Introduction

How one reporting system solved challenge to report progress of every state of India for a UN Organization

A UN Organization working in the field of Children and Women welfare needed a system to get the updated reports. The reports will consist of the data of different departments they are working with, across all the states. M4R (Monitoring for Reporting) offers a reporting system to update the progress of all the departments working for Children and Women at one place for all the states across India.

• 250+  Indicators to be reported
• 29 States Reports to be monitored
• 100+ Reports to be consolidated at National Level

The Problem

No Standardization. No Status updates. Time Taking.

The current reports were maintained in the spreadsheet and hence it is difficult to maintain a track of them. The reports format was also not Standardize due to which confusions were created wit hin the updaters. As there are 29 States in India and each department have to report, Hundreds of excel sheets are to be maintained and consolidated at the National Level which creates a lot of problems for the Organization.

The Reports also has to go through various approvals before being finalized which took a lot of time. A proper track for each report was also not created and hence a approval could take months .

The Solution

Monitoring Report Updates and Integration.

M4R gives an option to the User to update the progress of an Outcome and its Indicators all at one place for a state. This reduces the time taken by a progress Updater to fill a report and send it for approval by approximately 70%.

Velocity suggested to give an option in the system to decide the approver and updater for each parameter. Due to this User will know for what parameter, they have to fill the report for.

M4R integrates the State reports automatically at National Level and the same is used for further usage at global platform.

Velocity suggested to standardize the reporting measurement for the Users to avoid confusion while filling the reports. Following Reporting measurements are given in the system: ‘Number’, ‘Percentage’, ‘Yes/No, ‘Numerator/Denominator’, ‘Narrative’ and ‘Stages/Sub-Stages’.

M4R Roll Out Process

1: Add Outcome/Output

Add Outcome/Output and its Indicator at the Admin Interface of the Application

2. Update Report

Progress Updater fills the report of their own Section and State as per permissions given to them.

3. Multi Level Approval

Each Report filled at State or National level has to go through various approvals before it is considered final. The system keeps track of each approval.

4. Report Consolidation

The Progress Update Reports filled at State Level is automatically consolidated at National Level.

5. Interactive Dashboard

Once the Reports are finalized, they are shown at the Dashboard. Where User can view all the reports directly.

How system keeps track of all the reports?

Each Report has a Status Tracker shown on the top of the Reporting Page. Once a User fills a report and passes the report to a Higher level, the Indicator light for that User turns green hence keeping a track on where the report is still pending for approval.

1. Add Outcome/Outputs

Add Outcome/Outputs/ Indicators and Sub-Indicators  from the Admin Panel of the Application.  All the Outcomes/Outputs will be listed on the listing page of each element.

2. Fill Report Form

The Progress Update Report filled by the User has a UI which is form like, so it seems as if the User is filling the report on a paper

3. View History

View History for each of the Outcome/ Output and their Indicators from the History Button. Also check the Current Status of the report from the Status Tracker.

4. View Other section Reports

User can filter the Data and view the reports for other States and sections accordingly. A user added in the system have the access to view all the reports.

Features Offered by M4R:

• Dashboard: M4R offers an interactive dashboard, where they can view how a state is performing for all the Outcomes, Outputs and Indicators for each section. User has the flexibility on the basis of parameters they want to view a report for.
• Easy and Simple:The M4R Application has a very simple and User friendly look which helps user to fill the Progress Update easily. The Progress Update is form like, so it seems as if the User is filling the report on a paper
• Status Tracker: The Status Tracker feature of the application helps in tracking the status of the Report approvals. Each Report filled at State or National level has to go through various approvals before it is considered final. The system keeps track of each approval.
• Automatic Consolidation: The reports are integrated at National Level Automatically from the state reports and only requires the narrative updates for the parameter to be filled.
• Standardization: M4R has standardized reporting system all the sections to avoid confusion while filling the reports. The Progress Updater has to fill the report in the same manner for all the sections and hence it can be used for easy comparison between each sections.
• Historical Data: User can view the historical data for an outcome/output and its indicators all at one place for all the years it was updated for. The Data will also be shown on the right hand side while they are filling a report.