Charities and Not for Profit Organizations
April 2001
Modern charities and not-for-profit organization exist in a complex and changing world of competing demands on people's time and money, attention and sympathy: so it is not surprising to find an increasing number using surveys as a key part of their communication and outreach to potential users as well as volunteers and donors.
Used effectively, surveys can support campaigns for change; underline the need for new services and act as a catalyst to fund-raising; they can help to identify the needs of the people for whom the charities exist, which in turn can be used to determine the correct strategy or influence the policy of local or national government and other care providers.
Snap empowers not-for-profit organization to do high quality research for themselves
Due to the high cost, commissioning specialist research companies to carry out a survey is not always an option for non-profit and charitable organization Nor is it necessary, with the availability of dedicated survey software like Snap.
Snap provides an easy-to-use program that simplifies and automates all the different stages of research projects, from designing the survey to running off tables and charts. Surveys can be done on paper, over the telephone or across the Internet, and data can be captured reliably and easily for instant analysis and interpretation in the dedicated Snap results module, by hand, by scanning or direct from the Internet.
From a simple one-page questionnaire, to highly advanced and multi-stage research activities, Snap empowers lay-users to get the job done themselves
There are many different ways to use Snap, which offers a very extensive range of supported features to cope with everything charities and not-for-profit organization need to test services, probe user communities, obtain objective feedback or support research activities. From a simple one-page questionnaire, to highly advanced and multistage research activities, Snap empowers lay-users to get the job done themselves.
Short courses provided by Snap's manufacturers, Snap Surveys, provide excellent guidance, not only in how to use the software, but in how to go about designing a questionnaire or analyze and interpret the results safely and to professional standards.
As a result, the two charitable organizations we showcase here, have been highly successful in using Snap to support important strategic and policy decisions, while keeping in close touch with the people they exist to serve. Importantly, both have also been able to reassure themselves that their endeavours are valuable and valued, as a boost to their volunteer helpers.
Case study: 1 Age Concern home in on what really concerns the elderly
In the modern world of high speed communications, e-mail and the Internet, the need to move data around quickly, inexpensively and reliably, is critical. You may wish to work with data that someone else has collected; you may be working on a joint research project where the different partners use different systems or you may wish to use solutions from more than one supplier within your own organization
Peter Wills of Snap Surveys originally proposed a standard to facilitate the exchange of research and survey data at a time when no standards existed, and joined with other manufacturers in order to create a cross-industry agreed standard.
Characteristics
Age Concern is a federation of local, independent charitable groups and organizations throughout the UK, which exist to promote the well being of all older people. Age Concern combines the provision of practical services and support to older people at a local level with national campaigning and lobbying.
One local Age Concern group, in South Gloucestershire, has found that representative surveys carried out in Snap can be highly successful in finding out the needs, wants and views of older people by asking them directly. The resultant data can then be used to influence local policy decisions and inform providers of services about what needs to be done. In addition, surveys of senior citizens are helping the group to develop its own understanding of the needs of older people.
David Harwood is the group's Chief Officer. With a background in marketing, he understood the value of research and, in particular, the importance of using reasonably sophisticated methods when it comes carrying out surveys and analysing the results. With only one other full-time paid person, but a team of part-time and willing staff and volunteers, David considered Snap the ideal tool as it offered the powerful analysis features he wanted but was still something his team could learn and use for themselves. Cost was also an important factor, and Snap represented a good deal.
"Our first big survey was a comprehensive eight-page questionnaire into older peoples' lifestyles: their concerns, fears, hopes and aspirations. We also asked them about the things that were preventing them from achieving those aspirations. We had 4,300 responses, which was very good..."
"Our first big survey was a comprehensive eight-page questionnaire into older peoples' lifestyles: their concerns, fears, hopes and aspirations. We also asked them about the things that were preventing them from achieving those aspirations. We had 4,300 responses, which was very good. We then went on to interrogate the data and break it out by factors such as age, gender, post code, tenure and so on.
"The evidence this survey gave us not only enabled us to define what our strategy would be and what services and facilities should be provided, it has also had a tremendous impact on both the local health authority and local council in allocating resources. You can't do this with an abacus!"
Neither, as David has discovered, can you make do with inadequate software tools. Previous attempts to use Microsoft Access had been frustrated by what he describes as a lack of sophistication in the kinds of analysis possible.
Word has spread about Age Concern South Gloucestershire's pioneering work as a provider of high quality research. The group is currently working with a mature research student from Surrey University on why older people carry on working well into their retirement years. Early results seem to show it has very little to do with the need for financial reward. The group has also been commissioned by the local council to carry out several related research projects into safety and security in the home, again using Snap to collect and analyze the data.
