How data from different countries in the areas of programmes, fundraising, finance and human resources can be automatically collected, visualised and analysed.
The reporting process of international organisations is a tedious one for all involved. The data must be requested from a wide variety of sources and usually put into confusing Excel documents manually. The categories and data dimensions specified by the headquarters are often unusable for the local market. Everyone has learned to live with the delta between actual accounting values and the evaluations of the fundaising database - but the courage to leave gaps can also be quite dangerous. No wonder the delivered reports are often never used again for the local business of the respective country and one prefers to rely on the agency's PDFs.
Digital controlling done right
Together with you, we will integrate a new, up-to-date IT solution that ensures uniform data storage in order to be able to react optimally to current and future requirements. In addition, new tools open up many possibilities in the areas of fundraising, marketing, controlling, planning and reporting.
With digitalisation, organisations aim to standardise the system landscape. The number of data sources should be more manageable, automation processes should guarantee faster processes as well as a reporting quality that meets the needs. The existing systems are usually not up to these requirements because they are composed of too many different parts and are no longer state of the art. The often complex and numerous data sources of the respective locations of an organisation are brought into a uniform structure, through which it is then possible to compare and jointly evaluate data from different countries. In general, the aim is to give employees an optimal overview for controlling, planning and reporting.
1. In a first step, we will put together a core team with you. We will start with a location/the headquarters in order to create an initial framework for the finished system. With this team, we determine together:
What systems and data sources are in place?
What are the processes so far?
What are the detailed requirements?
What potentials are there?
2. Working together in sprints facilitates mutual understanding of the respective requirements through constant contact and guarantees a safe and self-determined familiarisation with the tools.
3. In a further step, we bring together the requirements of the unified group level with the flexibility needed for the individual locations. One of the most important goals is the implementation of a tool with a single point of truth, i.e. a single, easily fillable data source for all international locations from which the data is then aggregated to the local or group level. The real-time integration of data into a uniform digital platform creates transparency, accelerates planning cycles and financial statements, and allows processes to be automated. At the same time, we are setting more and more future-proof standards and developing a common glossary for the further roll-out of the project.
| INITIAL LOCAL SITUATION | INITIAL GROUP SITUATION | SOLUTION |
| Different systems and data sources | Manual data collection and processing | Single Point of Truth |
| Manual processes | Manual processes | Automation |
| Individual requirements | Lack of data comparability |
Unification of data Flexibility at local and group level |
| Local KPIs | Group KPIs | Locaö and group KPIs |
| Wishes | Wishes |
Flexible adaptations Expandability Scalability |
4. After we have created a usable basic framework with the first location, we get the second location on board. With each sprint, the learnings become more and the workload less and we can focus on increasingly detailed solutions. The model is expanded step by step and the people involved passively acquire the necessary understanding and skills. With each piece that the model grows, the core team members gain valuable knowledge and become experts in the new tools and processes within your organisation.
With the implementation of the evaluated optimisation potentials, the new system makes the leap into the digital age. Where previously lists had to be tediously kept and compared, now one click is enough to call up information from many sources at one point. In this way, the organisation meets requirements more quickly and recognises necessary optimisations at an early stage. The new solution is also flexible; it can be adapted to local requirements as well as future innovations. Thus, it is possible to evaluate and visualise the current data at any time.