If you had to build a digital and data team from scratch, how would you do it? That’s the question the real Digital & Data team at the International Potato Center (CIP) gathered in Lima to answer in March. Over three days, the team explored how digital technology, data, and human talent can work together to accelerate science and expand the global impact of CIP’s work.
Facilitated in partnership with Info-Tech Research Group, the workshop used an industry-standard capabilities framework to map the full range of digital and data capabilities a team like ours needs from governance and security to AI strategy and enterprise architecture. Through individual skills assessments, group deep-dives, and structured gap analysis, the team identified where we are strong, where the gaps are, and which capabilities to prioritize building first.
At its core, digital transformation is about adopting new tools and changing how we work, make decisions, and collaborate. For a scientific organization like CIP, that means rethinking how we use data, deliver research, and engage with the communities we serve. This is fully aligned with the digital enabler in CIP’s 2030 vision to accelerate scientific breakthroughs, improve operational efficiency, strengthen partnerships, and scale the impact of open science.
After two days of assessing capabilities and identifying gaps, one of the most dynamic moments of the workshop was a mini-hackathon, where the team worked on ideas for a CIP Knowledge Intelligence Tool. The objective was to imagine how to better connect the institutional knowledge that is currently distributed across multiple platforms, reports, and databases.
Simple but powerful questions helped guide the exercise:
- How can we quickly find the work CIP has carried out in a specific country over the past ten years?
- Which crop varieties have been adopted across different regions?
- Which donors have funded specific projects, and what results were achieved?
Answering these questions means organizing data more effectively, connecting systems, and designing tools that transform information into useful knowledge for decision-making.
The team came away with two clear takeaways. First, a shared understanding of the full range of capabilities a digital and data team needs, including technical, governance, strategy, architecture, and leadership, and how they all need to work together, especially in a lean team like ours. Second, when we collaborate across disciplines, we achieve far more than when we work in silos. These insights will guide the next phase of our journey as we continue to strengthen our capabilities and shape a Digital and Data Unit ready for CIP’s future needs.