The design and implementation of an information management system for the RESILAC project

Due to demand from politicians and donors, a great deal of resources are allocated to carry out impact evaluations, and other processes, to establish what the concrete results of operations are. In volatile and complex operational contexts, approaches that aim to centralise information and visualise results, while a project is being implemented, are often minimised, particularly information management.

Information management is particularly useful, helping to monitor results and make agile decisions in humanitarian and development projects. In relation to particularly complex projects, such as RESILAC, which has a multi-country and multi-sector approach, and is run by an international consortium in collaboration with a large number of local partners, information management can be complex due to different organisational cultures, and information not being centralised or being of a varying nature, making it difficult to bring it together for strategic analysis.

If this dimension is not taken into account during the project design, implementing an information management system is particularly sensitive, difficult and costly. It is for this reason that CartONG is providing Groupe URD with support in designing and setting up an information management system that is adapted to the project.

During the pilot phase, the aim will be to design and implement the information management system in a limited number of project sites. The relevance of the mechanism will then be assessed before considering whether or not to extend it to the project as a whole. The partnership will specifically aim to:

• Provide a visual representation and improved understanding of the operational areas based on a territorial approach that is adapted to needs;
• Contribute to the steering and decision-making processes via consolidated visualisation tools and more fluid mechanisms for collecting and analysing data and making decisions;
• Facilitate the multi-sector approach and programme strategies by ensuring that data systems are interoperable between the different pillars.
• Improve coordination capacity and mechanisms, notably via improved sharing of data;
• Adopt communication tools that are relevant to the project stakeholders.