Software Alone Doesn’t Provide Greater Insight or Greater Impact
By Burt Cummings, CEO, 02/01/2016
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Software Alone Doesn’t Provide Greater Insight or Greater Impact
That title might seem surprising coming from a software company, but it’s a reality we face every day with our clients. There is no shortcut to impact. Simply buying a system to measure outcomes won’t get you to greater insight or greater impact. You need a plan and software companies generally don’t do plans.
Our approach is to partner with you to help build and execute your plan. We start by asking how can we better understand and help meet your goals? What is the impact you’re looking to cause? What outcomes tell you you’re achieving that impact? How do we measure those outcomes? And so on. It is only by putting effort into this type of planning process upfront that can you get on the path to greater impact. It is only after working with you that we implement your system. Otherwise, you’re likely to end up with software that is, at the least, measuring the wrong thing, or at worst, misleading you strategically.
At most grant management software companies everyone is looking to improve efficiency. How can we make it faster and better? We believe this approach is too narrow. Instead, we strive to make it more effective. We work to understand it from your perspective, instead of just saying here are some tools, good luck. We partner with you to understand what you do and we stick with you to make sure your program keeps working for years to come.
Impact isn’t a finish line, it’s a continuous cycle. As you reach greater impact you will undoubtedly uncover new ideas on how to go even further. And those new ideas will undoubtedly require changes to the whole program including the software measuring outcomes. Once a client’s system is up and running, it’s just the beginning. A partnership approach is integral to our beliefs and system, sticking with you on your continuous journey to impact. When things change, and they always do, Versaic’s client success team is ready to implement those changes- whether it’s adding new partners, creating new reports, launching new initiatives or anything else that comes up.
Out of the box tools or systems do not provide a high-level understanding of social impact or aid in making informed decisions. The people behind the software focusing on how their tools can help grantmakers make decisions, connect with grantees, and achieve outcomes from the ground up do. Through a system that values partnership you are able to achieve something much more powerful than a tool that simply aggregates and reflects your outcomes.
Versaic custom-configures each solution to your exact requirements, which allows you to accurately and easily set goals, collect data, measure results, and report on impact. To learn more, visit www.versaic.com or call 877-712-9495