What have we learned about MIS and dashboards

What have we learned about MIS and dashboards and the people using them? Rolling out an organisation-wide MIS at Water. Aid Petri Autio Systems Advisor – Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting, Water. Aid MERL Tech: 20 th February 2017 www. wateraid. org

Context • • • Water. Aid UK has gone from having no MIS at all to a shared, online system covering all country programmes and regions Water. Aid has remade and harmonised the entirety of its planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting processes (PMER) What choices did we make in selecting, configuring and deploying the system, and why? www. wateraid. org

Our key drivers and decisions 2. 1. Have a shared version of the truth Project and programme managers in the driver’s seat - Bespoke / Saa. S - Online / Offline - Harmony / Flexibility - Simple / Comprehensive www. wateraid. org

Organisational MIS timeline Jun 2014 2012 -2014 Decision to go with specific Saa. S system Failed GPMIS project Apr 2017 -> Project Center pilot in Southern Africa Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting overhaul Many reasons: + 3 months + 9 months -Organisational From choosing the system to pilot going live Pilot running hesitancy for largescale projects - Failed regional MIS -Overambitious plan? + 16 months Setting up a dedicated team Minimum requirements created from the bottom-up System reconfigured to match new requirements including learning from pilot In-country rollout & capacity building Rolling phase + 6 months Trainer of trainers model Making sure minimum requirements are adhered to > 170 data fields simplified away - Can be stop-and-start but that’s ok. What is the right scope? - With an off-the-shelf solution it’s possible to launch a pilot rapidly - Learning from pilot phase proved crucial in simplifying and streamlining the system - Putting process first and system second was very beneficial. Also allows us to give carrots! www. wateraid. org

Organisational MIS overview Filtering key information to management A basic structure to build upon Plans and updates Country Plans and updates Programme Project Budgets brought over from integrated finance systems Programme Project Separate system for tracking detailed monitoring data Programme Results framework • Activities • Outputs • Outcomes Indicators Free to create • Impact your own www. wateraid. org

Takeaways + Technology comes second, needs to align with processes + Configuring an off-the-shelf solution is a viable route, can lead to a rapid pilot + Don’t cram everything into the MIS when you do have one + Not just business as usual but this time with a system on top – what can you let go of to make a new system alluring to users? www. wateraid. org