A monitoring and evaluation system in a research organization : a case of African Population and Health Research Center
Date
2011
Authors
Kiliswa, Matthew Shahi
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) has gone
through rapid expansion in terms of research focus, geographical scope,
budget, staff and funders over the last 10 years. As a result, it became
necessary to have an automated monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system to
capture, monitor, and measure results as well as the impact of the Center’s
work. Furthermore, an external review on the Center’s operations done in
2009 identified the need for a better projects and results tracking system and
mechanism. Therefore, the development of the system is a significant
milestone in the results based management of programs at APHRC. Initially,
the system was to be out-sourced. However, after an assessment of six
external Project Management Systems, the Center concluded that none was
context specific to her needs as a research organization. It was also going to
be expensive to procure and pay annual maintenance charges for the
selected system. With the support of a core team composed of the System
Developer, M&E Officer, Development Manager and Head of Finance and
Administration, APHRC made the decision to develop an in-house system.
The modules in the new automated M&E system are informed by the logic
model and metrics in the Center’s M&E framework. The seven modules
include: Grants, Project Progress Tracking and Reporting, Publications, Media
Appearances, Policy Engagement Events and Outcomes, Training and
Institutional Support, and Alumni Tracking.
Open source software such as APACHE HTTP server, PHP, MySQL and
other web design scripting languages such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
and Java Script have been used to design the system.
The system is now in use at APHRC. The system can be accessed via the
center’s Intranet.
Description
Partial fulfillment to the requirements of the award of Master of Science in Computer Based Information Systems (MSCIS)
Keywords
Monitoring and Evaluation, ICT, African Population and Health Research Center
Citation
S934.A35.K55 2011