How is CFC ANCOP moving in the age of big data crunching and storytelling? For starters, it’s going all out by moving the operations and data processing of one of its main programs, the Educational Sponsorship Program (ESP), to the Oracle Netsuite digital system.
CFC ANCOP Operations Manager explained, “The Oracle Netsuite-based digital system for ESP is part of CFC ANCOP’s strategic plan to integrate and align its program and admin operations.”
He added that the shift is also further proof that CFC ANCOP continues to live up to its reputation as an ISO-certified organization.
Bigger, more accurate data
Essentially, what will change? According to Donor Relations Head Vida Cuares, aside from streamlining ESP operations, the shift will mean:
- Enhanced data integrity
- Timely monitoring of scholars’ status and compliance status of implementing partners
- Accurate data sources
- Comprehensive historical data on scholars and the impact of the ANCOP program on them (end-to-end)
In the field of educational philanthropy, this is pure gold.
With thousands of CFC ANCOP sponsored students, accuracy is key, and big data processing is a daily reality for CFC ANCOP’s social workers and other staff who ensure transparency and timeliness in the organization’s multi-million-peso scholarship management.
CFC ANCOP National Social Worker and ESP Program Head Jannie Bagapuro admits the journey of letting go of old ways was not easy.
It took some time for many of the staff to let go of the familiarity of spreadsheets and leap into the eerily new yet brutally efficient cloud-based ERP system of Oracle Netsuite.
The pain points of spreadsheets
“There are glitches that occur while using Excel files. One of the most frustrating experiences is that the Field Coordinators must repeat the process of checking and tagging the status of students whenever glitches arise in the ESP Monitoring Tool. This is time-consuming and exhausting for users,” explained Bagapuro.
Aside from being at the mercy of the spreadsheet shiftiness, she said another pain point was the need to align data with other departments like Donor Relations and Finance.
Across the teams, it was clear.
They dealt with numbers, but far from faceless, those figures represented a student or seminarian possibly in some far-flung barrio who had just written a thank you letter to his donor—or maybe even one waiting for a remittance.
And one of the possible consequences of fuzzy, inaccurate data was equally fuzzy services.
Timely shift
According to Technical Support Team Leader Khobi Locsin, the shift to digital is crucial.
As the work expands so does the data—posing a need for more permanent and fail-safe data management.
He noted that security reasons also played a role in underscoring the urgency of the project.
As CFC ANCOP’s flagship program crosses the Jordan, so the speak, who knows what’s in store for the other programs?
Stay tuned!
