Data Analytics and Infrastructure for Philanthropy
Mycelytics
Supporting mission-driven organizations to make better decisions through actionable analytics and reliable data infrastructure.
What we do
We provide mission-driven organizations with technical capacity and strategic support for data analytics and infrastructure projects. We don’t just build data lakes and serve up analyses, we offer partnership across the full range of social sector data needs.
Where you are
You have data but you struggle to get answers when you need them. You’re burdened with legacy reporting tools, unable to generate compelling evidence and you waste far too much effort producing quarterly reports.
How we can help
We translate the data you have into the information you need. We produce engaging, ready-to-use and easily maintainable information products – from operational dashboards and narrative reports to automated reporting pipelines and bespoke data science apps.
Where you are
Your data is siloed, trapped in operational systems and disparate spreadsheets. You're frustrated by the manual effort required to access and prepare data, and then you're left disappointed by the inconsistency and poor quality of the data you get out at the end.
How we can help
We build systems that deliver the data you need when you need it. We design right-sized, robust and easily maintainable pipelines and platforms that provide clean, consistent and unified data wherever it's needed.
Where you are
You face a multitude of historical and emerging data challenges. You're overwhelmed by report troubleshooting, constantly shifting taxonomies and requests from the board to see a detailed ethical AI strategy.
How we can help
We identify and help you address the root causes of your key data challenges. We provide holistic assessment of your technical, operational, and strategic approach to data and deliver pragmatic recommendations to address any underlying people, process and technology problems.
Who we work with
We specialize in working with small to medium-sized teams based in the US and Canada (less than 50 people). Our clients are at many different stages on their data journey but typically have few, if any, dedicated data roles in-house.
Our clients are:
Mission driven organizations who are grappling with our societies’ biggest challenges while rectifying systemic injustices.
Outcome oriented organizations who are prepared to make meaningful changes in order to solve tangible organizational problems.
Values aligned organizations who embrace transparency, admire human ingenuity and don’t hide from complexity.
How we work
We know the data problems we solve are intricately linked to broader technical, operational, and strategic organisational challenges. We approach every project as a strategic partnership where our role is to provide holistic support to help meet client goals.
Holistic support means:
Diving deep on context and culture - as partners, we explore and inhabit our clients’ unique contexts, goals and cultures, allowing us to best understand and meet their needs.
Rooting out underlying causes - as partners, we thoroughly interrogate the problems that are explicitly and implicitly related to our work, allowing us to provide the most comprehensive advice.
Building sustainable solutions - as partners, we design maintainable solutions that evolve alongside the organization, allowing us to ensure we are providing long-term value.
What we believe
While we always adapt to fit with different organizational cultures, we have an established set of principles that guide our approach to building successful client relationships and delivering exceptional projects.
Our principles are:
Collaboration and Openness - we believe effective working relationships are built on trust which is earned through collaborative and transparent working practices.
Empathy and Understanding - we believe rewarding working environments recognize our shared humanity which is fostered through individual expressions of curiosity and authenticity.
Reproducibility and Reuse - we believe successful data projects emphasize sustainability which is entrenched through effective documentation and selecting accessible tools.
Who we are
Mycelytics is a data analytics and infrastructure consultancy for the social sector.
Our Team
Jamie Fawcett
Based in Penticton, British Columbia, Jamie is the founder and lead consultant of Mycelytics. Jamie brings over a decade of experience helping philanthropic, government, and commercial organizations use data to drive meaningful change.
Project Associates
When appropriate, we draw on expertise from a range of trusted, values-aligned partners. These independent consultants and boutique firms provide us with a breadth and depth of expertise that helps us meet specialist client needs on project-by-project basis.
Our Brand
The name aims to evoke parallels between the complex social systems underpinning society and the vast hidden, interwoven networks of fungal life. Where mycologists unearth and untangle mycelial networks to understand how and why they form, we use social sector data to understand how and why societal challenges emerge and injustices persist.
Delivering actionable analytics
We can help you translate the data you have into the information you need. Whether you’re creating an annual report, conducting a strategic program assessment or refreshing an operational dashboard, we can provide the right analysis presented in the right format to achieve your goals.
Where you are
Being able to collect useful data and being able to effectively use that data are very different challenges. You have data that you need but your team is still struggling to get the answers they need when they need them.Whether its inadequate reporting tools, inherited formatting issues, inappropriate analysis methods or a not inconsequential number of “FINAL_FINAL” spreadsheets – reporting feels more like a burden than an opportunity for learning and discovery.You’re frustrated because you know you could be spending less time in the weeds and more time building organizational knowledge and making meaningful decisions based on accurate information.
What You're Experiencing
You spend hours putting together board reports.
You can’t quickly answer simple operational questions.
You rely heavily on case studies in external communications.
You rely on Excel charts for external reports.
Your dashboards no longer update and no one can fix them.
You can’t reproduce the last report without copy and pasting.
You have tricks for how to filter that dashboard correctly.
You share pie charts with more than 2 categories.
How we can help
We focus on producing information products that meet the specific needs of your audiences. Across all our projects we emphasize user experience, clean data visualization, effective selection of analytics methods and appropriately accessible narrative explanation for the audience.
What we deliver
Actionable interactive dashboards – supporting predictable day-to-day operational decision making with up-to-date information.Automated reporting pipelines – freeing up team members' time replacing manual report generation with sustainable, streamlined robotic processes.Bespoke data storytelling apps – generating engagement with a topic through compelling narrative, visual and interactive data presentation.Engaging narrative reports – exploring specific complex questions with an accessible summary of advanced analytics and data science methods.
