80% of charities need to revisit digital strategy

Eight in 10 charity leaders acknowledge they need to advance the pace of digital change within their organisation, new research has revealed.

According to Engineers for change: Why finance teams must drive the digital agenda, published today by Charity Finance Group and Eduserv, 60 per cent of charities are successfully implementing a digital strategy, but over 80 percent said they would benefit from rethinking the approach they have to a digital transformation.

The research further highlighted that charities could increase the effectiveness of their plans by involving finance professionals earlier in strategy development and more closely in their delivery.

Only a minority of finance professionals are currently (43%) involved in digital planning or delivery in their organisations, but 86 per cent acknowledge they need to advance scope and pace of digital change.

Investment in technology (60%), collaboration across teams (58%) and investment in skills (52%) were found to be the top three factors charities think are critical to successful digital change.

CFG chief executive, Caron Bradshaw said it is becoming increasingly noticeable that finance professionals are “leading on digital and IT because nearly every change a charity faces will have an impact on their risk profile, the business model and sustainability”.

“Despite the many competing pressures facing every charity today, it is good to see clear evidence that organisations across the sector are committed to digital transformation," she said.

“One key message came through our conversations with members: digital transformation is less about the technical demands and more about the leadership skills of the people we employ.”

Eduserv chief executive, Jude Sheeran, added: “It is no longer the case that digital technology serves merely to make our organisations more efficient.

“Across all sectors, digital technology is converging with operations and in doing so, fundamentally changing the way we do business.

It is particularly exciting to see that charities are beginning to understand and exploit the opportunities.”

You can download the full report here.