Forum Concept Note

This is the third in a series of discussions following the publication of the "ICT in Agriculture" Sourcebook, responding to the growing demand for knowledge on how to use ICT to improve agricultural productivity and raise smallholder incomes. Earlier discussions and summaries can be found at http://www.e-agriculture.org/ict-agriculture-sourcebook

e-FORUM 3:  ICT for Data Collection and Monitoring and Evaluation. June 11- 22, 2012

Data collection and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) have always been integral parts of development work. Collecting data on citizens’ livelihoods helps public service providers and civil society organizations determine which groups need the most assistance, and how best to provide it. Poverty, production, and climate data (among other types) are critical to targeting support to the poorest farmers and to investing in physical and financial infrastructure (like roads, markets, and banks) to boost smallholder production and income. 

However, these tasks are painstaking. Today, it takes millions of dollars and months (sometimes years) to conduct nationally representative household surveys. Beyond expense and time, these surveys (along with those engineered and deployed by development organizations) require strong management skills, qualified enumerators, and systematic design and implementation strategies. Using paper and pen as the primary tools, data collection efforts include additional steps such as printing and transporting files, transferring the written data to a digital form, and cleaning the data and validating for human error. Using basic software or irregular formats to create reports for M&E can result in tardiness, errors, and reduce the opportunities for accurate project assessment. The conventional options for disseminating results to local project leaders or communities involved in assistance programs are often ineffective: paper reports often reach these stakeholders late (or never) and only inform select participants.

The potential of information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve data collection and M&E activities is striking. Mobile phones, new platforms and repositories, and even software for reporting have reduced costs and time, improved data validity, and increased the ease of implementation. Some studies are showing these benefits. In 2010, nine data collectors used EpiSurveyor to interview beneficiaries in 25 municipalities in a secondary survey (the first one, conducted in 2009, used paper and pen) in a World Bank Conditional Cash Transfer project in Guatemala. Digitization cut the cost of an interview by 71 percent, increased the sample size from 200 to 700 beneficiaries, and reduced the individual interview time by 3.6 percent (World Bank 2011). When a team from Catholic Relief Services used iformbuilder to register and distribute vouchers to beneficiaries in a seed fair in Central African Republic, they saved over a one week prep time and reduced the personnel needed by half.

The ICT in Agriculture e-Sourcebook touches on these tools in a number of modules. Module 6 on Agriculture Innovation Systems, Module 3 on Mobile Phones, and Module 8 on Farmers Organizations describe how some of these tools have been used.

 The following videos are taken from only a few of the many digitized data collection and M&E service providers:

 This forum explores two main topics:

1) Tools and issues in data collection and
2) Post-data collection—repositories, analytics, and dissemination in monitoring and evaluation. The forum will open the discussion to challenges related to using these technologies and their solutions as well.

  Subject Matter Experts:

• Or Dashevsky, Solution Architect, Catholic Relief Services
• Takayuki Hagiwara, Natural Resources Management Officer, FAO
• Sean Krepp, Uganda Country Director & Community Knowledge Worker. Program Manager, Grameen Foundation
  
• Chris Reichart, CBO, Zerion Software Inc. and creator of iformbuilder
• Laura Walker Hudson, CEO, FrontlineSMS

  The forum will cover the following questions:

1. Collecting data the conventional way (through paper and pen) is time-consuming, costly, and difficult to manage. However, digitization and increases in connectivity have created opportunities to improve these processes. What types of ICT applications or devices are available for collecting agricultural, socio-economic, or M&E data in remote locations? How do you use them?
2. What are some of the main challenges with tools used for these purposes? Consider challenges such as validation and data integrity, privacy and security, technical and human capacity issues, trust, storage, and connectivity, among others.

1. Monitoring and evaluation efforts require analytics, not only data. What backend tools are available and necessary to process and analyze data once it is received?
2. Also important to M&E, data and analytical results should return to local staff, implementers, and other relevant stakeholders. What types of ICT can be used to return these results or data (like repositories) to the necessary stakeholders?
3. What challenges are associated with using ICT for analytics and dissemination of results’ data/reports? Consider challenges such as technical and institutional capacity, interoperability, costs, among others.