360Giving Data Quality Tool

Additional Data Quality Checks

This page details all of the Additional Checks carried out by the 360Giving Data Quality Tool. These tests are divided between Accuracy checks which highlight potential errors in the data, and Usefulness checks which highlight opportunities to improve the data’s usefulness.

Class name is the unique name for each check.
When a check is triggered the Heading is prefixed by text such as "X of your grants have...", apart from when the check refers to the whole dataset (eg the multiple Funding Org check).
The Message is displayed if the check is triggered.
The Method describes the check itself.

Accuracy Checks

Class name: ZeroAmountTest

Heading: a value of £0

Messages:

Please review these grants and decide if they should be included in your data. It's unusual to have grants of £0, but there may be a reasonable explanation. If you intend to publish £0 value grants consider adding an explanation to the grant description to help users to interpret the information correctly.

Method: Check if any grants have an amountAwarded of 0. Checks explicitly for a number with a value of 0

Class name: FundingOrgUnrecognisedPrefix

Heading: a Funding Org:Identifier that does not draw from a recognised register

Messages:

This error notice is caused by the prefix in an organisation identifier not being taken from a recognised register on the org-id list locator. See our guidance on organisation identifiers for further help.

Method: Check if any grants have FundingOrg IDs that use a prefix that isn't on the Org ID prefix codelist

Class name: RecipientOrgUnrecognisedPrefix

Heading: a Recipient Org:Identifier that does not draw from a recognised register

Messages:

Method: Check if any grants have RecipientOrg IDs that use a prefix that isn't on the Org ID prefix codelist

Class name: RecipientOrgCharityNumber

Heading: a value provided in the Recipient Org:Charity Number column that doesn’t look like a UK charity number

Messages:

Common causes of this error notice are missing or extra digits, typos or incorrect values such as text appearing in this field. You can check UK charity numbers online at FindthatCharity. This error may also be triggered by correctly formatted non-UK charity numbers, in which case this message can be ignored.

Method: Check if any grants have RecipientOrg charity numbers that don't look like charity numbers Checks if the first two characters are letters, then checks that the remainder of the value is a number 6 or 7 digits long.

Class name: RecipientOrgCompanyNumber

Heading: a value provided in the Recipient Org:Company Number column that doesn’t look like a company number

Messages:

Common causes of this error notice are missing or extra digits, typos or incorrect values such as text appearing in this field. UK Company numbers are typically 8 digits, for example 09876543 or sometimes start with a 2 letter prefix, SC123459. You can check company numbers online at Companies House. This error may also be triggered by correctly formatted non-UK company numbers, in which case this message can be ignored.

Method: Checks if any grants have RecipientOrg company numbers that don't look like company numbers Checks if the value is 8 characters long, and that the last 6 of those characters are numbers

Class name: OrganizationIdLooksInvalid

Heading: a Funding or Recipient Organisation identifier that might not be valid

Messages:

This error notice is caused by organisation identifiers that are not valid for the register that they refer to in their prefix. For example, an identifier with the prefix 'GB-CHC' that contains an invalid charity number. Common causes are missing or extra digits, typos or incorrect values such as text appearing in this field. See our guidance on organisation identifiers for further help.

Method: Checks if any grants have org IDs for fundingOrg or recipientOrg that don't look correctly formatted for their respective registration agency (eg GB-CHC- not looking like a valid company number) Looks at the start of the ID - if it's GB-CHC- or GB-COH-, performs the relevant format check

Class name: OrganizationIdUnexpectedChars

Heading: a Funding or Recipient Organisation identifier that contains unexpected characters. If published this grant will not appear in GrantNav.

Messages:

The organisation identifier contains line breaks which cause 360Giving tools to break. The affected grants will not appear in 360Giving's tools unless the unexpected characters are removed. See our guidance on organisation identifiers for further help.

Method: Checks if any grants have org IDs for fundingOrg or recipientOrg that contain unexpected chars. Currently this is just line breaks.

Class name: GrantIdUnexpectedChars

Heading: a Grant Identifier that contains unexpected characters. If published this grant will not appear in GrantNav.

Messages:

The grant identifier contains line breaks which cause 360Giving tools to break. The affected grants will not appear in 360Giving's tools unless the unexpected characters are removed. See our guidance on grant identifiers for further help.

Method: Checks if any grant IDs contains unexpected chars. Currently this is just line breaks.

Class name: MoreThanOneFundingOrg

Heading: {} different funding organisation identifiers listed

Messages:

If you are only publishing for a single funder please review your Funding Org:Identifier field to see where multiple IDs have occurred. If you are publishing data about multiple funders and the number of funders is correct, then you can ignore this error notice.

Method: Checks if the file contains multiple FundingOrganisation:IDs

Class name: LooksLikeEmail

Heading: text that looks like an email address

Messages:

Your data contains an email address (or something that looks like one), which could constitute personal data if it is the email of an individual. The use and distribution of personal data is restricted by the Data Protection Act. You should ensure that any personal data is removed from your data prior to publishing it, or that it is only included with the knowledge and consent of the person to whom it refers.

