Monitoring & Evaluation and ICTs4D
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Pan-African Beans Research Alliance (PABRA) database By: Innocent Obilil & Rachel Muthoni -A
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Monitoring & Evaluation and ICTs4D
- 1. Topic: Monitoring & Evaluation and ICTs4D Innocent Obilil & Rachel Muthoni -A E-mail: i.obilil@cigar.org & r.muthoni@cigar.org Date: 14th -October 2015 Uganda, Kampala
- 2. Brief Introduction Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) PABRA – Context •Operates in over 29 countries •Has over 350 partners through partnerships of Farmers and rural communities Non-Government Organizations Traders and Private sector partners
- 3. First problem • Data management and Data sharing in PABRA was first conceptualized in 2009 • Conceptualization was as a result of Problems with data access & sharing Difficulty in knowing what other partners were doing due to the program spatial spread The need for stakeholders to access results in one place
- 4. The first solution 1. PABRA Online Database (http://database.pabra-africa.org/) Product Summary •Presents data on Breeding, ICM, Nutrition, Markets, Seed Systems & capacity building •Has data as far as 1965 was curated from archival records starting in 2009 for 5 years. •The process of data collecting is an ongoing activity •Has a front end for display of information to the public (Top figure) and the backend for authenticated users for data capture (Below figure) •Application is hosted in CIAT Cali infrastructure (Oracle 11g database &Java front end) and modification access is secured through a VPN connection
- 5. Second problem • The Database required to be updated regularly for it to remain meaningful to implementing partners in the different countries where PABRA projects are based • There was need to develop a product that can be used capture from all the partners that we work with thus the introduction of the IPTT
- 6. Second Solution 2. Indicator Performance Tracking Template (IPTT) Product Summary •The excel file has a sheet for each PABRA theme, each sheet has variables that ultimately address the PABRA indicators •Copies of the IPTT is regularly sent by email to respective country coordinators who fill and send back. •Data that may need clarification is highlighted (See figure) and sent back to the coordinator for clarification until its deemed correct. •Data Collected using the IPTT is later captured into the PABRA database using the back end functionality for open access
- 7. Third set of problem(s) These set of problems mainly resulted from the experience of using the IPTT, some of these include •Delays in Data reaching us •Errors in data collected •Repeated entries
- 8. Third Product 3. Online Data Collection Tool (ODCT) – (https://odct.pabra-africa.org/) Product Summary •Online based and accessed via an active internet connection •Structured according to the PABRA themes with digitized data capture forms with validation functionality •Has export to excel functionality, exported data is straight uploaded to the PABRA database •Online Data approval stages from data entrant -> Supervisor-> country coordinator before uploaded to database •Development Platform ( front end- HTML, CSS & JavaScript, Middle end-PHP and Backend- MySQL open source database
- 9. Summary of Product Development # Product Description 2 PABRA Database • Launched in 2014 guided by the need for open access • Continuously being modified to cater for changing demands • Capture of new records is a continuous process 3 Indicator Performance Tracking Template (IPTT) • Has over time been modified to include validation of data columns 4 Online Data Collection Tool (ODCT) • Developed in 2015 using in house resources • Expect to launch in 2016 after carrying out training of partners • The development of user manuals is done a waiting pre-testing for final modifications 5 Mobile version of the ODCT • We intend to have a version of the ODCT that is scalable to mobile devises in 2016.- May be in 2016.
- 10. Use of the Products by stakeholders • The IPTT is the most widely used product by all country partner (filled in about twice a year) • ODCT has been an effort for 2015 and will be launched in 2016 • Access of the PABRA database shows a considerable increase in number of people visiting
- 11. What we have learnt • The product needs to be responsive to the stakeholders • Being web-based, ICT competence levels of end user have to be considered in all development stages • Ensure that the data collected is sharable across many projects • Use of complementary approach in training hands on training and virtual media • Hands on training as opposed to virtual training will deliver high rates of usability • There is need to consider the varying levels of ICT infrastructure development across the countries that our partners work in- Internet penetration has an impact on the usage of the product • Use of various tools to broaden the usage and also create awareness of the existence of the tool
- 12. Questions for further Research The need to embrace mobile data collection products to supplement existing efforts- What development platform (Open source such as ODK vs Customized applications) will provide the most efficient result?
