211 Ontario’s newest director to focus on bringing databases and staff together

211 Ontario has brought a new director on board to propel its data strategy, and she wants to bring frontline staff on a data literacy journey with her. 

Baijul Parikh started as the organization’s Director of Data and Digital Strategy in October and is the first person to fill this new role. As the only other staff director alongside Karen Milligan, the executive director, Parikh has a broad remit: she’ll be tasked with leading internal technology transformations, developing the organization’s data and digital strategies, and ensuring that staff can take on these new ways of working. 

211 Ontario’s contact centres collect vast data from various sources, including a record of more than 60,000 programs across 30,000 agencies in the province, Parikh said. 

Part of Parikh’s mandate is to develop a data infrastructure that serves two purposes: for frontline staff, using the data to deliver better services to the community in a more timely manner, and for external researchers and policymakers, analyzing and synthesizing data into usable insights. 

“You can bring in the most sophisticated technology, but if staff aren’t feeling confident on how to deliver services using it, it is of no use,” she said.

An engineer, Parikh brings a decade of experience on the technical side of non-profits to the table at 211 Ontario. Future of Good caught up with Parikh after her first three months in the role. Here, we cover relationships with technology vendors, increasing data literacy in staff, and how automation fits into a very human profession. 

The social purpose sector must figure out data interoperability

211 Ontario already has a robust data collection process and database model developed over many years, Parikh said. Stakeholders from the non-profit sector, governing bodies, researchers and policymakers are interested in the type of information that 211 Ontario collects, as it often reflects the real-time challenges that vulnerable people face. 

The organization develops two distinct datasets, she said. The first is dedicated to information about all of Ontario-based agencies’ community programs and services. 

The second dataset comes from frontline workers’ interactions with callers. 

“One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced is data interoperability and making sure our data is compatible with other sources so that they can use it as a baseline for some of their research or evidence-based insights,” Parikh added. 

Interoperable systems mean that instead of receiving a “data dump,” other organizations can receive information that is already meaningful to them, and they don’t have to spend hours on a data cleaning or data mining process. 

Parikh will also be responsible for upgrading IT infrastructure within 211 Ontario in partnership with technology vendors, noting it’s crucial to have in-house technical capacity. 

“When I’m talking about upgrading digital infrastructure, I’m also talking about building staff capacity and training,” she continued.

 “In the non-profit sector, the biggest challenge is digital literacy.” 

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And like any other non-profit, she says, she has to think innovatively on a shoestring. 

“There is a dire need to have enhanced funding,” according to Parikh. “It hasn’t been a bottleneck yet, but it has held us tight. We want to aim at the sky but end up on the treetops.”

Keep working with (the right) technology vendors

Given limited resources in the sector, Parikh said technology vendors will always need to be a part of the picture to be able to outsource certain aspects of the work. However, she said these relationships must be built on trust and honesty. 

Non-profits also need to internally evaluate whether the solutions that a technology provider proposes work for their challenges, she added. 

“That is why you need in-house [technical] capacity. It might be that the solution they’re offering does not make sense at that point in time.” 

Involving frontline staff in digital transformation 

It also falls within Parikh’s job description to increase technical capacity among 211 staff and to “bring in more advanced knowledge of technology,” she said. Rather than directing her efforts toward hiring new talent, she has chosen to turn her attention inward. 

“Our current staff are our assets – we believe in investing in them, upskilling them and making sure they adapt with [new] technology because the knowledge they have about the 211 system is enormous.”

Parikh has already engaged Technology Helps as a vendor to deliver cybersecurity and privacy training and plans to automate some parts of the data management process – she feels that currently, the team is spending a lot of time managing and cleaning data for reports. 

“It’s not about replacing humans, but [developing] human-augmented processes,” Parikh said. 

“How can they instead utilize their expertise to do more nuanced work in the sector?”

Overloading staff with technical training can also make it feel daunting, particularly for those without any technical background and those with a lot on their plate, she said. 

Instead of delivering training “in a robotic manner,” she plans to let staff learn at their own pace – a more empathetic approach. 

“The technology might be there, but if the people you’ve trained leave the organization, that is the biggest loss,” she said. 

Sharing technical knowledge within the sector

For Parikh, any technological investments have to make a tangible difference to the staff delivering 211’s services and, by extension, to the community. 

“There have been times when some of the calls have dropped midway, or some calls go unanswered, due to technical hiccups,” she said. 

“In this role, there is an expectation of overnight changes,” Parikh added. While you can bring in new technology and data flow processes overnight, tangible changes are much slower because staff and community members have to understand the benefits of using the technology, she said. 

A lot of the groundwork has been done, she added but noted knowledge needs to be replicated and shared between non-profits. 

“To make the non-profit sector more digitally resilient, we need to mobilize knowledge. We’re all in this together but with limited resources.”

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