The Data Audit Tool, right, is a practical resource that helps you map the data your organisation collects, assess why it is collected, and evaluate its usefulness for measuring impact, supporting operational decision making, and informing business development.

Use it — alongside the ‘How to…’ guide — at the start of your evaluation process to understand your current data landscape and identify gaps that need to be addressed.

As an advice organisation, you are likely to collect large volumes of data across case records, monitoring systems, and informal logs. Some of this will be operationally useful, but much of it may be duplicated, inconsistently recorded, or unsuitable for outcome evaluation. The audit tool helps you distinguish what is useful, avoid unnecessary replication, and make better use of the data you already hold.