Guide Dogs for the Blind has existed for almost 90 years, helping people with sight loss to live the life they choose. The charity recently went through a wide-reaching digital transformation, building its data and digital capabilities to support to those living with visual impairment better so they can live an active and independent life.
The data transformation project is part of an organisation-wide refresh to change the way it delivers its services. CIO Gerard McGovern and Caroline Carruthers, CEO of Carruthers and Jackson and lead data consultant on the project, spoke to DataIQ about the goals and opportunities for the programme.
DataIQ (DIQ): First of all, please tell us about the vision you are pursuing with the current transformation?
Gerard McGovern (GMG): With the advent of the digital age, Guide Dogs has the potential to help more people living with sight loss in the UK than ever before in our 86-year history. This also means our strategy is changing. We’re looking to improve our digital offering and ultimately to be able to offer a better standard of care and support, as well as reaching more people than ever before.
DIQ: How is this vision being translated into a business strategy, specifically in terms of digital services and the enabling technology they require?
GMG: The use of digital services is a cornerstone of our “By my side” strategy, which aims to increase the number of people we support from 200,000 to 500,000 by 2023. From a business strategy point of view, this transformation will enable us to reach out and build a consistent and long-lasting relationship with donors.
We are doing this by reviewing the data we have about them and understanding how we can best serve them with content and information about the work we are doing. We know as much about someone as they’re willing to tell us, and this transformation will help us to make sure we’re using this information to best engage with them.
DIQ: And how is that being supported by the data strategy?
GMG: We have nearly a quarter of a billion records from communications we’ve sent people. The quality of the data is there to build a solid digital offering, but there’s no use just growing that data for data’s sake – we need to make the best use of it. Ultimately, we want to centralise that data and once we have all of that information in one place, it’s much easier to deliver digital services and to get insights from that data.
Data also helps on the canine side of things, which I term DRM or dog relationship management. We’re one of the largest breeders of guide dogs in the world, which means we also have a lot of good data on breeding, genomics and dog behaviour on our system. Developing a way of properly servicing and utilising this data will ensure we run a much more efficient organisation and ultimately improve our offering to those living with sight loss.
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