Talking numbers with Nikhila Kanakamedala
Nikhila Kanakamedala joined Reap Benefit in 2019 in the partnerships team, and joined the data team soon after. So, how did the engineer who once harboured dreams of becoming a journalist land up in an organisation that’s interested in building the civic muscle of youth? We chatted with Nikhila in March this year about her journey in becoming a Solve Ninja, why data matters and how she hopes to make data more accessible to team members.
All roads lead to Reap Benefit
In school, I harboured dreams of becoming a journalist, but everyone told me I was too shy and introverted for the job. I ended up studying Computer Science Engineering in Vishakhapatnam, but didn’t quite see a future as a techie either. While in college, I saw an advertisement for the Teach for India fellowship and decided to apply. I loved the movie Swades, especially the character of the teacher. So, I put in an application. After a two year stint as a TFI fellow in Hyderabad, I felt the social sector was where my future lay.
After a PG Diploma at Ashoka University and a stint in Give India, I joined Reap Benefit in the Fundraising and Partnerships team. But, Reap Benefit wasn’t new to me. I had taken part in the Jagriti Yatra and kept hearing the names Reap Benefit and Kuldeep Dantewadia and had been following the organisation’s work for some time.
Pivoting
While I was embedded in the Fundraising and Partnerships team, I started volunteering with the Data team when one of the team members left. What started out as a short term volunteering project turned into a full fledged role in mid 2020 though. I find it a little funny at times that I work with data so much, because outside of work I’m a very go-with-the-flow kind of person, and not really data driven. So what I do with Reap Benefit is quite different to how I am outside.
As someone who has spent time in classrooms, I know that for so many of our mentors, data collection is farthest from their minds when they’re with students. But, I also know that for an organisation like Reap Benefit, that’s operating in a fairly new and niche space — civic engagement plus skill building — data is key to our work. And that when collecting data there’s a certain way it needs to be done in order to maintain the sanctity of the information.
Also, for our Solve Ninjas who we ask to document each and every action, we need to find an easier way for them to do so and incentivise it. Right now we only use answers to 30 of the 100 questions we ask them!
One key priority for the data team in 2021 is to make data collection and documentation easier for mentors and students.
Changing perceptions
If you haven’t worked with data before, then the task can seem really daunting. I want to remove those mental barriers from the minds of team members.
The questions we keep asking ourselves as a team are ‘How can we make data collection and usage less intimidating and more fun?’ ‘How can we encourage more team members to look at the data dashboards and make sense of the information there, interact with it and use it?’
So mentor Joseph and I decided to conduct some Excel workshops with vertical leads as a starting point. We also gamified data usage in Town Hall sessions by conducting treasure hunts, crossword puzzles and other activities with team members. We have seen a small but promising uptick in teams using the dashboards after this.
In data we trust
Data isn’t just important for our team, but also for funders and partners. Knowing what to measure, how to measure it and what assessments to use is key.
We might know in our hearts that taking consistent civic actions leads to the acquisition of 21st century skills, but sadly that’s not enough. We need to show proof. The space Reap Benefit is in is new and not many other players are working in the space of civic action and skill building. So there’s very little by way of research, especially in the Indian context, as far as our collective knowledge knows. Last year, we conducted baseline and end line assessment of Solve Ninjas with one of our partners, and the results were very promising. That’s given us a big impetus to scale our M&E plans for next year.
Making noise with numbers
I really believe in the work Reap Benefit does, and think that rather than creating parallel systems in our country, we need to hold the elected governments accountable and work with them to build systems that do work. Reap Benefit is already known for the heart in our work, I can’t wait to add the numbers to it too!
