Process design & reporting automation
Community Development Advocates of Detroit
The Mission
To build the power, effectiveness and voice of community development and neighborhood improvement organizations in ensuring just and equitable development that benefits all Detroit’s neighborhoods.
As the leading voice in the city, we’ve empowered nonprofits, residents, and community initiatives throughout our journey. With over two decades of advocacy, policy shaping, and resource allocation, we’re proud to have made a lasting impact on Detroit’s vibrant communities.
The Situation
CDAD advocates for public policies and resources that advance the work of various nonprofit, community-based organizations and resident-led groups in Detroit neighborhoods. With the goal of improving capacity and strengthening the operations of such organizations in order to be better able to meet their missions, CDAD has developed a centralized technical assistance system. In order to drive discussions with partner organizations, a Community Development Reflection tool is used to identify organizations’ areas of strength and opportunity across areas like Community Planning, Housing Rehab & Repair, Real Estate Development, Community Organizing, Public Policy & Advocacy, and Program Design & Implementation.
The existing survey tool resulted in data which was inconsistent and difficult to standardize. CDAD needed additional expertise and capacity in order to curate resulting data into a report which could be used to drive discussions with partner organizations.
Solutions Delivered
Re-developed Community Development Reflection tool, migrating to Google Forms, incorporating standardized responses and improved survey routing to provide a more streamlined experience for responders.
Built semi-automated process to generate reports based on data inputs from Google Form.
Provided training for CDAD staff on report creation and troubleshooting.
"Beth has done amazing work helping my organization reimagine our survey and data collection processes. Working with Beth was great, as she’s responsive, transparent and warm. We are truly grateful for her insight, expertise & leadership and couldn’t have worked with a better and more thoughtful person. I highly recommend Beth for any of your data needs. 10 out of 10!"
—Darius Watkins, Community Development Advocates of Detroit
Working with Beth was such a positive experience for our team. She took time up front to understand the nature of our work, the context behind the project and finally the specific challenge we were looking to address. Beth asked the right questions to help us deepen our understanding of what was needed, and even some things we didn't know we needed to consider. Her commitment to detail, clear and comprehensive communication, and overall kind demeanor allowed for a trusting working relationship to emerge. From the engagement to the deliverables, the high quality of Beth's work ethic was evident throughout. The final result was a tool that was user-friendly, collected the exact information we needed, and a data analysis and reporting mechanism that was clear and comprehensive to use. Lastly, Beth created a resource with step-by-step instructions for managing the tool and the data analysis with ease, including anticipating any glitches that could occur. By the end of the engagement, our team felt empowered to manage all aspects of the process in-house and that increased capacity will serve us for the foreseeable future. Would definitely work with Beth and her team again!
—Akua Hill,
Community Development Advocates of Detroit