"we are being kept busy by other community safety groups to do similar work, and have three lined up for the summer. It is Snap that has enabled us to do this."
"As a result," David commented, "we are being kept busy by other community safety groups to do similar work, and have three lined up for the summer. It is Snap that has enabled us to do this."
Copies of Age Concern South Gloucestershire's research reports are available for purchase by contacting ageconcern.southglos@thornet.co.uk
- Survey of people aged 50+ in South Gloucestershire, Autumn 1996 107 pages. Price £49.00 or £16.50 for registered charities and community groups.
- Extending Learning Opportunities for Older People in Rural Situations, 1999 A Report of a project funded by NIACE and the Association for Education and Ageing via the National Lottery Charities Board. 158 pages. Price £12.50
- Promoting Independence…Preventing Dependence to be published in May 2001. Price £15.00
Case study 2: Snap speeds research into cutting the wait for Braille books
Snap Survey Software boxAt the UK's National Library for the Blind (NLB), Snap is playing an important role in an experimental project to speed up the production of books in Braille. NLB is an important charity in the UK that provides a comprehensive lending library service, free of charge, to the UK's estimated 1.7 million people who are either blind or partially sighted. As visual impairment increases with age, the need for the library's services are set to increase considerably in the next few decades.
Producing reading material in alternative formats such as Braille is time consuming and it can be months after publication before a Braille version of a text is complete. For students and professionals with a visual impairment, the delay can put them at a severe disadvantage.
The Cheetah service is an experimental project, designed to run in parallel with the library's existing services. Texts are scanned electronically then undergo minimum editing before Braille translation. They also skip the proof-reading and bookbinding stages so they can be sent out much quicker. Cheetah gives readers the choice of a fast service, or waiting a little longer for a perfect copy.
In order to assess the acceptability of the new service, NLB needed feedback from readers. Sarah Bundock, NLB's Market Research Officer, masterminded an extensive user consultation exercise using Snap to design and administer a detailed questionnaire over the telephone. Volunteers carried out the interviews then Sarah keyed in the results and analyzed them herself.
"I think Snap is excellent. It is much easier than the program I was using before - much more user friendly. It speeds things up a lot. I don't use it all the time but find it quite quick when I want to bash out a questionnaire."
Sarah commented, "I think Snap is excellent. It is much easier than the program I was using before - much more user friendly. It speeds things up a lot. I don't use it all the time but find it quite quick when I want to bash out a questionnaire."
Sarah had used Snap before, but decided it would be better to take some formal courses for her work at NLB. "I found these really useful. I'd been making a few mistakes and they helped me a lot. There were so many useful features I didn't know existed. I also find the manual quite easy to read, which seems to surprise everybody!"
Early results are encouraging, with readers reporting they are very pleased with the service. "When our readers hear about a new book, they want to read it straightway, preferably before someone tells them the ending!"
Having good quality evidence like this will strongly support the Library's case for investing in this production method and any fund-raising it needs to do.
Sarah is now looking at the Internet version of Snap, hoping that it can be modified for visually impaired people to use. NLB also intends using Snap on a range of other fund-raising and user consultation exercises.
"Having Snap means you can get instant analysis of results and this has encouraged staff here to know that the project is working."
"Having Snap means you can get instant analysis of results and this has encouraged staff here to know that the project is working. People have been saying it is great to be able to get the information quicker. The costs are quite dramatically reduced.
" Find out more about the National Library for the Blind and the Cheetah pilot project from their website at www.nlb-online.org
Conclusions: The benefits to charities
The individual needs of charities to consult with users or clients, donors or volunteers, ask questions and gather feedback, is bound to vary enormously, as the two very different examples here show. But at both Age Concern and the National Library for the Blind, carrying out surveys in Snap brought some universal benefits that could help almost any charity.
- Professional questionnaires that obtain a high level of response can be designed quickly and easily by non-specialist staff after only basic training.
- Information can be made available very quickly through accurate, efficient data capture and instantaneous analysis.
- The officers and managers of charities and not-for-profit organizations can take important decisions, develop policy and strategy, and exert influence more effectively on the basis of objective fact rather than subjective hearsay.
- Sophisticated analysis tools (especially cross-tabs) can make sure that the voices are heard and that any special needs are not overlooked.
- Results can be fed back, in a readily understandable way, using tables and charts, to help to motivate volunteers or employees and make them aware that their work is valued.
Many charities struggle to carry out surveys and questionnaires using standard PC programs such as word processors, spreadsheets and databases, as both of the groups discussed here have done. Snap cuts through the chaos to bring you accurate and reliable results. Manageable and affordable for even small organization with limited resources, using Snap to answer your questions will give you a powerful tool for making your voice, or the voice of whoever or whatever your are trying to help, clearly heard.