Outcomes you can expect
Significant reduction in time spent on manual tasks during reporting cycles.
Analytics tools that are readily available to help your team make decisions.
Accessible evidence-based answers to your most pressing operational and strategic questions.
New understanding and increased engagement around key challenges among strategic audiences.
Building reliable data infrastructure
We can help you implement systems that liberate messy data from silos and deliver clean, unified, and useful data wherever you need it. Whether you’re stuck in spreadsheets, wrestling legacy systems or fixing wobbly integrations, we can design and build robust data foundations that support your analytics goals.
Where you are
Your data is trapped in operational systems—from GMSs and CRMs to isolated spreadsheets and impact dashboards. Getting useful, clean data for analysis out of any of the systems relies on the few team members with enough system expertise, contextual understanding and time to do it.Every time data is pulled, there’s little guarantee the numbers will line up with previous reports – let alone be easily reconciled with data from other systems. Any hope of deep analysis almost always gives way to hours spent chasing quirks and inconsistencies.You’re frustrated because you want to look for evidence and derive insights but you’re too busy fixing the inconsistent and inadequate data plumbing.
What You're Experiencing
You pull reports that never quite match.
You have too many spreadsheets.
You have a legacy system running just to store historical data.
You rely on specific team members to pull types of reports.
You keep being asked which ‘source of truth’ is correct.
You have to copy unique ids between systems.
You spend hours exporting, cleaning and joining CSV files.
Your metrics are calculated differently by different departments.
Your data dictionaries are under-used and out of date.
Your dashboards and reports keep breaking.
How we can help
We focus on creating right-sized data systems that seamlessly deliver the data you need to analyse, when you need it. To support long term sustainability, we emphasize reliable popular tools, accessible data interfaces, adaptable design patterns and extensive documentation that allow you to maintain and refine your own infrastructure.
What we deliver
Centralized data platforms – creating a single location to store, clean, combine, model, document and share your organization’s data.Robust data pipelines – setting up automated processes that move and manipulate operational data ready for analysis.System Integrations – connecting disparate operational systems to share information seamlessly.Data operations – one-off data manipulation, cleaning and loading to improve data quality or address structural issues.
Outcomes you can expect
Establishing a ‘single source of truth’ that everyone can rely on and trust.
Elimination of repetitive, manual data cleaning and reconciliation tasks during reporting cycles.
A scalable technical foundation that can handle more volume and complexity as your mission grows.
Providing strategic guidance
We can help you identify, understand and address the underlying causes of your biggest data problems. Whether you're grappling with poor data quality, outdated coding or “AI will fix it” fatigue, we can guide you to effective people, process and technology solutions that rationalize your data ecosystem.
Where you are
You’re overwhelmed by all the overlapping data and reporting challenges you know about, and nervous about the ones you don’t. Your team’s time and budget are distinctly finite but even if they weren’t, you’re savvy enough to know that you can’t just buy your way out of your structural issues (despite all the vendor promises).You still feel the pull of “modern data tools” with “AI-powered workflows” but you also regularly experience the understandable pushback when pushing systems change. You stay up on all the “best practices” but you really just need tangible practical approaches that will work in your recognisably esoteric context.You’re frustrated because you know you can build a thriving data culture but you’re too busy papering over the most prominent cracks and adding things to a seemingly infinite backlog.
What You're Experiencing
You have to explain at least 1 workaround in every onboarding session.
Your team frequently complains about data quality.
You can’t give your power users the data they are clamouring for.
Your systems are jammed full of half-used legacy fields.
Your AI strategy can’t be shared with the board because of portal issues.
Your existing vendors’ webinars never align with your experiences.
You don’t feel you can say no to a request for 15 new coding fields.
You find yourself keeping quiet about your challenges at conferences.
You lose so much data context every time anyone leaves the team.
How we can help
We focus on laying out a pragmatic path for addressing your most pressing underlying issues based on a holistic understanding of your organizational context. Because data problems don’t exist in a vacuum, we believe in providing candid assessment, enabling frank discussions and supporting realistic prioritization.
What we deliver
Data ecosystem audits – holistic evaluation of how your current data practices (systems, taxonomies, processes etc) support your goals.Data strategy development – articulating realistic goals, principles and activities that align to your organizational goals and priorities.Taxonomy design – revising data structures and format to align with organizational reporting needs, system limitations and best practices.Data training – providing remote and in-person workshops and seminars on a variety of technical and strategic sector-specific data topics.
Outcomes you can expect
A clear understanding of the core issues underlying your key data challenges combined with an actionable path towards addressing them.
A well-articulated data strategy that clearly aligns, supports and builds toward your overall organizational strategy.
Systems that collect and store data in a way that enables effective and meaningful reporting.
A strong data culture, built around meeting the needs of all team members regardless of their previous data tool experience.
About Jamie
Jamie Fawcett
Founder & Lead Consultant
Jamie has a decade of experience helping clients use data to drive meaningful change.He combines an empathetic approach with strong technical expertise – equally at ease leading discovery workshops, writing Python code and presenting findings. He’s most engaged when delving deep into complex problems and presenting novel solutions.He has a MSc in Social Science of the Internet from the University of Oxford, UK and a BSc in Politics from the University of Southampton, UK. He previously held roles with Grantbook – a Toronto-based philanthropy technology consultancy, and the Open Data Institute – a UK-based non-profit advocacy organization founded by Sir Tim Berners-Lee.