Médecins sans frontières reference case.

The guidance to data-driven fundraising.

Cmotions helped Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the umbrella, international Doctors Without Borders organization, improve their fundraising by sharing knowledge about data-driven fundraising. We developed data strategies and roadmaps for 20 teams from around the world and provided them with an international benchmark for data maturity.

As a result, fundraising teams are now better equipped to use data insights to improve donor engagement and value. This leads to more effective fundraising, cost savings and increased employee satisfaction. Having all participated in this workshop series has made it easier for data professionals and fundraising directors to collaborate and address shared data challenges.

The client's request for help.

At Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). fundraising in each country and region is managed locally by teams of fundraising, marketing, CRM and data specialists. As a data professional on those teams, it can be challenging to know where to start and how to communicate the value of data to fundraising and management colleagues. They get stuck in operational tasks and are unable to take the next step to deeper and more impactful insights.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has partnered with its global data and analytics community to benefit from each other's experiences and best practices, particularly in specific areas such as dashboarding, donor segmentation and KPIs. The "Data Driven Taskforce," which coordinates strategic initiatives to become data-driven, asked Cmotions to deliver a series of digital workshops on data strategy specifically targeted at fundraising, CRM and data specialists from 20 teams around the world.

The main goals of the workshops facilitated by Cmotions were:

Share our knowledge and best practices on data strategy and data-driven fundraising with the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) community.
Create a common understanding within the MSF community about data maturity, data strategy and the steps required.
All teams benchmark on their current data maturity and aspirations, making it easier to measure progress and find the right team or person to learn from.
Create roadmaps for data-driven fundraising so that it is clear which teams have similar actions and opportunities to work together.

In summary, Cmotions' goal was to enable MSF teams to understand and improve their data maturity, collaborate more effectively, and drive more effective data-driven fundraising.

What did we do?

To make the workshops as practical and efficient as possible for the 20 teams from around the world, Cmotions used a "blended learning" approach. The workshops were structured as four online sessions spread over a three-month period. This allowed participants to prepare for the workshops at their own pace and time by reviewing all relevant content and completing hands-on assignments and self-assessments in Cmotions' learning portal. This also made it easy for participants to prepare with colleagues or consult a specific expert within their team, and to fit learning into their busy schedule. The approach ensured that participants were well prepared for the workshops and were able to make the most of their time during the sessions.

The workshop program included the following topics:

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The vision, mission and potential use cases for data-driven fundraising.

Participants discussed the role of data in their fundraising strategy and activities, identified potential use cases that could create value for the fundraising team, and learned how to communicate this in an engaging and motivating way.

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Data maturity and ambition.

Using the four stages of data maturity, participants assessed their current data maturity and set goals for the future. They considered how they could reach their desired level of data maturity in the next year, in two, three or five years, or whether they wanted to reach even a higher level. They also looked at the four organizational aspects - people, organization, processes and technology - and how they should be aligned to achieve the desired level of data saturation.

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Roadmap and collaboration.

Participants discussed actions, projects and initiatives that should be on their roadmap for the coming year and beyond. They learned about best practices for the challenges they face in taking the next steps in data-driven fundraising and identified potential areas for collaboration with other teams.

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Deepening in data expertise areas.

Participants were introduced to key areas of expertise critical to data-driven success, including data management, business intelligence, analytics and data science, automation and data strategy. They evaluated their own current competence in these areas through self-assessments. They also identified the steps they needed to take to achieve the level of data maturity they identified earlier in the program.

What were the results?

The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) data community gained a better understanding of their similarities and differences in terms of data maturity, aspirations and challenges. By using a common language and completing the same self-assessments, the group was able to create individual roadmaps but identify common opportunities for collaboration on next steps.

At the end of the workshop, each participant received a one-page summary that included their own vision and mission for data-driven fundraising, the results of the self-assessments, and the data use cases. This document can be used to inform and inspire other parts of the MSF organization about the potential value of data, such as increasing donor engagement and lifetime value, and improving the effectiveness of omnichannel donor journeys. It also provided insight into necessary next steps, including a comprehensive roadmap for implementing these actions.

As a group, all participants received a benchmark document outlining the data maturity of all teams in all five areas of expertise, making it easier for them to find appropriate counterparts around the world to learn from or collaborate with. The document also included information on the skills, roles and technologies needed for each area of expertise, making it excellent reference material when the roadmap was revisited at a later stage.

The learnings.

There is great potential in having a global community of data professionals, even when they are working in independent local teams. To fully realize this potential, it is important to gain a better understanding of the similarities and differences in their journey to becoming more data-driven. With this understanding, a centralized task force, such as MSF's, can be more efficient in coordinating knowledge sharing, peer reviews, hiring external expertise and possibly even sharing data or ICT services.

To get the right level of detail, it is important to assess the data maturity of the teams on different organizational aspects and the required areas of expertise for data-driven fundraising. A blended learning approach, combining interactive, digital sessions with a learning portal for content and assignments, was crucial to making the program effective with more than 40 participants from 20 teams around the world.