A lot hinges on data. In the development sector, data can guide decisions on which locations to start a program in, whether to continue, scale, or stop an existing program, whether a program needs a larger or a shorter implementation team, and which areas to dedicate financial resources to on a priority to name a few. Each decision impacts the lives of many individuals and communities directly or indirectly associated with the program. To ensure that programs serve their purpose most effectively, it is crucial that the data that guides such decisions is relevant and accurate.
How do we ensure that the data we collect is relevant?
While the sector has been increasingly witnessing shifts towards a more structured approach for monitoring and evaluation, a majority of the organisations are yet to adopt this. Before starting to collect data on the field, it is important to define the intended impact and outcomes of the program and cascade them into appropriate impact indicators and metrics to be tracked over time. Planning and management tools such as the Logical Framework Analysis and the Results Framework can be used to define these elements. By building on this further and including details such as the frequency of data collection, role holders, and details of the assessment tools to be used, the entire M&E plan for the program will be ready. Adhering to the M&E plan will ensure that the collected data is able to convey pertinent information for decision making.
How do we ensure that the data we collect is accurate?
Designing the most sophisticated of M&E plans will be in vain if the collected data does not reflect the reality. Data entry errors, misinterpretation of questions and answers, and inherent biases are some of the ways the accuracy of the collected data could be affected. Unfortunately, there is no panacea for preventing these issues, a multi-pronged approach is needed.
The survey tools must be carefully designed to prevent issues related to interpretation of the questions, translation to a local language, privacy concerns and sensitivity of the topic, and leading questions to name a few. In addition, the field researchers must be provided a comprehensive training that enables them to understand the questions in the survey tool, offers guidelines on conducting interviews (e.g. how to avoid common biases, when to probe and when to let go), describes the approach for recording responses correctly, and explains the workings of the digital data collection tool (if in use). Following these steps will help increase the probability of collecting more accurate data.
Once relevant data is collected and steps have been taken to ensure it is accurate to the greatest extent possible, it must be stored securely for current and future use. The data is ready to be analysed and should be used to guide future program-related decisions.
Giving importance to data collection, storage, and analysis as a part of program implementation is the future of programs. It is no longer an ancillary part of the process as ‘good’ data practices can have an overarching impact, not only on your organisations but on the lives of your beneficiaries.
