Your numerical data can tell stories, but can stories be data that leads to continuous improvement? Do only numbers matter?

There are lots of debates in the amazing world of measurement and learning:

The only valid data is quantitative data.
Real time analysis is not useful because it is drive-by analysis.
Make data-driven decisions only, don't trust your gut ever.
Only measure impact, not process.

And so it goes ……

I've come to the conclusion that it isn't an either/or, but a both/and. I shared this on Twitter and the conversation brought out some interesting points that I curated in “Storify,” a story telling tool. (I had to laugh at the geeky recursiveness of creating a story out of qualitative data from Twitter and other sources – and then adding it to my curated nonprofit measurement collection on scoop.it)

The network on Twitter responded:

• If you're overly emotional and reject quantitative data or unemotional and reject lived experience, you are less effective – from Seth Godin shared by WSUCCSR
• It's fitness for purpose and don't forget a lot of quantitative data is rubbish – from Dunc-Rintoul
• Will we ever move away from the either/or mindset – from Jdeancoffey
• When the issue of interest moves from measurement for accountability/compliance to#evaluation for learning – from Karcsig

Perhaps we're confusing qualitative data with gut decisions?

I like to use a combined method. I may start with numbers, but the process of collecting anecdotal information or stories in a structured way from your audience/stakeholders can help you generate insights about what those numbers actually mean. As @orgnet says, “Turning data into stories is the real trick.”

Another way is to let qualitative data inform a hypothesis that you go on to test with numerical data. Using unstructured qualitative data alone is pretty stupid unless you bring intelligence analysis, link to a quantitative analysis, and link it back to decisions.

This leads to another question: How can you transform anecdotes into useful data?

Last week at the Packard Foundation, I participated in a conversation with Peter Laugharn, the Executive Director of Firelight Foundation, about participatory learning agendas. Some of the techniques include analyzing narrative data in a structured way to test and refine a theory of change. This requires creating a culture of curiosity, a norm of continuous improvement, and leadership commitment — all hallmarks of a “data-driven culture”, whether the data be numbers or stories.

As part of my work as Visiting Scholar at the Packard Foundation this year, I'm facilitating a number of storytelling projects in an attempt to measure the effectiveness of how dollars raised are being used to create social change.

This approach is not about counting dollar signs, but about thousands of stories – 19,181 stories, to be exact – told by people from areas where GlobalGiving partners work.

But how do deal with that much data? How do you make sense? First, with discipline and structure. (Here's that described more broadly.)

The above shows the methods. Now, if you've read this far and you work in a small nonprofit, you're probably feeling overwhelmed. I am too, just a little. It made we wonder about how one can create a small scale, manageable method for a small organization to collect stories and use them as a feedback loop – AND part of your communications/content strategy.

The beauty of this is that the stories work well as micro content and as an opportunity for engagement.

What do you think? I'm noodling – and it gave me an excuse to play with storify as a sense-making tool.

Is your organization collecting stories or anecdotal data in a disciplined way that helps you with your content strategy? Is your organization leveraging this content asset further by using it as a continuous learning tool or marrying it to better understand your quantitative data?

Beth Kanter is the author of Beth’s Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media, one of the longest running and most popular blogs for nonprofits.  She co-authored the book titled “The Networked Nonprofit” with Allison Fine published by J Wiley in 2010 that received Honorable Mention for the Terry McAdams Award.  Beth has over 30 years working in the nonprofit sector in technology, training, capacity building, evaluation, fundraising, and marketing. She's currently working on a book on measurement with KD Paine.

This article was originally published at http://www.bethkanter.org/stories-data/