SANMA Provincial Government Council (SPGC) is working to improve data collection and analysis practices for better planning and service delivery across the province.

This includes a three-day workshop held last week in which participants, comprising senior provincial departmental officers, reviewed the Sanma Community Working Committees’ goals, roles, and responsibilities. An important part of this process was to ensure that the revised Community Profiling Forms are relevant to the Provincial Government’s priority targeted areas for development under the Department of Local Authorities (DLA).

In her opening remarks at the workshop, Acting Deputy Director for DLA, Mrs. Michelle Jonas Trief, stated “community profiling is a tool commonly used by NGOs to better understand a geographical area to coordinate their activities. Community Profiling is like a mini census, and it is not only vital for planning but also for efficient responses during disasters.”

The Sanma Community Profile Working Committee has been appointed and mandated by SPGC through the Office of the Secretary General and has representation across key provincial departments. The workshop also included Area Administrators and Area Secretaries who are the front liners in collecting and compiling the required data.

“In 2016 the Department of Local Authorities developed a risk informed development planning guide which has become the planning framework for provinces and area councils and this document will be revised this year,” said Mrs Trief.

With this workshop and ongoing coaching SPGC is hoping to see an upgraded data collection system from a manual system to an electronic information management system that can assist with informing strategic decision-making and planning priorities, within the communities and their Area Councils. The information will also capture key baseline information that includes key productive and service sector development priorities.

“Since the development of Vanuatu’s National Sustainable Development Plan 2016 — 2030 there is now demand through DESPAC for tools to assist robust planning based on relevant information which is aligned to the People’s Plan 2030. Community profiling is a vital tool to align Community, Area Councils, Provincial plans with the NSDP 2016-2030. DLA needs a dynamic information system to store and retrieve data and a digitized electronic system is the way forward,” Mrs Trief explains.

Due to current ICT development initiatives and appetite for online centralized data management platforms, many government agencies and NGOs are becoming more adaptive and open to utilizing electronic data management systems to inform their strategic planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting. This is enabling management of work progress in a timely manner through robust and reliable information management tools such as the Kobo Toolbox online platform.

Through the support of the Vanuatu Skills Partnership and its Quality Systems team, the SPGC is now being supported to roll out this improved digitalised information management system, based on the success of data collection and reporting used by the provincial Skills Centres across the country.

With this new initiative, SPGC will be in a better position to provide proper, realistic, and more relevant information to ensure strategic planning in Community Action Plans, Community Development Priorities Summary, Area Council Business Plan, Area Council Development Plan (3 years) which will also be incorporated into the Provincial Strategic Development Plan (3 years).

The workshop was supported by the SPGC, the DLA, the Office of the Government’s Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Department, the Vanuatu National Statistics Office (VNSO), the Vanuatu Health Program (VPH) and the Sanma Skills Centre under the Ministry of Education and Training.

The Sanma Community Profile Working Committee has been appointed and mandated by SPGC through the Office of the Secretary General and has representation across key provincial departments. The workshop also included Area Administrators and Area Secretaries who are the front liners in collecting and compiling the required data.

“In 2016 the Department of Local Authorities developed a risk informed development planning guide which has become the planning framework for provinces and area councils and this document will be revised this year,” said Mrs Trief.

With this workshop and ongoing coaching SPGC is hoping to see an upgraded data collection system from a manual system to an electronic information management system that can assist with informing strategic decision-making and planning priorities, within the communities and their Area Councils. The information will also capture key baseline information that includes key productive and service sector development priorities.

“Since the development of Vanuatu’s National Sustainable Development Plan 2016 — 2030 there is now demand through DESPAC for tools to assist robust planning based on relevant information which is aligned to the People’s Plan 2030. Community profiling is a vital tool to align Community, Area Councils, Provincial plans with the NSDP 2016-2030. DLA needs a dynamic information system to store and retrieve data and a digitized electronic system is the way forward,” Mrs Trief explains.

Due to current ICT development initiatives and appetite for online centralized data management platforms, many government agencies and NGOs are becoming more adaptive and open to utilizing electronic data management systems to inform their strategic planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting. This is enabling management of work progress in a timely manner through robust and reliable information management tools such as the Kobo Toolbox online platform.

Through the support of the Vanuatu Skills Partnership and its Quality Systems team, the SPGC is now being supported to roll out this improved digitalised information management system, based on the success of data collection and reporting used by the provincial Skills Centres across the country.

With this new initiative, SPGC will be in a better position to provide proper, realistic, and more relevant information to ensure strategic planning in Community Action Plans, Community Development Priorities Summary, Area Council Business Plan, Area Council Development Plan (3 years) which will also be incorporated into the Provincial Strategic Development Plan (3 years).

The workshop was supported by the SPGC, the DLA, the Office of the Government’s Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Department, the Vanuatu National Statistics Office (VNSO), the Vanuatu Health Program (VPH) and the Sanma Skills Centre under the Ministry of Education and Training.

Source: Vanuatu Daily Post 

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