Building a unified data solution that supports and shapes storytelling in a large funding organization

Timely, accurate and structured data is central to managing multiple evaluations at once and delivering information to management. The Novo Nordisk Foundation has invested heavily in a comprehensive data platform that allows to effectively delivers and presents data at all levels of the organization: From societal impact of all funding activities to evaluations from individual grants. Following our logic model anchoring in our impact frameworks for each funded initiative, we divide data for evaluation and management into three categories: input, output and outcome data. This presentation provides an overview of the overall data setup in the Novo Nordisk Foundation, from governance to our data collection process and the tools we use for collecting output and outcome data, and finally the visualization and access to versatile data for use by the organization, our grantees and their institutions, researchers, and society in general. The presentation will cover key considerations/factors for developing and implementing a data collection platform and integrating it with impact management as well as challenges and opportunities when standardised reporting from thousands of grants must be feasible to deliver both aggregate managerial information and also be valuable data for individual grant or programme evaluation. Finally, some learnings about what worked and what did not work when establishing a data collection platform, and challenges that we are still dealing with.