Transcript
PAUL RONALDS: Being able to capture and communicate the impact of what you're doing I think is just fundamental to the ongoing trust of donors in organisations like international NGO's, so it's a critical thing. What we've got to be able to do is make that case to many donors who often see it as overheads and as a result we have systemically under-invested in the sorts of systems and processes that are required to really capture the impact that we're having. And it's very complex. The sorts of things we're trying to do often take three, five, even ten years before you can really measure the outcomes in a rigorous sort of way. So that's a long period over which to capture the data, to measure, and to then be able to of course communicate back out to donors the difference that you're making.
DOMINIC GODFREY: Most organisations, would they have the mechanisms in-house already to be able to capture that data significantly?
PR: No, again there's two big problems I think with most non-government organisations. They have systemically under-invested in the sorts of systems that are required to capture data, particularly in the digital age. We've got to actually invest in those systems, and that shouldn't be seen as overhead, that's core business, it's about making a difference. The second thing is capacity. Most people when they do capture data don't have the capacity to really analyse it in a rigorous way, that are really able to isolate the difference that a particular organisation is making. So it's got to be an investment in the systems and in the expertise.
DG: Are you talking specifically as a differentiator from other organisations?
PR: Well, or what else might be going on in the economy. So if you're doing a programme that is seeking to improve nutrition outcomes in a particular country let's say, there might be overall economic growth which would improve nutrition outcomes anyway just by the nature of economic growth that's going on there. What you need to be able to do is say, 'What difference is my programme making over and above the general improvements that we might be seeing in this middle-income country?', for example. Unless you can actually isolate the impact that you're having, you can't claim it. And if you can't claim it, you can't go back to donors and say, 'This was a good investment that you made in our organisation.'
DG: So in small nations in the Pacific, which is the area of our focus, how do organisations do that, where capturing data is very very difficult?
PR: Well first of all, we shouldn't all be trying to invent the same systems and processes. There's a range of good ones out there, we need to actually identify them and bring them into our own organisations. So in that situation, even small organisations should be able to access high quality systems and processes.
DG: You talked before about embracing new media to get the data channels that you need and one of the other points that you raised was international NGO's need to harness the opportunities that these new platforms offer… again, NGO's they're between a rock and a hard place in terms of having that infrastructure built-in already.
PR: On the programme side - particularly in a place like the Pacific where it's geographically dispersed, small populations - I think there's huge opportunities. So to be able to deliver health and education programmes digitally to populations, many of which do have mobile phones or smartphones, promises the opportunity for significantly increased effectiveness and efficiency.
DG: And that's turning that opportunity into action which is another of your points.
PR: Yeah, that's right. Many of the organisations that are doing it look like they did 30-40 years ago, just much bigger. That shouldn't be the case. We've got to actually revolutionise the way our organisations work, the way that we engage with communities and supporters. Unless we're prepared to really cannibalise our existing business model before it's too late, we will go out of business.