Transforming With Digital Category

Harnessing digital and technology for long-term change

We want this category to showcase the phenomenal efforts of the sector and to shine both hope and inspiration on what might be achieved using digital and technology – we are particularly interested to hear about how digital has created long-term change for your organisation and how your governance empowered that to happen.

This category recognizes a board that has championed digital to help the charity unlock its impact in a powerful way for its users and for society. We are looking for a charity and its board which has galvanised the power of tech not only to innovate or improve its activities, but to transform its offer, its impact and its purpose in becoming a truly ‘digital first’ organisation over the long term.

Why is ‘Transforming With Digital’ important in 2022? Jessica Stockford, Associate Director of Prospectus, explained, ‘The past year and a half has been brutal for the sector; for many charities, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated years of planned-for change into short months. We want this category to showcase the phenomenal efforts of the sector – before, during or since the pandemic – and shine both hope and inspiration on the transformational and long-term impact that might be achieved with digital.’

What the judges are looking for

Recently, charities have all worked hard to pivot operations to remote/online working and service delivery. In this category, we are looking for examples of boards who have enabled, empowered and unlocked meaningful change for their organisation – before, during or since the pandemic (as stated in the criteria, your entry can focus on work completed or achievements for the past five years). The focus of the entry should outline the journey that the board has been on and should reflect how the transformational impact of this period will be or has been maintained in the governance of the organisation.

The entry must focus on the work of the main board, but if any sub-committees or other governance groups outside the main board made a contribution, you are welcome to tell us about that in your response.

Tips from past judges

Make digital everyone’s responsibility: Finances are your treasurer’s key responsibility, but all trustees need to understand the balance sheet. It’s the same with digital – make sure the whole board understands its value, and your strategy. At Bliss the board drove digital transformation, recruiting the right expertise where required.

Encourage innovation: The board of Hestia fully supported the executive team to create an innovative app that had never been seen before. Give talented people space to innovate and let them know it’s OK to fail, as long as the right risk management process is in place.

Improve your operations: Transforming with digital isn’t always about improving the experience for service users – you can use it to enhance your operations too. For example, NAVCA used tech-assisted remote working to reduce overheads and boost efficiency.