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Archive
- Melbourne council opens the books on evaluation of its grants — March 5, 2024
We worked with the Greater Dandenong City Council to conduct an interim review of its community grant program using our Outcomes Engine.
- Awards nomination for SmartyGrants Outcomes Engine — May 4, 2023
The Outcomes Engine has been shortlisted for a national social sector award, after being named as a finalist in the “technology for community impact” category of the Australian Not-for-Profit Technology Awards.
- Centring dignity in algorithm development — April 6, 2023
A peer-reviewed publication related to our CLASSIEfier dignity lens review. Against a backdrop of algorithms that disempower and discriminate, there are increasing calls to centre the human in AI development processes and to humanise AI development in practice; centring dignity in AI development could provide a way forward.
- Developing Data Capability as a Grantmaker — August 29, 2022
Grantmakers already know they need to be more data driven, the more important question to ask is how. This framework will help get you started.
- The ethics of automated classification: a case study using a dignity lens — March 30, 2022
We evaluated how a dignity lens analytic tool released in 2021 by the Centre for Public Impact might be applied as an ethics framework to the CLASSIEfier algorithm.
- How well are Australian grants addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals? — March 17, 2022
The second report in our Future of Funding series is now out. Download the report and watch the live recording of a panel discussion.
- Innovation Lab News / February 2022 — February 3, 2022
A summary of what we've been up to, and notice that we're moving our updates to Our Community Matters!
- Not-for-profits rely on technology too – so where's the funding? — January 31, 2022
As the pandemic continues, grantmakers are not keeping up with not-for-profit demand for funding of information and communications technology. Read more here.
- What are the priorities and directions of Australian grantmakers? — January 26, 2022
The first report in our Future of Funding series is an analysis of funds distributed on the SmartyGrants platform between 2013 and 2020, using the platform’s classification system CLASSIE. Read the summary and download the report here.
- Innovation Lab News / October 2021 — October 7, 2021
A summary of we've been up to.
- Innovation Lab News / August 2021 — August 24, 2021
A summary of we've been up to.
- Webinar: The what & why of data science for fundraising — July 12, 2021
We held a webinar on modern data teams and next steps for not-for-profits, with a focus on fundraising. Read the summary and register for free to view the recording.
- Innovation Lab News / June 2021 — June 23, 2021
A summary of we've been up to.
- New resources to help your organisation find and recruit for data projects — June 21, 2021
We released two templates to help with recruitment: Data Analyst Position Description & Data Scientist Position Description.
- "Be bold. Approach people. You never know what might happen." — June 18, 2021
We talked to Charlie Edgecombe about his experience volunteering with environment not-for-profit, Climate for Change.
- Working with data for good: give it a crack — June 18, 2021
We're profiling data scientists who've used their skills within the social sector. Here, we talk to Áine Phelan, winner of the individual prize at Melbourne's first datathon for social good.
- Innovation Lab News / May 2021 — May 6, 2021
A summary of we've been up to.
- How trustworthy is CLASSIEfier? — May 5, 2021
Our data scientists tested the accuracy of CLASSIEfier. The results of their research are summarised in a white paper: Ethical Considerations in Multilabel Text Classifications.
- Innovation Lab News / March 2021 — March 24, 2021
A summary of we've been up to.
- Presentations at Grantmaking Intelligence conference — March 18, 2021
Two of our team members spoke at Grantmaking Intelligence, the annual conference for grantmakers. Watch the recordings: A bird's-eye view: funding flows and approval rates & Artificial intelligence in grantmaking: how data can drive the dollars.
- Data collaboration: Knowledge is power and it's time to share — March 15, 2021
Learn from not-for-profit data experts Seer Data & Analytics about how data collaboration might benefit your not-for-profit, and why you should consider joining a "data collaborative".
- Innovation Lab data scientist completes the veski inspiring women STEM sidebyside program — March 15, 2021
Dr Paola Oliva-Altamirano recently completed a women-focused program that supports emerging leaders in STEM.
- Innovation Lab News / November 2020 — November 20, 2020
A summary of what we've been up to.
