The tool that helps you scrutinise, speed up and make sense of digital transformation in your non-profit
Digital maturity is a measure of how effectively your organisation integrates technology with culture, people and processes.
As a digitally mature organisation, digital is ingrained in your organisation’s DNA, going beyond systems to processes, products and activities. And this matters because it equips you for the world as it is today, and for how it will evolve tomorrow.
The journey towards digital maturity is digital transformation.
As digital transformation managers, heads of digital, digital change specialists and digital transformation directors, steadily increasing digital maturity for your organisation is make or break.
The major obstacle in any digital transformation project
And whilst you know how to implement new tools, onboard staff and update processes, measuring the progress of your digital transformation initiative isn’t quite so easy. Yes, you can assess the impact of a new CRM or measure the efficiency of a new data management tool. But transformation is never just tech, it’s people and process too. And how do you measure progress in those areas?
This matters more than ever when you need investment in skills and processes to use your new technology to its fullest potential. It’s much easier to make the case for that investment if you can compare your organisation to others, set targets and of course, show progress towards those targets.
“Digital maturity tool enabled me to win the investment for my digital strategy. I could show my boss areas where ratings are low and point to the parts of my investment plans which would help improve them.
”
A tool to accelerate your digital transformation journey
The Digital Maturity Assessment gives you a simple overview of your current digital maturity. It allows you to benchmark against other organisations, set targets and measure progress.
How the tool works
The Digital Maturity Assessment is a digital maturity measurement tool for non-profits. It was created by Digital Leadership in 2015. It has since been updated three times, the latest launching in September 2024. Since 2015, more than 2,000 individuals and a couple of large non-profits have taken part in the assessment.
The tool consists of:
Digital Maturity Framework: 17 core competencies for digital maturity grouped into four areas:
Attitudes and Foundations: Culture, Leadership, Collaboration, Innovation, Budget
People, Skills, and Processes: Capacity, Recruitment, Learning, Project Management
Systems and Information: Technology, Data, Reporting, Insights
Outputs and Experiences: Communication, Optimisation, Internal Systems, Service Delivery
2. Digital Maturity Assessment: A survey of your team (or a selection of your team) asking them to evaluate the 17 digital competencies on a scale from 1 to 5. These scores are then used to generate your overall digital maturity score.
3. Digital Maturity Results: An email and web page containing averages, statistics, graphs and detailed breakdowns of your digital maturity results.
How to get most out of the Digital Maturity Assessment
There are a few ways to maximise your return on investment in the Digital Maturity Assessment. We recommend these actions as part of your planning and strategy development on your journey towards your target digital maturity competency ratings.
A conversation starter not a statistical survey
Your results aren’t a statement of fact. Nor are they an evaluation of anyone’s work. Understand the ratings for what they are: an evaluation of stakeholder experiences within the framework of the digital maturity competencies.
Use the results to understand how your teams feel about those competencies:
Analyse the spread of results beyond the averages. If some people rated a competency poorly and others highly, look into why.
Start a conversation to understand where these differences are coming from.
Uncover grievances or issues and open the channels of communication to finally resolve them.
Hold deep dive workshops to discuss specific ratings and gain an understanding of where things aren’t working and why. These conversations promote change and allow you to move past old roadblocks.
A way to prioritise your roadmap
Use your results to prioritise and build your digital transformation roadmap. Of the 17 competencies, maybe there are 6 or 7 with low ratings. So, what do you prioritise? Involve stakeholders in the discussion, agreeing criteria for prioritisation. The best areas to target are those that, if fixed, would have the widest impact on other issues too. Agree on your priorities and create plans to put on your roadmap. This formalises your path to digital maturity creating clarity and accountability.
A forum for many voices
The more people participate in the digital maturity assessment the more robust your data set and the better results you can expect from your resultant planning and strategy. If you can, get the whole organisation to do it. You’ll spread both enthusiasm and accountability for your digital transformation project which will make it easier to get where you want to go.
A chance to be surprised
Be flexible and open to what the results might reveal. Listen carefully and don’t be afraid to change tack if that’s what the results suggest. Let’s say you thought data wasn’t a problem in your organisation, but the survey reveals that people think project management is the biggest obstacle. Take the chance to learn and understand where your colleagues are coming from and make changes.
A starting point for deep dives
Your data allows you to dive down and see what’s really going on beneath the surface. Pay close attention to differences in opinion. This is often where issues lie. Hold deep dive workshops to analyse the issues and get to the bottom of what’s going on. Include your colleagues in defining solutions - actions, activities and projects - that will help resolve the deep-rooted problem and, as a result, boost that rating in the future.
You can access the Digital Maturity Assessment on digitalmaturity.org
If you have ay questions or feedback, please get in touch.
