• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
The Data Lab

The Data Lab

  • Business Support
        • Business Support

          We’ll help you harness the power of data so you can innovate and grow your business.

          Visit our Business Support page

        • Accessing Talent
          • Data Talent
          • Placements
        • Funding
        • Small Business Support
        • Digital Strategy
        • Academic Project Funding
        • The Data Lab Community
  • Professional Development
        • Professional Development

          We’ll help you harness the power of data so you can innovate at work and also advance your career.

          Visit our Professional Development page

        • Workshops
        • Online Courses
        • Data Skills for Work Programme
        • The Data Lab Community
  • Students
        • Students

          We’ll help you learn about the power of data and gain real-world experience and career-focused qualifications.

          Visit our Students page

        • The Data Lab Academy
        • PhD
        • TDL Academy Placements
        • Scholarships
        • The Data Lab Community
  • Partner With Us
        • Partner With Us

          We work in partnership with companies to help them gain maximum benefit from the strategic use of data.

          Visit our Partner With Us page

        • Collaborate With Specialists
        • Partnership Opportunities
  • About Us
        • About Us

          We discover opportunities, connect people and ideas, develop knowledge and expertise and bring game-changing data projects to fruition.

          About Us

        • Our Team
        • Careers With Us
        • Join our board
        • Academic Opportunities
        • The Data Lab Community
        • Case Studies
        • News & Podcasts
        • DataFest
        • Scottish AI Alliance
        • Contact us

Data Leaders Case Study: Social Bite

Skills & Talent 17/10/2022

Edinburgh castle lit up at night with Social Bite logo shone onto the side of the castle

Beginning life as a small café in Edinburgh in 2012, Social Bite has become an internationally renowned charity, supporting people facing homelessness or facing barriers to employment. In the last decade, it has also established several programmes, such as The Social Bite Village, free food provision, and globally renowned campaigns including Sleep in the Park.

Social Bite’s latest flagship programme, Jobs First, works with some of the UK’s largest employers to break down the barriers faced by those who have been homeless when seeking employment. Since the programme’s inception in 2021, the initiative has seen 17 people gain employment, six new employer partners (including BaxterStory and Nairn’s), and engagement with 57 charity partners.

Jamie Boyd, Growth Programme Manager for Social Bite, supports other line managers and oversees the expansion of new projects, including new Social Bite Villages, and maintenance of ongoing work.

colourful homes made out of storage containers
The Social Bite Village

The Challenge

Social Bite’s rapid growth over the past decade has seen the charity gather data from fundraising and support work, but with insufficient ways to analyse or interpret this significant data set, opportunities were sometimes overlooked.

Jamie identified a gap in the organisation’s data management, however, no one internally had the right skill set to oversee or make use of the data. As a result, the charity was at risk of losing possible fundraising opportunities (or investing funds in potentially unsuccessful projects) by making decisions on instinct, rather than hard data.

Tasked with analysing previous fundraising efforts (in a bid to apply learnings to run future fundraising campaigns successfully), Jamie reached out to The Data Lab for support.

He had initially contacted the team to apply for Data Skills for Work Credits. After finding out more about his goals, they suggested he might be a better fit for The Data Lab’s latest professional development course, the Data Leaders Programme. The goal: to develop his skill set, learn how to effectively analyse trends, and gain real value from Social Bite’s data that would allow him to provide insight into the organisation’s plans.

bike whizzing pst a social bite banner reading end homelessness
Sir Chris Hoy joined hundreds of other cyclists on a Social Bite charity cycle from Glasgow to Edinburgh

The Solution

The course gave Jamie headspace to discuss potential solutions for real-world challenges and consider the application of these solutions with fellow leaders.

Throughout the programme, a team of data specialists and practitioners covered a variety of topics, including the importance and execution of a data strategy, data ethics and governance, and recruiting data talent. Through online and in-person sessions, Jamie had the opportunity to become part of a cohort of other leaders who were also on their data journey.

As well as a deeper understanding of data applications, becoming part of this community has given Jamie further confidence in his data knowledge that he can call upon in future.

Project in Action

Jamie said: “The Data Leaders course was essential for me to expand my knowledge and vocabulary, gain the confidence to assess projects, and develop a strong strategy. It made data accessible and easy to digest. I am able to bring new ideas to the Social Bite board and demonstrate the impact they will have. The information I have learned is already proving invaluable as I am conscious of how to clean data and put it towards something actionable.

Combining participants from a wide range of roles and sectors (as well as the fireside chats) with industry leaders was a great way to learn as well as expand my data vocabulary to build my confidence in promoting data internally. Hearing others’ struggles and solutions made the information come to life in real-world situations that we could tackle together. The programme reinforced the accessibility of data and showed me that analysing data doesn’t need to be done by a Data Scientist, it can be incorporated into any role.”

The Outcomes

Since completing the 12-month Data Leaders programme, Jamie is leading the implementation of a CRM platform to centralise and gain insight from service users, supporters, donors, and partner information. Such a system will store thousands of details and help to streamline communication, develop relationships, and identify opportunities for improvement.

This project will commence in early 2023, resulting in a viable system set up for the full fundraising team to access. Long-term goals include monitoring and analysing the success of projects (such as Jobs First and The Social Bite Village) to gain insight and apply learnings moving forward to meet fundraising targets to help as many in need as possible.

Could our Data Leaders course help you? Find out more about who it is designed for, timetables, and what’s included: Data Leaders Programme

Innovate • Support • Grow • Respect

Get in touch

t: +44 (0) 131 651 4905

info@thedatalab.com

Follow us on social

  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

The Data Lab is part of the University of Edinburgh, a charitable body registered in Scotland with registration number SC005336.

  • Website Accessibility
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

© 2023 The Data Lab

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsReject AllAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
CookieLawInfoConsent1 yearRecords the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_ga_DPXX4XJSJ82 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
_gat_gtag_UA_54851888_11 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users.
_gat_UA-54851888-11 minuteA variation of the _gat cookie set by Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to allow website owners to track visitor behaviour and measure site performance. The pattern element in the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to.
_gcl_au3 monthsProvided by Google Tag Manager to experiment advertisement efficiency of websites using their services.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
personalization_id2 yearsTwitter sets this cookie to integrate and share features for social media and also store information about how the user uses the website, for tracking and targeting.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysA cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSCsessionYSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-idneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
cl-bypass-cache1 hourNo description
muc_ads2 yearsNo description
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo