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Project Overview
World Vision oversaw the USAID funded, Stamping Out and Preventing Gender Based Violence (STOP GBV) program in Zambia (2014-2018). Working with the Zambian Central Statistics Office, the GBVIMS project served over 17,000 people yearly and provided services at one of 16 One Stop Centers to receive medical, psychological, legal, and police services. Data was collected using a standardized set of intake and follow up paper-based forms. Project Balance was engaged to establish an electronic data collection and reporting system.
Baseline Study: Stamping Out and Preventing Gender Based Violence (STOP GBV) in Zambia »
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Solution
Project Balance built a case-based Gender Based Violence Information Management System (GBVIMS) that collected data in 8 forms with a specific workflow. The system was designed to accommodate occasionally connected internet access, where data is collected on the local PC and uploaded to a central server when internet connectivity was available. Data reporting is available both at the local level and at the central server where data across facilities is aggregated for program reporting. Because of the nature of the information, field level encryption and user access to specific input forms is enforced. As well, facilities are registered into the system and Zambian ministry staff assigns user access for managed access control. Special focus was given to create a very easy installation process at the One Stop Centers so that new locations can easily be added without the need of IT support.
Technology
- GoLang
- PostgreSQL (Central Database for Reporting)
- SQLite (Facility/Local Database)
- Linux OS (Central Server)
Specialization
As there are no ICT resources at the One Stop Centers, it was imperative that the installation of the GBVIMS software had to be simple and require very few steps. Project Balance developed a one-click installation process where the user downloads an installation packages and clicks to initiate the installation. No additional server software or configuration was necessary. All locations successfully installed and began using the software within one week of TOT training.
In many cases, the One Stop Centers only had internet connectivity when they attached a dongle and initiated a internet session. The system was constantly polling for internet connectivity and upon being connected, automatically uploaded client records to the central server. This was a seamless process that correctly handled situations where connectivity was cut mid-upload.
Impact
The GBV paper-based data collection process is cumbersome and reporting was done using a series of Excel spreadsheets. The timeliness and quality of data was significantly better using the electronic system. The system was easy to install and the users were already familiar with the forms, so transitioning from paper to electronic data capture was fairly smooth. The maintenance and support of the system was successfully transitioned to the ICT personnel at the Central Statistics Office over a period of 6 months, post deployment.
