Posted 9th December 2013
TWO NEW ONLINE TOOLS LAUNCH TO ENABLE COMPLEX DATA TO BE FOUND, VISUALISED, SHARED AND GIVEN VALUE
Today, Monday 9 December 2013, two online tools are launching which enable organisations to engage with data in new ways. The two platforms, The Global Value Exchange and Data Unity, are both supported by the social investor Nominet Trust, a funder offering grants to projects that use digital technology to make a positive difference to people’s lives and communities.
The SROI Network’s The Global Value Exchange formally known as WikiVOIS, has been in development for a year, and is an open source database for individuals and organisations who are trying to account for and measure the social or environmental value that their activities create. The site enables users to browse and add entries within the following four categories; Stakeholders, Outcomes, Indicators and Values. The new site is unique in that all four areas are linked and users are able to make new connections as well as add their own information.
The Global Value Exchange already includes uploaded information from diverse organisations such as Big Society Capital, the Scottish Government Organisation as well as international indicator databases such as IRIS and GIIN. The new site allows users to comment and rate these entries.
Jeremy Nicholls, CEO, The SROI Network says, “We hope The Global Value Exchange will become an international resource for analysts, evaluators and anybody interested in the outcomes of their work or activities, across all sectors.Sharing outcomes that reflect our experience and sharing the value of those will influence products and services to far better reflect people’s needs”.
Data Unity is a complementary tool that allows users to find, visualise and share their data. The site allows individuals and organisations to easily create info-graphics and dashboards based on the information they upload. Users can then explore their data visually to uncover insights and broadcast them to the world via their own websites, blogs and twitter feeds. Data Unity also allows users to keep the data and information they have uploaded private for internal decision-making.
Kev Kirkland, CEO, Data Unity says, “Open Data presents some exciting new opportunities, but many not-for-profit groups are currently unable to take advantage of these as they rely too heavily on technical skills and knowledge. Our goal is to help people use data in their everyday lives by giving them easy to use data visualisation tools. We want everyone to be able to investigate, visualise and share data to empower positive change everywhere”
Ed Anderton, Development Researcher, Nominet Trust, says, “The Global Value Exchange and DataUnity are products which use digital technology to increase the social sector’s ability to collect, analyse and respond to evidence of its impact. Nominet Trust are proud to have supported them to reach this important launch stage, and hope that they both go on to make a significant contribution to the generation of social value in the UK and beyond.”
The Global Value Exchange and Data Unity are both free to use and offer simple, open solutions to those who need it most, empowering their users and putting them at the very heart of their data.