Method: Checks if any grants contain text that looks like an email address The check looks for any number of alphanumerics, dots or hyphens, followed by an @ sign, followed by any number of alphanumerics, dots or hyphens, with a minimum of one dot after the @

Class name: ImpossibleDates

Heading: dates that don’t exist

Messages:

Your data contains dates that didn't, or won't, exist - such as the 31st of September, or the 29th of February in a year that's not a leap year. This error is commonly caused by typos during data entry.

Method: Check if dates supplied are plausible (eg no 31st Feb) or are plausible but didn't happen (eg 29th of Feb in a non-leap year).

Class name: PlannedStartDateBeforeEndDate

Heading: Planned Dates:Start Date entries that are after the corresponding Planned Dates:End Date

Messages:

This can happen when the fields are accidentally reversed, or if there is a typo in the date. This can also be caused by inconsistent date formatting when data was prepared using spreadsheet software.

Method: Check if Planned Dates:Start Date is after Planned Dates:End Date

Class name: ActualStartDateBeforeEndDate

Heading: Actual Dates:Start Date entries that are after the corresponding Actual Dates:End Date

Messages:

Method: Check if Actual Dates:Start Date is after Actual Dates:End Date'

Class name: FarFuturePlannedDates

Heading: Planned Dates that are over 12 years in the future

Messages:

Your data contains Planned Dates that are more than 12 years into the future. You can disregard this error notice if your data describes activities that run a long time into the future, but you should check for data entry errors if this isn't expected.

Method: Check if dates in plannedDates are > 12 years into the future, from the present day.

Class name: FarFutureActualDates

Heading: Actual Date entries that are over 5 years in the future

Messages:

Your data contains Actual Date entries that are more than 5 years into the future. You can disregard this error notice if your data describes activities far in the future, but you should check for data entry errors if this isn't expected.

Method: Check if dates in actualDates are > 5 years into the future, from the present day.

Class name: FarPastDates

Heading: dates that are over 25 years ago

Messages:

Your data contains dates that are more than 25 years ago. You can disregard this error notice if your data is about activities far in the past, but you should check for data entry errors if this isn't expected.

Method: Check if dates in awardDate, plannedDates, actualDates are > 25 years in the past, from the present day.

Class name: PostDatedAwardDates

Heading: Award Dates that are in the future

Messages:

Your data contains grant Award Dates in the future. This date is when the decision to award the grant was made so it would normally be in the past. This error can happen when there is a typo in the date, or the data includes grants that are not yet fully committed.

Method: Check if dates in awardDate is in the future, from the present day.

Class name: RecipientIndDEI

Heading: Recipient Ind and DEI information

Messages:

Your data contains grants to individuals which also have DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) information. You must not share any DEI data about individuals as this can make them personally identifiable when combined with other information in the grant.

Method: Check for grants with recipientIndividual, and DEI info (under "project").

Class name: GeoCodePostcode

Heading: Geographic Code that looks like a postcode

Messages:

Your data contains a Beneficiary Location:Geographic Code that looks like a postcode on grants to individuals. You must not share any postcodes for grants to individuals as this can make them personally identifiable when combined with other information in the grant.

Method: Check for grants with a beneficiaryLocation geoCode that looks like a postcode.

Class name: MultiFundingNamesForOrgId

Heading: introduced an additional Funding Org:Name for an existing Funding Org:Identifier

Messages:

Your data contains an organisation identifier with more than one funder name. Funding organisations are expected to have one name with a corresponding identifier, so please check your data to see why multiple funder names have occurred.

Method: Check for org ids with multiple funding organisation names.

Class name: MultiFundingOrgIdsForName

Heading: introduced an additional Funding Org:Identifier for an existing Funding Org:Name

Messages:

Your data contains a single funder name with more than one organisation identifier. Funding organisations are expected to have a consistent name with a corresponding identifier so please check your data to see why multiple identifiers have occurred.

Method: Check for multiple org ids with same funding organisation name.

Usefulness Checks

Class name: RecipientOrg360GPrefix

Heading: a Recipient Org:Identifier that starts '360G-'

Messages:

If a recipient has a charity or company number, or another official reference, this should be used to identify the organisation. Doing so makes it possible to see when funders give grants to the same recipient and allows grants data to be linked to official sources of organisation data. However some organisations, such as small unregistered groups, do not have an official reference number that can be used. In these cases the recipient organisation identifier should start ‘360G-‘ and use an identifier taken from the your internal systems. See our guidance on organisation identifiers for further help.

Method: Check if any grants are using RecipientOrg IDs that start 360G or 360g

Class name: FundingOrg360GPrefix

Heading: a Funding Org:Identifier that starts '360G-'

Messages:

Use an official reference, such as a charity or company number, to identify your funding organisation whenever possible. However, some funders do not have an official reference number that can be used. In these cases your funding organisation identifier should reuse your publisher prefix and therefore start with “360G-”. See our guidance on organisation identifiers for further help.

