4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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Initially, analysis and review of existing reports and methods for various development works was done to finalize the concept of new initiative. Deep R & D was done to develop concept of inspection and monitoring of Project Management Process through online work tracking and inspection of sanctioned work. Similar initiatives in corporate and international NGO like www.Akvo.org , www.Nextdrop.com , www.poimapper.com were also analysed.
Review meeting and Informal gathering were organized to take feedback and standardization of formats of mobile inspection of development works.Sensitization workshop for supervisor regarding importance of timeliness and reliable data collection and reporting were held.
Extensive training & capacity building of field workers was conducted to use touch screen device and mobile application by power point presentations, screen caste videos of mobile application and field training.
On a pilot basis, Inspection of 12489 houses sanctioned under Indira Awas Yojana (central government scheme) in last five years was undertaken in September 2013 through 40 teams to cover 1440 villages of both Sabarkantha and Aravalli district. It was found that more than one third of the works were actually completed but were not reported. They were immediately taken as completed and the last installment was disbursed.
The project scope was expanded to cover regular inspection of Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) works and then to all rural development work of District Panchayat and DRDA. In August,2014 the scope was further expanded to cover District Planning Board (Ayojan Mandal), Tribal Area Sub-Plan (TASP), State Government programmes.
The system is also used to monitor service quality at Primary health facility, Anganwadi centers, Primary schools etc. Effective coverage of 100% of all rural development works implemented in district is done.
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5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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Nagarajan M. IAS (District Development Officer):
1.Analyzed and reviewed reports of various development works that did not give proper answer about the quality of work and transparency in payment system. He developed the concept of inspection and monitoring of Project Management Process through online project tracking and inspection of sanctioned works.
2.Actively guided and implemented Government Process Re-engineering (GPR) efforts.
3.Increased participation of employees of all levels by conducting seminars and workshops. Created elearning content for employees to understand and operate the system.
4.Reduced usage of paper and implemented email and SMS as part of Governance process.
Director District Rural Development agency and Taluka Development Officers:
1.Conducted the initial pilot in a timely manner by quickly assembling inspection teams and working across departments and geographies with good co-ordination.
2.Review meeting and Informal gathering were organized to take feedback and standardization of formats of mobile inspection of development works.
Elected Representatives of District, Taluka and Village Local self Governments:
1.They were provided awareness and sensitization to the system.
2.They were taken as partners in implementation. This reduced resistance to adoption of the system.
3.The increase in monitoring and control was shown as a step for transparency and Good Governance and not for any vindictive measure.
4.Data on work execution and work status is provided to them on a proactive basis.
Assistant Engineers, Talati, Gram Sevak, Technical Assistant (MGNREGA), Cluster Co-ordinator (NBA):
1.They helped in standardization of formats and helped improve the mobile inspection system.
2.Participated actively in User Acceptance Testing
I-diagnosis Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Ahmedabad:
1.They developed the mobile application and have given continuous support for finalization of mobile application.
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6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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The project represents a low cost model for monitoring rural development works. A back of the envelop calculations show that the project costs are covered in six months. The service has been locked for 3 years. The per inspection cost at present is INR 150 which is already lower than the manual methods. With higher number of inspections across the project time frame of 3 years, the per inspection cost will be reduced drastically to INR 15 at the end of project life. The project is scalable as new device can be deployed anytime if needed.
Hardware (Tab. device) and mobile application expenses were done from Backward Region Grant Fund. The cost of each tab with software and services is fixed for three years and can be used for unlimited inspections without any extra cost. Tab and software licenses are permanent assets for the organization and any number of departments/schemes and works can be added for inspection. Hence over a period of 3 years the cost per inspection will go down drastically. Moreover latest technology like mobile and cloud have been used to keep overheads and running cost low in future. The data collected viz. Work status and GPS help in GIS based planning and decision making which cannot be quantified in money terms.
Existing government human resources are used. So no extra cost was done for human resources.Training and capacity building of all stakeholders were done by vendor free of cost.
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7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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Quantitative Impact:
Total 35,501 inspections of development works and Kachcha Makan (housing status) survey have been done up to 27/10/2014.
1. Kaccha Makan Survey (Housing status) – 6845
2. Toilet Survey – 1512
3. BNRGSK (Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendras or a Village Knowledge Resource Center) – 186
4. Awas – 15050
5. Toilet – 8792
6. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee act – 430
7. C.C Road – 897
8. Other Backward Region Grant Fund works – 1789
Qualitative Impact:
1. Up to date information is available for all works executed/under- execution in district.
2. Online monitoring of progress of all works is easy with district dashboard.
3. Duplicity of work has been avoided by mapping of GPS locations.
4. Control the Quality of work by analysis of Videos and Photos
5. Facility for generating all type of reports i.e. work wise, stage wise, village wise etc.
6. Facility of generating instant report and their comparison with previous report to check the pace of work has given real time and reliable data for evidence based decision making for district authority.
7. Evidence based payments are made by payment authority, which has reduced fraud and corruption in development works payments.
8. Inspection order by sms and e-mail has reduced use of papers and increased speed of inspection and report submission.
Overall the efficiency of the department has shot up. Importantly due to better inspection and monitoring, the funds are being better utilized now and that is visible in faster and focused development.
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8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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1.Dashboard monitoring is done by ordering authorities through various reports like total numbers of inspections done against total number of inspections assigned.
2.GIS mapping on dashboard to ensure real site inspection of development works.
3.SMS and e-mail system to ensure timely submission of inspection report.
4.Payment is made only after signed copy of inspection report is submitted.
5.Randomized review of inspection report to ensure qualitative data collection and photo tagging.
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9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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Obstacle-1:
Fear of adapting to new process.
Steps Taken to overcome-1:
Review meeting, feedback of stakeholders, informal information gathering and importance of need of change in current process management. WhatsApp group has also been made for feedback and views from various stakeholders.
Obstacle-2:
Fear of using an android mobile as means for administration
Steps Taken to overcome-2:
Informal meetings were held to know how to use mobile device. Mobile games were introduced to ensure that employees are comfortable with touch devices.
Obstacle-3:
Fear of use of mobile application
Steps Taken to overcome-3:
Power point presentations and screen cast videos of mobile application were made and delivered to council to understand how mobile application can be used
Obstacle-4:
Lack of data connectivity for submitting inspection report.
Steps Taken to overcome-4:
Data store facility is given in mobile application and data syncs whenever data connectivity is available.
Obstacle-5:
Some stakeholders have faced problem for English language.
Steps Taken to overcome-5:
Mobile application is also made in vernacular language (In our case it is "Gujarati").
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