Data science is changing business around the world. Can it also transform development? ACDI/VOCA is developing a technology stack, or set of software, to do just that. The Learning, Evaluation, and Analysis Platform (LEAP) integrates raw data, performance indicator tables, real-time visualizations, and intuitive dashboards into a streamlined system transforming how teams monitor their projects.
LEAP is designed, customized, and managed by ACDI/VOCA, with ownership decentralized to each project’s monitoring and evaluation team. With efficiency and traceability, project teams can make data-driven decisions about how to manage activities in near real time.
The platform standardizes reporting and reduces the burden on project teams to provide timely information. Using a relational web database, LEAP automatically captures and reports raw data. Project teams can compare projects using standardized queries and show processed data to top management.
ACDI/VOCA’s LEAP Platform
Explore the interactive infographic below to see how LEAP streamlines project management. Click on each item for more details.
Leveraging LEAP: Smartcards Transform Feed the Future Ghana ADVANCE Project
Before the Feed the Future Ghana Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE) project started using smartcard technology, low literacy rates and a lack of accurate data made it difficult to track participants or the results of agricultural and business trainings. The project, funded by USAID and implemented by ACDI/VOCA, introduced smartcards to farmers in northern Ghana and recently won a Digital Development Award for its innovative approach.
All ACDI/VOCA projects capture and store raw data, allowing project teams to create stratified sampling, control for variables, and draw causal relationships between project activities and outcomes. With smartcards, the USAID ADVANCE team monitors how trainings affect farmer performance. This allows for adaptive management in near real time.
Learn more about this data-driven approach during the United States Global Development Lab’s Tech Tuesday event on November 14 at 10:00 a.m. To join via webinar, please register here.
ACDI/VOCA believes that data is not just a reporting obligation; it’s an opportunity. And if we’re successful in spreading this mission, data quality and timeliness come with it. Starting next year, we’ll share global indicators from each of our projects.
Don’t miss our upcoming blog series, Data Digest, on the AV Voices Blog, where ACDI/VOCA’s Knowledge Management Unit breaks down what you need to know when working with data. Check out the first in the series, “Data Management 101.”
