Collective Week 2021 – Positive Impact

At Amsterdam Data Collective (ADC) we realise the potential of data for a better future, using data science to make a positive impact. During the Collective Week 2021, we recentred, focused and put our values into the spotlight. Are ADC’ers still being brave, breaking down barriers, striving for solutions that are the best combination of our joint creativity?

In sunny September, we left Amsterdam for the Collective Week 2021. With about fifty ADC’ers we stayed in Netl, with beaches, bamboo jungle, elephant trails and islands surrounding us. This was the perfect location for our third annual Collective Week to make a positive impact.

 

• Team building and Collective Feeling
• Collectively Aiming to be the Best
• Positive Impact: Pro Bono Projects

 

Team building and Collective Feeling

During this week we paid extensive attention to the collective that we form, by collaborating in many ways. We worked, trained and played together, giving ourselves the chance to get to know each other even better. The week was designed to focus on both working hard and playing hard together.

Morning and evening activities were organised by the team. The morning activities focused on waking up and exercising, such as an amazing Yoga Class by Emma Wagner (Consultant). Enthusiasm for running, swimming, obstacle courses, tennis and football was also present. The evening activities were all about having fun, such as the successful game night and campfires. At the end of the week, we toasted on the ceremonial closing and danced to the tunes of a DJ.

To create as little distraction as possible from the projects and trainings we decided to leave the cooking to the real chefs. Andre Martinez Jara and his sister Milena cooked healthy and delicious breakfasts, lunches and dinners for us.

 

 

 

Collectively Aiming to be the Best

We aim to be the best to have the biggest positive impact. We do this by challenging each other and ourselves during trainings, team activities and projects. At ADC we work by the Secure Base Philosophy. We encourage a safe environment where we can care and dare. On Tuesday and Wednesday the Secure Base Leadership trainings took place. The trainings reminded us how to excel in leadership rather than dominate, avoid or withdraw. We immediately put into practice what we have learned.

 

 

Positive Impact: Pro Bono Projects

We increased our positive impact by using our data science expertise to make a real difference in pro bono projects. In that way we make a positive contribution to society. Below is a summary of some of our ten pro bono projects:

 

JINC

Hidde, Dennis and Max worked on the pro bono project for JINC. JINC fights, together with companies and schools, for a society where your background does not determine your future. Project leads Dennis and Max (Analysts): “We created a workshop to teach children from disadvantaged neighbourhoods about data, programming and AI. During this workshop, we educate the children about the many opportunities data science offers. We also give them their first hands on programming experience.”
In October the first workshop took place. It was amazing to see the enthusiasm of the children

 

 

Amref Flying Doctors

Scott, Noortje, Emma, Fleur, Esther and Miha worked on a pro bono project for Amref Flying Doctors. The foundation trains healthcare providers in Africa, provides basic care and provides information. Project lead Fleur (Consultant): “We built a churn model to provide Amref with the insights they need to retain loyal donors and to make their marketing strategy more cost effective.”

 

 

Zero Hunger Lab

Joel, Laurens and Joost worked on a pro bono project for Zero Hunger Lab (Tilburg University). The lab uses data science to contribute to realizing global food security and fight the world hunger problem. We worked on synthetic image generation for detecting undernourished children.

 

 

A.S.R. Nereus

Lars, Duco, Diederik, Kevin, Guus and Sophie worked on a pro bono project for A.S.R. Nereus. The rowing organisation enables students to exercise and lead a social life since 1885. Project lead Sophie (Senior Consultant): “We created a tool that can extract sports data from a photo of a workout summary on a rowing machine. To make this possible, we use image recognition.”

 

 

Lendahand

Frans, Elianne, Rick and Lars worked on a pro bono project for Lendahand. Lendahand’s mission is to fight poverty through investing in people and companies in emerging markets. They do so by enabling retail investors to invest in companies in emerging markets through the Lendahand crowdfunding platform. Project lead Lars (Analyst): “We helped Lendahand with designing their data science strategy in order to become more scalable. This will enable Lendahand to help more companies in emerging markets to get funding in the future.”

 

 

Pocket GP

Mathyn, Dennis and Onur worked on a pro bono project for Pocket GP. This is an application that delivers healthcare, support and medical advice straight to your mobile device from GP’s all over the world. Project lead Mathyn (Senior Consultant): “We built a platform where people in need can get in touch (anonymously) with a GP for medical advice.”

 

 

Amsterdam Dinner Foundation

Miha and Dor worked on a pro bono project for Amsterdam Dinner Foundation. The 30th Amsterdam Dinner will take place in June 2022, with the proceeds going to the fight against AIDS worldwide. Project lead Dor (Consultant): “Our goal was to use data science to expand the network and reach out to a new generation to support the foundation and join the movement to stop AIDS.”

 

 

The Good Roll

Tasia, Edward, Henriette, Vivienne and Rens worked on a pro bono project for The Good Roll. The organisation makes sustainable toilet paper and donates 50% of profits to building toilets in developing countries. Project leads Tasia (Analyst) and Henriette (Senior Consultant): “We analysed the client, product and sales data, for example giving insights in several discount codes. The results were structured according to the marketing funnel and visualized in a dashboard.”

 

 

Cordaid

Sean, Jelmer and Jaap worked on a pro bono project for Cordaid. This is an internationally operating value-based emergency relief and development organization, mostly working in conflict-affected countries. Project lead Sean (Analyst): “We helped Cordaid with designing and building data science applications to reduce donor churn.”

 

We cannot wait for the Collective Week of 2022!

 

Would you like to know more?

Feel free to reach out to us for more information, Ewout Drontmann at edrontmann@adc-consulting.com or check our contactpage.