- Accolades to Innovation Lab in not-for-profit tech awards — November 11, 2020
We received top honours in the Connecting Up Australian Not-for-Profit Technology Awards for our work helping organisations to become more data-driven.
- Director of Data Intelligence, Sarah Barker on Humans of Purpose podcast — September 22, 2020
Listen to Sarah speak on the Humans of Purpose podcast about data science and the work we're doing with not-for-profits.
- Innovation Lab data scientist selected for prestigious leadership program — September 4, 2020
Dr Paola Oliva-Altamirano has been selected as a participant in a development program for emerging STEM leaders.
- Innovation Lab News / August 2020 — August 20, 2020
A summary of what we've been up to.
- Key lessons from our data collaboration with Taskforce — June 24, 2020
Head of strategy at TaskForce Community Agency, a not-for-profit providing wraparound support to vulnerable people, Mike Davis shares key lessons learned from a recent collaboration with us.
- Datathon for Social Good — Feb 22–Mar 1, 2020
A recap and video of Melbourne's first Datathon for Social Good. Participants used data to explore the activities and impacts of Community Hubs Australia, a not-for-profit organisation that helps build social cohesion.
- Innovation Lab News / March 2020 — March 26, 2020
A summary of what we've been up to.
- Our Community’s data science program: Widening the circle — February 7, 2020
Taking the broad view of our social-sector data uplift activities over the past year.
- Data hackathon sparks new fundraising model for climate-change group — February 5, 2020
We hosted a hack day in late 2019 to explore the potential of data-driven fundraising.
- CLASSIEfier: From scikit-learn to SageMaker in multilabel text classification — February 5, 2020
The results of our experiments with different model training and deployment options using classical machine learning packages such as scikit-learn on a local computer and using pre-built models in AWS SageMaker.
- Beyond word clouds: Creating a next generation free-text analysis tool — February 3, 2020
Dr Paola Oliva-Altamirano set out to explore the possibility of automating free text analysis. She discusses her methods and results.
- Datathon for Social Good — December 16, 2019
We're excited to announce that we're holding Melbourne's first datathon with a social-good focus!
- Roadmap for Not-for-Profit Governance — December 11, 2019
We've released the 2020 ICDA Not-for-Profit Governance Roadmap, the result of a year-long research project into the workings of the Australian not-for-profit sector, and it comes with a data visualisation to boot.
- Data visualisation: ICDA Not-for-Profit Governance Roadmap 2020 — December 4, 2019
The results of the 2020 ICDA Not-for-Profit Governance Roadmap in a data visualisation.
- Innovation Lab News / October 2019 — October 25, 2019
A summary of what we've been up to.
- Talking innovation: Bendigo Invention + Innovation Festival — October 2, 2019
Director of Data Intelligence Sarah Barker headed to Bendigo in central Victoria to take part in the Bendigo Invention + Innovation Festival.
- Video: Using machine learning to paint a picture of social sector trends — October 2, 2019
Dr Paola Oliva-Altamirano discusses the evolution of CLASSIEfier at Melbourne’s YOW! Data conference.
- Innovation Lab News / July 2019 — July 15, 2019
A summary of what we've been up to.
- Reflections from the lab: becoming more data driven — July 12, 2019
The last three months have been full of exploration and conversations, new ideas and partnerships. What have we learned so far about becoming more data-driven?
- Study of $100m donations pool reveals gender trends — July 2, 2019
In the wake of the end of the financial year donations rush, new research reveals big differences in the way men and women give.
- CLASSIE-NZ released for comment — June 26, 2019
The first draft of CLASSIE-NZ, the taxonomy for the social sector in New Zealand, was released for comment by the Our Community Innovation Lab yesterday.
- Data science tutorials kick off at Our Community House — June 11, 2019
A series of low-cost data science tutorials for data-curious not-for-profits kicked off last week at Our Community's new North Melbourne base.
- Storytelling with data: lessons from a motley team — April 15, 2019
Following the completion of the Innovation Lab's first data storytelling project, the team reflects on the lessons learned, and outline their new ways of working which facilitate collaboration with not-for-profit organisations.
