About this webinar
In the last decade we have seen monitoring and evaluation teams embrace mobile tools for data collection to collect clean, reliable, timely data to use for reporting. Many M&E teams have transformed their data collection and analysis process using these tools and made huge strides in both the efficiency of the data collection process, and the quality of the data output.
Along the way, many mobile tools became hyper-focused on collecting data, and now need to ask the question: how can my mobile data collection tool help improve overall service delivery? A large part of this problem comes from fragmented teams: we know when program, M&E, and IT teams work in strict silos, they often create tools that serve only their own purposes.
We will hear from Susan Miesfeldt, from Maine Medical Center, who headed the Mobile Palliative Care Link (mPCL) project, which sought to create a web and mobile app to support outpatient symptom assessment and care coordination for late-stage cancer patients in Tanzania. The mPCL project married the need for high-quality, reliable data with the desire for an application that improved communication and coordination among healthcare workers, ultimately leading to better service delivery. Sue will talk about the various ways in which the mPCL team operated-- ensuring that on-the-ground program staff and usability experts worked closely with the research and data team-- to ensure all project goals were met.
This webinar will explore the value that we leave on the table when we fail to incorporate service delivery features into our mobile applications. We will discuss the types of features that are easily built into any application, which help frontline workers organize their work, ensure they are adhering to all the relevant guidelines and protocol, and give helpful hints and reminders as frontline workers go about their day -- all while collecting the data we need to report out on program indicators. We will also investigate ways that program, M&E, and IT teams can better collaborate to ensure that mobile tools not only collect clean, reliable data, but also help programs improve the quality of services they deliver to their beneficiaries.
