Stories, ideas, and updates from DGers around the world

Elgeyo Marakwet County in Kenya recently launched their own Open Contracting Portal at the end of April. DG has worked closely with the county to understand the customizations needed in order to meet their needs and has added additional features to the system.

For as long as Development Gateway has specialized in data, we have also specialized in data visualizations. In that time, we have discovered the pitfalls and learned ways that data visualizations can increase data use. In this post, we look specifically at selecting the right type of visualization for the story you want to tell.

In 2020, we sought to answer a pivotal question: what are the good practices and lessons learned from the many existing women’s, children's, and adolescent’s health data visualization tools? In partnership with UNICEF, DG worked to identify good practices, as well as to determine any differences for emergency-focused data visualization tools, using COVID-19 as a test case.

DCDJ Data Fellows assigned to work with the National Ministry of Education in Côte d'Ivoire proposed new methods of data collection based on data collection officers’ needs. They introduced Tableau as a new way of visualizing data and creating dashboards, and conducted in-person introductory training sessions of the tools – working with partners to ensure they understood the benefits of the tool and can use them independently. 

In partnership with Africafertilizer.org, the International Fertilizer Development Center, the Ghana Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana Statistical Service, the Ghana Revenue Authority, Ghana Cocoa Board, and other partners, DG had a soft launch of the new Ghana fertilizer dashboard.

Linda Sanogo, a DCDJ Fellow in Côte d’Ivoire, worked with a community health facility to develop and train staff on a new database, as well as complete training on other IT systems. Because of Linda’s support, the facility has reduced the number of hours spent managing patient records, and opened up more time to ensure high-quality care. 

Across Abidjan, health facilities have varying levels of technical capacity, data infrastructure, and management practices to access patient health data. Through the DCDJ program, Fellow determined that a national health site performance dashboard would bring critical information together to better manage appointments, treatment plans, and patient information.

From the creation of survey tools to stakeholder mapping, one year into DG's partnership with TASAI, the Visualizing Information on Seeds Using Technology in Africa (VISTA) program has made great progress.

Blanchard Kablam, a DCDJ Fellow in Côte d’Ivoire, developed an app that digitizes the filing system of Houphouët-Boigny General Hospital. Through the app, the hospital reduced the number of hours spent tracking down patient records by 75% - and can see more patients per day, provide better service, and reduce patients categorized as interruption in treatment.

Abdoulaye Bagaya, a DCDJ Fellow in Côte d’Ivoire, developed an app for FSU COM Abobo Sagbe hospital during his 7-month internship placement. The app helps community counselors, healthcare assistants, and clinic counselors manage patient contact and treatment information.