New data collection tool launched in Sudan | African Development Bank

Collecting data on African Development Bank projects in Sudan will now be an easier and faster exercise following the bank’s launch of the Remote Appraisal, Supervision, Monitoring and Evaluation (RASME) initiative.

The RASME platform enables the remote collection of field data throughout the lifecycle of a project. It uses electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops to generate information in various digital formats. These include texts, images, figures and videos.

Launched in November 2022 in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, this new digital platform will make work easier for government officials, project implementation units, development partners and African Development Bank operational staff who often need to collect data on bank-funded projects.

The launch took place on the sidelines of a three-day training workshop for banking project stakeholders. The bank’s chief regional IT coordinator for East Africa, Francis Kohoue, coordinated the workshop, along with banking advisor Gaspard Dodo and IT officer Ibrahim Mohamed.

The bank’s country manager in Sudan, Mary Monyau, underlined the importance of RASME in portfolio management. She said: “Effective portfolio management, based on reliable, accessible and timely data, is fundamental to achieving project results. RASME is a key element in achieving the desired operational excellence in portfolio management.”

Monyau added that RASME would provide task managers, project coordinators, monitoring and evaluation units and partners in the field with a systematic methodology for collecting data that can be verified using geolocation and timestamps, securely stored and analyzed.

Many participants praised the timing of the training.

Sudanese Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning Director of International Financial Institutions, Alamin Abuelgasim Adam, said: “The RASME training comes at the right time when we are facing difficulties in gathering information due to insecurity in some parts of the country. The government of Sudan has embraced technology and will use the tool. The government can quickly obtain information about projects through this tool. The new tool improves monitoring and evaluation.”

Other participants said the tool would be useful in light of travel restrictions due to Covid-19. African Development Bank country program officer in Sudan, Maurice Wanyama, said: “RASME will be useful in any pandemic context, such as Covid-19, where travel to project sites may be restricted. The tool benefits projects in remote locations with security challenges, rough terrain or other logistical constraints.

Before RASME, project data was collected manually, requiring physical presence at project sites.

Suada Mohamed Elsayed, the monitoring and evaluation officer of the Bank-funded Education System and Skills Development project, described RASME as an easy-to-use tool that combines all data collection, analysis and reporting options.

The bank is currently implementing RASME in 14 African countries. It plans to expand the platform to other countries to support stakeholders in preparing projects more effectively, tracking progress, and openly and transparently evaluating their impact on beneficiary communities.