Australian Red Cross optimises technology to boost humanitarian efforts

CIO Brett Wilson elevates IT to help those most in need

Australian Red Cross, through its strong network of volunteers, donors, and partners, is always there in times of need. They act for humanity: empowering people and communities when times are tough. Red Cross works across Australia and internationally to support people before and after disasters strike, to alleviate suffering during wars and conflict and promote the laws of war, to support newly arrived migrants and their families, to help those in the justice system make a fresh start, and to walk alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Red Cross is there, whenever and wherever someone needs a helping hand.

Working at the crossroads of technology and humanitarianism is Brett Wilson, CIO at Australian Red Cross. With a broad IT background in a range of organisations and industries, Wilson joined Red Cross in early 2021 with a mandate to do more with less and a deep desire to have a meaningful impact in his work. He explained, 'I’ve worked in a number of organisations – private, public, big, and small across various industries. But I’ve always been drawn to the idea of creating something that you can look back on and see a legacy that you have created.'

In a recent example of his commitment to community service, Wilson launched an initiative in early 2020 called ‘Caravans 4 Bushfires,’ for which he sourced and donated 15 fully stocked caravans to bushfire victims who had lost their homes in Southern NSW. 'The humanitarian element has always been in my DNA. My role at Australian Red Cross is the perfect opportunity to use the experience that I’ve gained over my career of 20 plus years and help the organisation turn around and create the greatest possible impact with the resources they have,' said Wilson.

Boosting the power of technology with Info-Tech

Diving into his mandate at the Australian Red Cross, Wilson has sought to increase IT’s strategic role in the organisation. He explained that he has been working to centralise, optimise, and transform the IT function: 'For me, the goal is to set Red Cross up for the future. The question is, "How do we re-imagine technology to create more impact on the ground with fewer resources on the back-end?" We need to think about the front-end as the humanitarian organisation, and thus the back-end needs to become more efficient and streamlined to support that.'

To assist in the process, Wilson turned to a trusted partner that he had used in the past – research and advisory firm Info-Tech Research Group. He noted that the company’s practical, data-driven resources and experienced advisors set them apart: 'The difference with Info-Tech is that they understand the challenges that I face on a day-to-day basis as CIO. They make sense of it and provide practical information that we can use straight away, such as blueprints and templates.'

One of Wilson’s first steps at Red Cross was to use Info-Tech’s diagnostic program, the CIO Business Vision survey, to assess the organisation’s satisfaction with IT’s core services. The survey results provide IT with valuable insight and actionable data to help identify opportunities for improvement. 'Good or bad, I’m interested in understanding and creating a baseline. If it’s worse than I think, then we've just got a bit more work to do; however, it gives us a starting point to work from,' Wilson explained.

'The question we ask is, "How do we re-imagine technology to create more impact on the ground with fewer resources on the back-end?" We need to think about the front-end as the humanitarian organisation, and thus the back-end needs to become more efficient and streamlined to support that.'

– Brett Wilson, CIO, Australian Red Cross

Identifying gaps and measuring progress with CIO Business Vision

When Wilson first ran the CIO Business Vision diagnostic survey, he had no visibility into the perception of IT across the organisation. The survey provided valuable data against which he could prioritise efforts and benchmark improvement. He noted, 'The Info-Tech CIO Business Vision survey works well. It's consistent, and it gives you a baseline.' To measure the department’s improvement, Wilson ran the survey a second time six months later and saw positive gains. 'The key shift is that our IT satisfaction score was at 57% last April. In November, when we ran it again, we were up to 68%. We've seen a 10% positive jump in a lot of areas.'

The survey results allow Wilson and his team to add value by focusing on the things that matter to the business. Better understanding business needs and working to execute and communicate more effectively are all part of the plan to elevate IT’s role at Australian Red Cross. 'We want to shift from the mindset that IT is just an order-taking function of the organisation to one where IT is part of the discussion process right from the start. Now we have some direction for where the organisation wants to go, what areas we're going to play in, and what areas we’re not going to play in,' reported Wilson.

Wilson has even taken the idea of benchmarking his team’s progress and extended it outside the organisation to compare Australian Red Cross performance with other non-profits. When networking with peer organisations, Wilson promotes the Info-Tech diagnostic surveys so the others can run the diagnostic and then combine these into a benchmarking report so each organisation can benchmark against each other.

'The Info-Tech CIO Business Vision survey works well. It's consistent, and it gives you a baseline. The key shift is that our IT satisfaction score was at 57% last April. In November, when we ran it again, we were up to 68%. We've seen a 10% positive jump in a lot of areas.'

– Brett Wilson, CIO, Australian Red Cross

Building an IT strategy and a roadmap to execute it

Using the insight gained from the CIO Business Vision survey, Wilson turned next to an Info-Tech workshop, Build a Business-Aligned IT Strategy, to seek alignment, collaboration, and approval on strategy. Wilson noted the value of the five-day workshop facilitated by Info-Tech: 'My view was to bring everybody together and say, "We want to create a sustainable Red Cross. How we get there is the discussion that we need to draw out over the next few days." With the IT Strategy Workshop, getting the right people in the room at the same time and having external facilitation from Info-Tech delivered the most value. It forced us to focus on the output, which is what we're working on now – our IT strategy for the next three years.'

As Wilson looks at immediate priorities, data management and security are high on the list. Arguably the organisation’s most important asset, Wilson wants to tackle matters of data governance, reporting, and analytics. 'How do we use data to create meaningful dashboards that individuals can use out in the field or within the organisation to assist in making decisions? Then, the security piece is the wraparound. We need to secure data without making it overly complex.'

Ultimately, Wilson is focused on ensuring that he and his team are doing everything they can to support the organisation’s humanitarian efforts. That dedication was put to the test recently when Australian Red Cross held a telethon to support communities that were impacted by devastating floods. The IT team had only five days to prepare for a full-scale event running out of three states, televised live across several major TV stations, and supported by more than 600 volunteers, staff, and celebrities. Working around the clock to ensure systems were scaled and ready for a large volume of donations via telephone and the website, the team focused on getting the job done. Wilson commented on their success: 'The team banded together to work through problems and fix things along the way. The results were amazing, with the event raising an incredible $27 million.'