Taj Carson, founder of Inciter, shares her journey from academia to creating Inciter. She discusses the challenges of data collection, the need for efficient systems, and thoughtful tool selection. Taj emphasizes data governance, clear policies, and regular quality assessments, exploring data strategy and the choice between building internal capacity or partnering.

Key Takeaways

• Regular data quality assessment is essential to ensure accurate and reliable data for decision-making.
• Small to medium-sized nonprofits should assess their skills and capacity internally and consider partnering with external experts.
• Organizations should make intentional choices about their data strategy based on their capacity
• Data governance is crucial from the first time data is collected, and it becomes even more important when different systems are integrated.

Chapters

00:00 Origin Story and Background
07:58 Challenges with Data Collection and Management
11:42 Tool Selection Process
23:18 Importance of Data Governance
28:46 Connecting Technical Tools and Information Needs
33:21 Balancing Opposing Poles
35:34 Building Internal Capacity or Partnering
41:04 Regular Data Quality Assessment

Guest Bio

Dr. Taj Carson is the CEO and Founder of Inciter (formerly Carson Research Consulting), a firm that help nonprofits with data management and reporting challenges, including evaluation reporting. Dr. Carson has more than 25 years’ experience working in research and evaluation, and 10 years of experience in the field of data technology. She received a Master’s degree in Information Visualization from the Maryland Institute College of Art (2015), a certificate in technology entrepreneurship from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (2010), and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Delaware (2000).