AI’s first promise to the purpose sector has been productivity. Its bigger promise may be intelligence.
Beyond helping individuals work faster, AI could help organisations and funders understand where support is needed most and make better decisions about where to put their resources.
According to McKinsey’s latest research, 59% of people working in Australia and New Zealand’s for-purpose sector use AI regularly or daily. A similar proportion report increased productivity.
But only 34% say AI has improved the quality of their work. And less than a third of AI use is translating into integrated, regular workflows.
That gap matters. AI may be helping someone write a grant, summarise a meeting or pull together an impact report faster. In a sector where people are stretched, that time is valuable. But are organisations also gaining a clearer understanding of what needs attention and what to do next?
From more information to better intelligence
Purpose-led organisations already have plenty of information.
They have strategic plans, financial reports, staff surveys, board papers, funding reports, performance data and stakeholder feedback.
What they do not always have is the time or capacity to bring it together, make sense of what it is telling them and determine what requires attention.
Used responsibly, AI can help organisations work across these different sources of information and identify patterns worth investigating. It can help bring strengths, emerging pressures and gaps into view. Those findings still need to be tested with the people who know the organisation and its context.
The value lies in giving leaders and funders a stronger basis for judgement, not asking technology to make the judgement for them.
Introducing intelligence-led capability
That is the idea behind intelligence-led capability: understand what is happening inside and around an organisation, identify what matters most, then put the right support behind it.
Benefolk has developed a suite of AI-enabled diagnostic tools specifically for the purpose sector. AI helps bring together and analyse information at a scale that would otherwise take considerable time. Each diagnostic also draws on human interpretation, so the findings can be understood in context and turned into useful decisions.
The tools ask different questions. Together, they can give organisations and funders a fuller picture of where attention, capability and investment could make the greatest difference.
Start with the question, not the solution
Springboard™ examines organisational capability. It helps leaders understand where the organisation is strong, where capability gaps may exist and where focused attention or investment could make the greatest difference.
Headwinds™ examines the external pressures affecting an organisation. Funding conditions, workforce pressures, rising costs, policy changes and increasing demand all shape an organisation’s ability to operate, adapt and remain resilient. Headwinds™ helps make those pressures, and their potential consequences, more visible.
Horizons™ examines AI readiness and maturity. It moves beyond whether an organisation has started using AI to consider whether it is ready to use it well. It helps identify where AI could create genuine value, which foundations and safeguards require attention, and what a practical path forward might look like.
Brand Roadworthy™ examines brand health. A brand can be an important organisational asset, but only if it is doing its job. This AI-enabled review helps organisations examine how clearly their brand communicates their value, what may be getting in the way and where to focus before committing to a larger brand investment.
These are different questions, but they share a starting point: understand what matters before deciding what to do about it.
Better intelligence should change where we put our resources
The conversation about AI often begins with how much time it can save. For organisations working with limited resources, the next question is what that time and better insight could make possible.
Could leaders spot a growing pressure earlier? Could funders see where flexible support would strengthen an organisation? Could a team identify the change that would make the greatest difference before investing in a solution?
That is the opportunity we see in AI-enabled diagnostics. They can help organisations and funders see more clearly, ask better questions and make more informed choices about where to put their resources.
If you’re thinking about where your organisation, or the organisations you fund, need support, we’d welcome a conversation.