Method: Check if any grants are using FundingOrg IDs that start 360G or 360g

Class name: NoRecipientOrgCompanyCharityNumber

Heading: not have either a Recipient Org:Company Number or a Recipient Org:Charity Number

Messages:

Company and charity numbers are important for understanding grantmaking in the UK and including these separately makes it easier for users to match grants data with official sources of information about the recipients. If your grants are to organisations that don’t have UK Company or UK Charity numbers, you can ignore this notice.

Method: Checks if any grants don't have either a Recipient Org:Company Number or Recipient Org:Charity Number

Class name: IncompleteRecipientOrg

Heading: not have recipient organisation location information

Messages:

Recipient location data in the form of postcodes or geocodes provides a consistent way to describe a location. This data can be used to produce maps, such as the maps in 360Insights, showing the geographical distribution of funding and allows grants data to be looked at alongside official statistics, such as the Indices of multiple deprivation. See our guidance on location data for further help.

Method: Checks if any grants lack one of either Recipient Org:Postal Code or Recipient Org:Location:Geographic Code

Class name: NoGrantProgramme

Heading: not contain any Grant Programme fields

Messages:

Grant programme names help users to understand a funder’s different types of funding and priorities, and see how their grants vary across and within these. This information is especially useful when it refers to the communities, sectors, issues or places that are the focus of the programme. If your organisation does not have grant programmes you can ignore this notice.

Method: Checks if any grants have no Grant Programme fields

Class name: NoBeneficiaryLocation

Heading: not contain any beneficiary location fields

Messages:

Including beneficiary location data in the form of place names and geocodes helps users to understand which places your funding reaches. This data can be more accurate in showing where grants are going geographically, especially in cases where the recipient location is in a different place from the activity being funded. Beneficiary location geocodes enable grants data to be used by 360Giving tools, visualised in maps and linked to official statistics. See our guidance on location data for further help.

Method: Checks if any grants have no Beneficiary Location fields

Class name: TitleDescriptionSame

Heading: a title and a description that are the same

Messages:

Users may find that the data is less useful as they are unable to discover more about the grants. Consider including a more detailed description if you have one.

Method: Checks if any grants have the same text for Title and Description

Class name: TitleLength

Heading: a title that is longer than recommended

Messages:

Titles for grant activities should be under 140 characters long so that people can quickly understand the purpose of the grant.

Method: Checks if any grants have Titles longer than 140 characters

Class name: NoLastModified

Heading: not have Last Modified information

Messages:

Last Modified shows the date and time when information about a grant was last updated in your file. Including this information allows data users to see when changes have been made and reconcile differences between versions of your data.

Method: Check if any grants are missing Last Modified dates

Class name: NoDataSource

Heading: not have Data Source information

Messages:

Data Source is a web link pointing to the source of this data. It informs users about where information came from and is an important part of establishing trust in your data. This may be a link to an original 360Giving data file, a file from which the data was converted, or your organisation’s website.

Method: Checks if any grants are missing dataSource

Class name: RecipientIndWithoutToIndividualsDetails

Heading: Recipient individual grant with no To Individuals Details:Grant Purpose or To Individuals Details:Primary Grant Reason

Messages:

Your data contains grants to individuals, but does not include grant purpose or grant reason codes. Including this information will make your data more useful and contribute to analysis of collective impact and trends over time. See our guidance on grants to individuals codelists for further help.

Method: Check for grants with recipientIndividual, but no toIndividualsDetails.

Class name: PlannedDurationNotPresent

Heading: neither a planned duration or start and end dates found

Messages:

Including both Planned Dates:Start Date and Planned Dates:End Date or Planned Dates:Duration (months) show the duration of the project or funding. Including this data allows users to distinguish between short and longer-term grants and more accurately analyse trends over time.

Method: Checks for either a planned duration or start and end dates

Class name: BeneficiaryLocationNameButNoCode

Heading: Beneficiary location name found but no beneficiary location code

Messages:

Including geocodes that correspond with the beneficiary location names increases the usability of the data by providing a consistent way to identify these places. Beneficiary location geocodes enable grants data to be used in 360Giving tools, visualised in maps and linked to official statistics. See our guidance on location data for further help.

Method: Check grants beneficiary location data contains a name but no geo code data

Class name: BeneficiaryButNotRecipientGeoData

Heading: Beneficiary location data found but no Recipient Organisation location data

Messages:

Your data contains useful Beneficiary location data, which helps users understand which places your funding reaches. If available please consider also including Recipient Organisation location data, which helps users to understand where grant recipients are based. See our guidance on location data for further help.

Method: Check grants to see if there is beneficiary location data but not recipient location data

Class name: RecipientGeoDataButNoBeneficiary

Heading: Recipient Organisation location data found but no Beneficiary location data

Messages:

Your data contains useful Recipient Organisation location data which helps users to understand where grants recipients are based. If available, please consider also including beneficiary location data to provide further context about the places your funding reaches. See our guidance on location data for further help.

Method: Check grants to see if there is Recipient organisation location data but no Beneficiary location data