Notes de l'éditeur
- The work i am about to present occurs in the PABRA program. A program that operates in 29 countries. In this región, PABRA Works with over 350 implementing partners. I am based in Uganda. Ciat scientists working in the PABRA Program are based in kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi---hover cursor in the identified countries
- Data-management and data-sharing in PABRA was first conceptualized in 2009. As a result of problems that the program was experiencing in that time: These were: Problems with data access and data sharing – the program had more partners at the time over 450 in total. These were clustered into four implementation domains namely: breeding, seed systems, crop management technology and enabling rural innovations. Teams in these domains needed to access data generated in the other domains. The spatial spread of the program meant that it was difficult to know what some partners were doing. Partners met once in a year in a regional forum. It was difficult to access data in the course of the year. A system was not in place to do this. The stakeholders in the program were keen to access the results of the program in one place, a centralized system was therefore required.
- The solution to this problem was the PABRA database. Country data is presented for the following domains: breeding (697), Seed Systems (2369) ,ICM (4586), Nutrition (Modification in progress), Markets (720) and capacity building (7251) Data was curated from archival records dating as far back as 1965. The process of curating took 5 years. Data was validated with country partners. The database currently holds over 15,623 records that cover 29 countries. Records are continuously added.
- The PABRA database created an opportunity to have all the data in one single location, However there was need to have a mechanism that going forward could be used to capture data from the partners we work with
- The second set of problems that we experienced concerns data capture. The database had to be sustained with new data, for it to remain valid and useful to stakeholders. These were: The existing system at the time was an excel based template that was circulated to all countries calling on all to complete the excel template and submit it at a stated date and month in the year. The Problems that we experienced were: Delays in data reaching us Changes to the excel template Errors in the data Repeated entries It took so long to clean the data, enter it manually in the database and do analysis We have improved its functionality since its first launch, mainly to ensure it is a semi- automated system The IPTT is based on an excel platform We froze/locked ( what's the best name) fields and columns to minimize errors
- The third set of problems that we experienced concerns data capture. The existing system at the time the IPTT that involved circulating to all countries by email and where need be follow up with phone calls presented a new set of problems and these included Delays in data reaching us as most of the correspondence were by email Changes to the excel template Errors in the data due to limited capability of the IPTT to validate columns on all types of data leading to repeated entries and wrong data types in some columns The above problems coupled with the need to manually capture data into the database resulted into the development of the ODCT.
- The ODCT builds on the structure of the IPTT and this was aimed at ensuring that the progress from IPTT to ODCT is seamless as most of the users of the IPTT will be familiar with the variables. This product is for country members who are more fluent in ICT use. While those with basic ICT skills continue to use the IPTT the more advanced partners will graduate to use the ODCT starting from 2016. The ODCT has been developed using open source technology and using internal expertise and resources and hosted on CIAT infrastructure
- In summary: We launched the PABRA database in 2014, we developed a semi automated database capture product which we call the IPTT, this is an excel based platform. And most recently we have developed the ODCT which is a fully automated data capture platform for use by the more advanced users in our programs.
- The use of the various products has over the last 5 years been appreciated. The database as of this year April had 748 page views of which 54.4% are returning visitors and 45.6% new visitors All the country coordinators that PABRA works with in each of the respective countries have been able to use the IPTT in data collection. The ODCT has not been used yet as we hope to launch it in 2016. Most of the country coordinators have had a chance to be introduced to this tool though they have not been trained to use it.
- Lessons learnt: Products need to be responsive to demands of stakeholders in a project, program or institution. In order to ensure use, validity and sustainability of the product its important to conceptualize the product with the stakeholders. Development has to take into consideration language of stakeholders Training and mentoring of users, using both virtual trainings and face to face encounters are important Provide a time/period for uptake before you can establish that the products are being used. Align the products to the activities and results of the project, program- this promotes likelihoood of use. Ensure that the data is usable across several projects, and seek to cost share the data-management and sharing across projects that are benefitting from the data. Be generous with the database link in order to broaden use and referencing of the database Acknowledge the stakeholders involved in the conceptualization and in the data-capture, as an incentive to future data capture efforts. Link data-management sites to data analysis platforms, and lesson learning platforms– this is our next move
- Our products are developed to run on the computers. We are looking into having the ODCT supported by mobile data devices as a means to enhance data capture and sharing. We have for along time struggled to set up an analysis platform which draws data from the database