Digital Transformation: How to Innovate with Technology and Take Your Organization to the Next Level
7 min read Impactus Ventures
Social innovation has become a key tool for social organizations to accelerate impact, scale their solutions and increase their reach.
There are different ways to innovate within your organization. One of them is through Digital Transformation, understood as adapting an organization’s strategy and structure to take advantage of the opportunities offered by digital technology. It is often incremental, and its goal is to deliver a better value proposition.
But how do you start the innovation process within your organization? How do you develop a digital transformation project?
In this article we will explain how to do it and how to turn your organization into a high-impact one.
6 steps to start an innovation process in your organization
The first thing you should do is create an innovation portfolio for your organization, one that includes more than one project to diversify risk. For this we recommend following 6 steps:
1. Identify the needs or problems and their size
This is the most important step, since the whole process stems from here. The first thing you should do is recognize the need or difficulty your direct or indirect beneficiaries have. Then assess what the specific problem is that you want to solve, and finally consider the total number of people this problem affects.
For this you can gather information from a study or survey. Talk with your colleagues and beneficiaries or stakeholders in general, and review trends.
2. Research internal capabilities
Assess which people on your team know about the problem, which technologies they have, and which processes exist.
3. Generate ideas
Get your team involved and form a working committee that proposes ideas and chooses which ones go ahead and which do not, according to a rubric that should be aligned with your canvas.
4. Define the team
Choose a leader and a team; the team does not have to be 100% dedicated. And if there are several projects, assess whether you want the same person to lead them.
5. Create a prototype or pilot
Run the project to test it and improve it before it is scaled.
6. Evaluate and pivot
Check whether it is an effective solution to the problem; if it is not, change it to achieve the expected result. And in that case, don’t forget that you can pivot, that is, change direction or speed. This can be slight or drastic, but don’t be afraid, because it is part of the process and it is worth looking at things from another point of view.
Digital transformation as an innovation strategy
The first thing that comes to mind when you hear about digital transformation may be related to the use of technology. That is correct, but the concept goes deeper. Digital transformation is a process of reorienting an organization toward the application and use of emerging technologies, and it must go hand in hand with a cultural change.
Why? The organization and its meaning need to be rethought to adapt to today’s world. In this sense, these changes are often incremental, and their goal is to deliver a greater value proposition because it is centered on the beneficiary’s needs and not on technological change. So its use focuses on solving a problem in a better way.
For this reason, there are three elements to consider for digital transformation inside the organization, known as the 3Ds:
1. Digital format: moving from analog to digital format and organizing information.
2. Digitization: using digital information, data and technologies to transform operations, achieving automation and real-time processes.
3. Digital transformation: transforming the institution by changing processes, technology and talent, with a focus on improving the value proposition.
In addition, the organization’s current and future situation must be taken into account, since a digital transformation project must have a plan that defines the before and after according to these three items.
It is also recommended to be clear about who the direct and indirect talent will be, the processes associated with the transformation, and the technology, that is, the tools that will be used. You also need a communications plan for the people who will take part in the project and those who will be affected, and a risk map and how to mitigate the risks.
Why should I follow a digital change strategy?
- Digital technologies changed, and will keep changing, the way we connect and create value.
- An organization’s assets often do not live internally; today they may be in a network of business partners. Example: email, cloud, etc.
- A current challenge is generating data and turning it into valuable information.
- Digital technologies let you innovate through continuous testing and experimentation, processes that were inconceivable in the past.
Which companies and organizations can support me in this process?
Different types of organizations offer solutions for your organization’s needs. It is a quick and easy way to bring about a digital transformation:
- Large technology companies: Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services.
- Startups: fast-growing and innovative, use of technology in distribution, tools: no code / low code.
- Technology SMEs: medium or small local companies.
- Nonprofit organizations: with a science and technology base, with tools to support innovation.
Cases of digital transformation in social organizations
If you are still not convinced about implementing innovation in your organization and transforming it digitally, we want to present two success stories of foundations that already made it happen.
1. Fundación para la Confianza
Fundación para la Confianza has more than 10 years of experience promoting human rights, especially those of girls, boys and teenagers. It provides psychological and legal guidance, builds protocols to prevent abuse and mistreatment in schools, and researches and influences public policy related to childhood.
The area that specifically provides psychological and/or legal care to people who suffered sexual abuse in childhood had a problem with 20% of appointments being missed. Although confirmations were made by phone, hours were lost and there was a waiting list. So they set themselves the challenge of raising the attendance rate to 90% over a three-month period without increasing the hours assigned to confirmations.
What was the solution?
A platform called Coco Technologies was implemented, which has an artificial-intelligence bot that schedules and confirms appointments. It also has a telemedicine and patient management platform.
Results:
- A 25% decrease in the workload tied to scheduling and confirming appointments.
- Appointment attendance rose by 95% thanks to effective confirmation.
Learn more in this article
2. Fundación Familias Power
Fundación Familias Power has worked since 2016 to close the opportunity gaps of preschool-age girls and boys living in vulnerable contexts, trying to help them reach their full potential. It does this through home visits for stimulation and learning, through play and reading, to boost each child’s cognitive, social and emotional development.
With the pandemic, the organization needed a platform that would give mothers and fathers 24/7 support for the care and development of their children. The coaches, for their part, needed a tool to follow up, support and generate activities for working with the children and their families.
What was the solution?
Afinidata was implemented, a virtual assistant (artificial-intelligence chatbot) that offers mothers and fathers educational activities to help their children’s brain development and build a bond together.
Results:
- 1,192 families registered on the platform
- 2,313 staff hours saved, considering the use of the platform by families.
- 259 development risk cases identified in 122 children.
- 95% of families rate their use of the platform as “satisfied” or “very satisfied.”
Without a doubt, these foundations are a great example to challenge us as an organization to take a step further toward social innovation hand in hand with digital transformation. If you would like to learn more about this topic and how to lead these processes in your institution, sign up here and we will soon send you information about the next version of Fellowship Impactus - Social Organizations Chapter.
