Finding the right data tools to support systems change for Queensland children

Queensland Kids Partnership is working to improve outcomes for children and young people by strengthening the systems, service, workforces and communities that support them.

Queensland Kids Partnership, the instrumental partner of our Data Catalyst Network project in building a place-based framework, which brings together partners across government, research, education, health, early years and community sectors to support better outcomes for children from birth to 24 years old.

But measuring the impact of systems change is not simple. Unlike a direct service model, Queensland Kids Partnership’s work is often about building the conditions for change: stronger networks, better collaboration, shared frameworks, improved capability and shifts in how organisations work with children, families and communities.

For Senior Partnership Officer Kamila Davidson, this raised an important challenge.

“We need to show the value we bring, but also our contribution to systems change,” she said.

“As with any organisation that is funded, there are requirements around accountability. But we’re fortunate that our funders are also really interested in learning what it takes to change systems.”

The challenge

Queensland Kids Partnership needed to better understand and communicate the impact of its work across a complex ecosystem. The team was capturing a mix of quantitative and qualitative information across six portfolios, each with different activities, partners and stages of maturity.

Some work could be measured through participation, workshops, resources or program milestones. But the more important questions were harder to answer.

How are relationships changing? Are partners working more collaboratively? Are people applying neuroscience-informed concepts in practice? Are systems becoming less fragmented and more connected?

As Kamila explained, counting activity alone was not enough.

“There’s no point reporting on the number of meetings, because one meeting can change everything and 50 meetings can change nothing,” she said.

“It’s about numbers with stories, and stories with numbers.”

 

The Data Catalyst Network support

Through Infoxchange’s Data Catalyst Network, Queensland Kids Partnership worked with data specialists to explore how its data and evaluation approach could better support learning, reporting and decision making.

The adaptive nature of Queensland Kids Partnership’s work meant an indictor dashboard was not always the right fit. Some data needed to be compared over time. Other data was more story-based, emerging from conversations, partnerships and examples of practice change.

“What became clear to us is that the adaptive nature of the work is difficult to capture in a platform like Power BI which is built to capture and track quantitative data,” Kamila said. Learning to use a new tool also takes time, so for a small organisation, the benefits need to be clear and immediate.

“Some of the questions may change because we learn they’re not giving us what we need to show value or contribution. There’s no point continuing with something when it’s not serving its purpose.”

Instead, Infoxchange helped the team step back and ask what data was most useful, what tools were fit for purpose and how to reduce unnecessary burden.

This included practical support around Excel, data collection, governance, data sovereignty and the design of forms and processes to make future comparison easier. Through regular meetings we worked on getting the data foundations right, like making sure that data identifiers were in place across all the datasets and a data inventory was established. We tested different data setups to explore suitable visualisation tools and built skills through experimentation.

Building confidence with AI and data

Strong data foundations also helped the team trust that their data would remain safe and secure when using AI. This was vital when the Excel Copilot integration rolled out towards the end of the project – Queensland Kids Partnership were ready to use it.

One of the most common requests that data and evaluation teams get is specific statistics for reporting and communications. Using AI-enabled spreadsheets meant that those frequent once-off requests could be delivered quickly and easily with good quality data visualisations.

For Kamila, this was a significant shift. While she had attended webinars and workshops about AI, the ability to speak directly with someone she trusted helped her understand what was safe and practical to use.

“That has really increased my efficiency at work,” she said.

“I now have agents that Kristen walked me through. It has really boosted my interest, ability and confidence that it’s safe to try different things.”

Kamila now uses AI to support research, workshop planning, data analysis and communication. In one example, she used AI to point her in the right direction on how to gather data on the number and types of adults across Queensland who may interact with children through roles such as teaching, health, emergency services, libraries and community support.

The work, which could have taken hours of searching across different sources, was completed in around half an hour and gave her a clearer evidence base for describing the scale of potential workforce impact.

“It’s not research like you would do at university, but it gives me something to say, this is how I worked it out, and AI helped me with that,” she said.

The outcome

The most significant change hasn’t been about dashboard building – it’s been a shift in how Queensland Kids Partnership thinks and talks about data.

Evaluation now has a regular place in team meetings, with longer dedicated sessions to explore measurement, learning and impact. The project has helped the organisation put more time into thinking about how to best plan, measure and share the results of their efforts using data.

“What Infoxchange has provided us with is helping me put work into the thinking rather than just doing, doing, doing,” Kamila said.

The team is now better placed to understand what is shifting, how it is shifting and what that could mean for children and communities.

The Data Catalyst Network helped the team build the foundations to capture progress and changes such as partners working together on joint submissions, shared frameworks being adopted across organisations or stronger collaboration across sectors. It also helped avoid unnecessary investment in tools when AI-assisted spreadsheets can do the job.

In their evaluation, Queensland Kids Partnership reported increased confidence in their capability to measure impact and make data-driven decisions.

Advice for other not-for-profits

Kamila’s advice to other not-for-profits is to start with the problem, not the technology.

“What is the biggest challenge at the moment?” she said.

“If the problem is with data, if you don’t really know what you’re doing, it’s great to even brainstorm: is the problem really the problem? Is the solution really the solution you thought of?”

For Queensland Kids Partnership, the answer was not simply to build a dashboard. It was to build confidence, capability and a more adaptive approach to evidence. And this has led to greater engagement with evidence and evaluation across the organisation, delivering a win-win for evaluation and the other teams.

“It’s an investment that pays off tenfold,” Kamila said. “Just go for it.”

Through the Data Catalyst Network, Infoxchange helped Queensland Kids Partnership strengthen its data capability in a way that matched the complexity of its work.

The result is a stronger foundation for learning, reporting and decision making – and a clearer way to understand and show how QKP and its partners are changing systems for the benefit of Queensland children.