Practical Insights on MERL Tech

How to Help Community-Based mHealth Programs Collect High-Quality Data

How to Help Community-Based mHealth Programs Collect High-Quality Data

Published on: Feb 20 2017 by Guest Writer - Comments Off on How to Help Community-Based mHealth Programs Collect High-Quality Data
As health programs are relying more on decentralized models of care, mHealth has made it easier to collect, manage and store community-level health data. This data...
Are Messaging Apps and Emoji-Driven M&E a Game-Changing Innovation?

Are Messaging Apps and Emoji-Driven M&E a Game-Changing Innovation?

Published on: Jan 16 2017 by Jacob Korenblum - 3 Comments
Ten years ago, very few people mentioned cell phones and M&E in the same sentence. Phones were for phone calls, or for texting friends; monitoring surveys were...
4 Reasons for Large Scale SMS Text Surveys in Developing Countries

4 Reasons for Large Scale SMS Text Surveys in Developing Countries

Published on: Jan 09 2017 by Guest Writer - Comments Off on 4 Reasons for Large Scale SMS Text Surveys in Developing Countries
We know that SMS is a cheap, convenient, easy to adapt and automate, and non-intrusive way to collect data. But compared to face to face or phone interviews, text...
9 Considerations for Seamless Mobile MERL Solutions

9 Considerations for Seamless Mobile MERL Solutions

Published on: Jan 02 2017 by Praekelt Org - 1 Comment
With mHealth a fast growing component of health delivery systems, many organisations are developing mobile and digital solutions to tackle health problems around...
The Biased State of Gender Disaggregated M&E Data

The Biased State of Gender Disaggregated M&E Data

Published on: Dec 12 2016 by Guest Writer - Comments Off on The Biased State of Gender Disaggregated M&E Data
  Recently, we sent out a survey on international development experiences with gender data to help inform the MERL Tech conference. We asked whether international...
How to Apply Agile Principles to International Development M&E

How to Apply Agile Principles to International Development M&E

Published on: Dec 05 2016 by Guest Writer - 2 Comments
We all want to be good at our jobs. We want to accomplish the things we set out to do. If we aren’t accomplishing them, we want to figure out why or try new solutions. The...
Using Indirect Data for Direct MERL Impact

Using Indirect Data for Direct MERL Impact

Published on: Nov 28 2016 by Guest Writer - Comments Off on Using Indirect Data for Direct MERL Impact
The above example shows how secondary data across 100 hypothetical villages can be integrated so that signals appear within the noise of data, highlighting the...
How to Develop and Implement Responsible Data Policies

How to Develop and Implement Responsible Data Policies

Published on: Nov 21 2016 by Linda Raftree - Comments Off on How to Develop and Implement Responsible Data Policies
A friend reminded me at the MERL Tech Conference that a few years ago when we brought up the need for greater attention to privacy, security and ethics when using...
How Can We Better Manage Informal Feedback?

How Can We Better Manage Informal Feedback?

Published on: Nov 14 2016 by Guest Writer - Comments Off on How Can We Better Manage Informal Feedback?
Institutional deficits persistently obstruct our ability to ‘close the feedback loop.’ The most valuable community feedback is often given informally or face...
Rethinking Informed Consent in Digital Development

Rethinking Informed Consent in Digital Development

Published on: Nov 07 2016 by Linda Raftree - Comments Off on Rethinking Informed Consent in Digital Development
Most INGOs have not updated their consent forms and policies for many years, yet the growing use of technology in our work, for many different purposes, raises...