“We’re excited to be a finalist at the British Data Awards. This recognition celebrates the collaboration between Scope and Hippo on our data discovery project, which is helping us better utilise technology in our mission to create an equal future for disabled people. This project has opened new opportunities to enhance our impact and reach, empowering us to do even more for disabled people.”

Kwesi Afful, Executive Director of Digital and Marketing at Scope

Scope, the disability equality charity, has been shortlisted for Not-for-Profit of the Year at the British Data Awards 2025. A recognition of how the organisation is harnessing data to create meaningful change.

This category celebrates the work of not-for-profit organisations that are delivering impact through data-led projects and programmes. It highlights how data is being used to improve lives across a range of sectors, from public services to grassroots campaigns. Scope’s nomination reflects the charity’s commitment to embedding data into its mission, empowering disabled people and advocating for systems that are equitable, inclusive and effective.

Scope’s ten-year strategy

That commitment to equity and inclusion is reflected in Scope’s long-term thinking. In 2023, the charity launched a ten-year strategy, An Equal Future. It focuses on tackling the biggest structural barriers disabled people face, including persistent negative attitudes, a widening employment gap, and the extra costs of living that affect millions of households. As part of this strategy, Scope is also investing in how it uses digital tools and insight to make decisions, design services, and push for systemic change.

How Hippo helped

To support this vision and journey, Scope partnered with Hippo in early 2024 on a data discovery project, where a multidisciplinary team from Hippo worked closely with the organisation to understand how data was currently being used and how it could be leveraged to make more of an impact. The Hippo team spoke with stakeholders, mapped data sources, and developed a clearer picture of the charity’s data landscape. Together, we surfaced opportunities to reduce internal barriers, make better use of supporter insights, and connect data more directly to Scope’s advocacy and campaign goals. This included mapping data sources, systems, and ownership across the organisation, developing user profiles to understand internal needs and pain points, and producing a comprehensive Data Map showing where information sits and how it’s used day-to-day.

The discovery surfaced a number of valuable opportunities, including ways to improve the volunteering experience through better use of data. This kind of focused insight offers a tangible way to enhance the community around Scope’s work. More broadly, the project laid the groundwork for how the organisation can continue to embed insight into everyday decisions, while staying grounded in human impact.

Where data meets purpose

The data discovery project was just one step in Scope’s wider transformation goals. Scope already supports millions of disabled people each year through its helpline, online information, community hubs and campaigns. Since 2017, the organisation has handled over 15.6 million customer requests for information, advice and support including more than 3.7 million people reached between 2022 and 2023 alone. As Scope continues to evolve as a digital-first charity, data will be a key tool and resource. Not for the sake of technology, but to help the organisation better understand what works, where to go next, and how to reach even more people with the support they need.

Being shortlisted is recognition of the care, clarity and ambition that underpins this work. It shows what is possible when data is not treated as a technical exercise, but as a way to create real-world impact. The British Data Awards ceremony takes place on the 14th May.

Whatever the outcome, we are proud to support Scope on its journey. Its nomination is well deserved, a recognition not just of where Scope is today but of the future the organisation is building, and the role thoughtful, inclusive data initiatives will continue to play.