- Numbers prove LGBTIQ+ funding falls short — April 3, 2019
A new report on LGBTIQ+ funding in Australia has been released by Our Community and LGBTIQ+ collective giving group The Channel. The report details how much funding is being distributed to LGBTIQ+ communities across Australia, providing the first comprehensive snapshot of the flow of dollars from government, philanthropy and direct donations to rainbow causes.
- Gender Trends: The causes men and women prefer when donating through GiveNow — March 7, 2019
To examine donor preferences by gender, we analysed all donations made through GiveNow, one of Australia's leading donation platforms, from March 2001 to August 2016, grouping donations by the category of the cause they were made to. We then charted the ratios of gender and donation types in an interactive visualisation.
- Northern Territory donors among the most generous in Australia — February 11, 2019
Following a recent inquiry by ABC News Northern Territory, we investigated (1) whether or not the average GiveNow donation value in the NT was not just larger, but also statistically significantly larger than the average donation in other states, and (2) the underlying reasons for the apparent generosity of NT donors.
- CLASSIEfier latest: Using machine learning to paint a picture of social sector trends — January 22, 2019
We are developing an algorithm to reduce or remove the need for manual (human) classification. Once released, CLASSIEfier will allow us to classify historical records on behalf of grantmakers and other social sector supporters.
- White Paper: Optimising Suggested Donations for GiveNow — November 27, 2018
In this white paper, we explore how suggested donations influence giving, and how not-for-profit causes can increase their giving by altering these suggested amounts.
- Why those holding the purse strings must do data better — August 17, 2018
Dr Lucy Bernholz, a world-recognised thinker on digital and data trends, says funders must take more responsibility for improving how data is handled and managed for the organisations they're helping, including how much information they're demanding in the first place.
- Our Community data scientists follow a rainbow — May 21, 2018
We're doing our bit to "grow the pot of gold under the rainbow", crunching data to help improve the flow of funds to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex (LGBTQIA+) groups.
- Women’s Business: The role of gender in the awarding of grant — May 3, 2018
This data science project combines two of our passions: grants and gender equity. We set out to find out whether an applicant's gender would affect the result of their application for funds.
- Our Community powers up the Outcomes Engine — April 24, 2018
Having built a system designed to make grantmakers more efficient, we now want to help you become more effective. Our "Outcomes Engine" will use modern data analytics, data visualisation and impact evaluation concepts and tools to help you analyse your funding patterns, compare them with your objectives, and track your progress towards your aims.
- OC data scientist wins international fellowship: Astrophysicist turns her mind to the grants universe — April 9, 2018
Galaxy formation? That's nothing. Try understanding the impact of grants. Dr Paola Oliva-Altamirano, an astrophysicist, astronomer, and specialist in the creation of galaxies over billions of years, has turned her attention to something harder: data science for the social sector.
- White paper: The bias trade-off for grantmaking algorithms — March 20, 2018
This whitepaper explores a concrete example of a trade-off that can occur when developing a grantmaking algorithm. It is written for grantmakers, grantseekers and anyone else with an interest in grantmaking algorithms.
- CLASSIE 2.1: new and improved — February 5, 2018
Our Community recently released a new version of CLASSIE, the data classification system that underpins an exciting array of data analytics projects. The newest release of CLASSIE (Version 2.1), now available in the SmartyGrants online grants management system, incorporates feedback received by grantmakers and others since November 2016.
- Data scientists seek perfect match — February 5, 2018
We're looking for opportunities to collaborate with other social-change organisations on a data science project.
- Research shows why your board lacks ICT nous — November 6, 2017
New research undertaken exclusively by Our Community's Innovation Lab shows ICT expertise on not-for-profit boards is failing to keep pace with the digital world.
- Data is the new oil, and we all need to start drilling — August 3, 2017
There's a new currency powering social reform. Data is reshaping our world. Here's what Our Community is doing to make sure the social sector can grasp the possibilities presented by these new tools.
- Grants in Australia Survey 2017: The quest for perfection continues — July 28, 2017
The Grants in Australia Survey is the biggest research program of its kind. We set our data scientist loose on the 1200 responses to the latest survey, as well as data from all previous years. The resulting report digs deeper and offers more insight into Australian grantmaking than ever before.