TAG 2011 Wrap-Up
Three weeks ago (admittedly, I’m a bit late getting this post live) I attended the Technology Affinity Group (TAG) 2011 Conference in Charleston, SC. This is definitely one of our favorite events, made all the more enjoyable by being able to participate as a panelist on Gavin Clabaugh’s excellent session on data visualization. In addition to Gavin, I was one of 4 speakers on a panel that also included Jason Ricci (Energy Foundation) who showed some cool data visualization and data integration in the open source Fluxx project, Jeannine Corey (Foundation Center) who talked about the ongoing data standardization being done at her organization and throughout the sector, and Erin Brackney (One Star Foundation) who discussed her work on the fascinating Texas Connector project.
We were excited to see so much discussion around data visualization, business intelligence, and just generally all of the talk about how philanthropic organizations are using data, both internal and external, to inform their strategic thinking as well as their operational focus. My favorite session was one led by the Ford Foundation where they talked about how they were using their grants management platform in combination with other dashboard applications, and even their website, to communicate and better manage their strategic grantmaking initiatives. It was a clear example of how grantmaking strategy, technology, and design can combine to improve clarity of mission and drive internal and external communication.
In a meeting with MicroEdge’s CEO Preston McKenzie and CTO Benny Melumad I got an up close look at new GIFTS Alta, the next generation of MicroEdge’s flagship product. Alta is a big step forward for the product, introducing a customizable dashboard for users with charts and report widgets. While not a complete Business Intelligence (BI) solution, it provides some richer views of the data in GIFTS that were not previously available in the product. We’re excited to see the GIFTS platform evolving and stepping up to meet the more demanding data needs of grantmaking organizations, which only helps further our work with GivingData and our clients using GIFTS.
Like 2010, the TAG 2011 Conference was informative and engaging event. We’re looking forward to the 2012 conference. See you next year!
-Alf Gracombe