Who said that the use of Big Data is reserved exclusively for the private sector? In reality, when correctly utilized, Big Data poses substantial benefits for NGOs and non-profit organizations and can operate as an extremely powerful cost-cutting and time-saving tool. This has allowed NGOs to expand the reach of their campaigns and to target harder-to-reach audiences, thereby improving the effectiveness of their canvassing efforts. It’s for this reason that NGOs are increasingly investing their time into tracking this metadata, and in this article, we’ll be explaining exactly how you can too.
What is Big Data?
Before examining how Big Data can serve social and humanitarian organizations, it’s important to firstly understand exactly what Big Data is. Big Data may be defined as any piece of large digital data that is so rich in content that it must be processed and analyzed with the use of technology. The concept first emerged in 2000, and as data storage costs have fallen and technological advancements have allowed for the collection of increasingly large volumes of information, the prominence of Big Data has surged.
This form of metadata itself is neutral, however, its use has not always been; in recent years, the use of Big Data has been attached to scandal as several large companies have used it for unscrupulous purposes. This misuse has led to Big Data being viewed unfavorably by many in the world of tech. Despite this, it is important to recognize the distinction between the data itself and those who use it; it is the latter who are responsible for any negative connotations associated with Big Data, and not the digital data itself. For this reason, using Big Data is not something to be feared- your NGO can ethically benefit from this form of data, so long as its use is backed by good intentions!
In fact, when used in a bona fide manner, Big Data has the capacity to make a lot of positive, meaningful change in the world. For example, in the field of health, collecting and analyzing large volumes of data has led to remarkable advancements in early disease detection. By cross-referencing this data, we can better understand the factors contributing to the development of certain pathologies, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Big Data has also been successfully utilized to protect the environment: a key example of this is the use of Big Data by organizations such as the World Bee Project, which has used metadata to monitor the behavior of bees in order to better protect their habitats, thereby ensuring the natural progression of the eco-cycle.
How NGOs can benefit from using Metadata
Despite these constructive and worthy uses for Big Data, many NGOs continue to show reluctance to utilize it. However, non-profit organizations and NGOs stand to gain a lot from its use, and could find their work being substantially minimized once they choose to invest in Big Data analysis. Some of the key ways in which Big Data can lessen the workload and improve an NGO’s effectiveness include:
- Improved accuracy in targeting: by providing a digital picture of the behavior of a particular population, Big Data can allow your organization to quickly identify the audiences that must be prioritized in your canvassing efforts. This will ensure that your volunteer teams make the most of their time campaigning for donations and support, thereby saving you valuable time and funding.
- Create more effective campaigns: Big Data offers an in-depth snapshot of a population’s profile. This affords you a better understanding of the needs, interests and concerns of your locality, which can then be used to create a more personalized campaign for support or donations that is far more likely to pique local interest. Resultantly, your organization is much more likely to gain support when this information is used when devising your canvassing strategies.
- Greater understanding of the path to loyalty: building loyalty with one contact costs 8 times less than acquiring a new set of donors. Gaining an understanding of exactly what goes into forming a meaningful relationship with each contact is therefore worth your while. Big Data allows you to clearly see the commitment path required to transform an occasional supporter into a regular donor, and a casual volunteer into a more committed team-member. This path is something you can then attempt to replicate with all future contacts, thereby reducing time and costs for your organization.
How to Effectively use Big Data as an NGO
Now that we’ve examined why Big Data is so effective, it’s important that you know exactly how to use it to help you make the most of your analysis! Our top tips for using Big Data include:
Before analyzing Big Data
- Ensure that your team understands the basics of using data processing software- there are plenty of online tutorials to help them with this!
- Create a centralized data file for your teams to log all relevant information, from volunteer data to online and field advocacy data. The creation of this database will ensure that your big data analysis is accurate overall and does not miss any key pieces of information.
After analyzing Big Data
- Based on your Big Data analysis, categorize your contacts according to their different levels of support for your organization, and create personalized messages that recognize the needs of each of these groups. This will ensure that each contact feels personally addressed by your campaign, and will be more likely to engage with you. Platforms like Qomon can be extremely useful in helping you to personalize your messages, whether it’s SMS or email.
- Design your canvassing routes based on the areas you need to target the most. Big Data analysis can help you to quickly identify where your target audience is located- so make sure that your canvassing routes don’t miss these key locations!
Conclusion
By retrieving digital data on the behavior of select populations, Big Data can assist NGOs and non-profit organizations in making more intelligent and effective decisions surrounding the creation of actions and canvassing efforts. This can ensure that funding is optimized and that volunteers’ time is most effectively spent. If you’re looking to improve the reach of your NGO, investing in data processing software and learning about the effects of Big Data might be one of the most efficacious ways of doing this. So don’t be deceived into thinking that Big Data is a tool reserved exclusively for the private sector- try using it today to learn more about your NGO’s target audience and the different ways that you can reach them!
