Data Competency
How a Leadership Team Built a Data-Driven Culture Through DELTA’s Data Competency Framework
A not-for-profit organisation partnered with DELTA Informed Decisions to improve data accessibility, eliminate silos, and build a shared understanding of business information across all teams.
Through DELTA’s Data Competency Framework and Data Efficiency Evaluation Tool, leadership achieved measurable improvements in transparency, collaboration, and decision-making — laying the foundation for Intelligent Transformation.
The Challenge: Data Without Context
The organisation’s data was largely confined to Finance and Accounting teams, creating operational silos and limiting enterprise-wide insight.
- Data was primarily used to meet contract-specific metrics rather than drive business decisions.
- There was no shared governance structure or consistent data definitions across departments.
- Overreliance on manual spreadsheets led to inefficiencies, duplication, and a lack of a single source of truth.
Without a unified data strategy or capability framework, leaders lacked visibility into real-time performance and could not leverage data for continuous improvement.
Our Approach: Empowering Data Competency Across All Levels
DELTA conducted a diagnostic assessment using the DELTA Data Efficiency Evaluation Tool to benchmark data maturity and identify systemic inefficiencies.
We then developed a Data Competency Framework tailored to the organisation’s context, focusing on leadership capability, frontline data literacy, and governance.
Our engagement included:
- Capability Diagnostics: Assessed how data was generated, shared, and used across teams to identify key opportunities for improvement.
- Targeted Training Streams:
Data Insights for Leaders — translating data into actionable intelligence for decision-making.
Data Practices for Frontline Teams — ensuring consistency in data generation, transfer, and reporting. - CARR Scorecard Implementation: Introduced the Communication, Action, Relationship, and Risk model to strengthen data governance and embed collaboration across departments.
The Results: From Data Collection to Data Confidence
- Shared Understanding of Data Products: Established enterprise-wide definitions and accountability for reports and dashboards.
- Improved Governance and Collaboration: Implemented a unified data glossary and framework that democratized access and ownership.
- Operational Efficiency: Reduced duplication and manual rework by identifying inefficiencies and automating recurring activities.
- Cultural Transformation: Encouraged teams to analyze performance data, identify growth opportunities, and refine operations through continuous improvement.
- Strategic Visibility: Leadership now leverages a single source of truth, using real-time data to drive decisions that align with strategic objectives and measurable ROI.
The Strategic Value
This initiative transformed the organisation from a data-dependent culture to a data-confident one — where insight drives action, and information governance empowers leadership.
By embedding DELTA’s Data Competency Framework, the organisation established a scalable foundation for Intelligent Transformation and future AI readiness