal staff.