Shortening the Distance between Decision-Makers and Impact
What are the benefits of real-time data visualization?
We all know that timely, easy to understand data is critical for policymakers, donors, and development practitioners. Particularly in times of crisis, timely data is indispensable for response teams and donors to make informed decisions on the best use of resources. As COVID-19 continues to spread across Africa and Latin America, it is imperative to have insight into the needs of farmers to ensure food security for all. Lack of timely data harms projects as the delays create a loss of impact.
In addition to timeliness, making data easily understood and digestible is is equally important. This is because of the way the human brain processes information. Data visualization allows us to retain and process complex data more easily than reading reports or spreadsheets[1]. As many professionals are struggling to make sense of the vast information resources now available online, visualizations and dashboards that can communicate a story are the easiest and fastest way for our brains to receive large amounts of information.
In many projects, there is at least a three-month lag time between the project kick-off and the baseline survey (and if there is a midterm survey, it takes an equal amount of time). Furthermore, project decision-making is only as good as the survey reports written and suggestions made. Often nuances get lost due to lack of data visualization, and decisions are made on experience but without the value added by impact and evaluation metrics.
During this COVID-19 pandemic, the paucity of timely actionable data in the agricultural value chain in developing countries is more apparent as the international community looks for ways to support farmers and agribusinesses; Initially, decision making often was based on assumptions rather than data.
SCOPE Business Intelligence Platform
Building on SCOPEinsight’s development of a scalable cloud data collection platform[1], SCOPEinsight developed a user-friendly Business Intelligence Platform in partnership with industry leader Qlik.com. This allows donors, implementing partners, and decision-makers to access visually stunning data within 24 hours of local assessment. Every client can immediately benefit from the analysis pages requested and developed for others (SDG Impact, Access to Finance, Supply Chain Risk, Technical Assistance Needs, Commodity Sourcing, to name a few…).
Project results can be easily shared across partners to help align all stakeholders on common data-driven goals and spread insights beyond individual projects. Rather than relying on static spreadsheets and reports delivered after a project is completed, users can choose the analyses that interest them, connect directly with the source data, and export slide or images for use in their next presentation or proposal even before all data collection has been concluded.
Real-time Data Solutions
Insight-driven development approaches allow stakeholders to make more analytical decisions. With critical data, they can provide just the support that is needed and to those who need it most. For agribusinesses themselves, the fact-based analysis of information can be the source of their competitive advantage and help them build resilience. Even for a more novice agribusinesses in a rural area, this information enables the members to drive innovation, connect loose ends, and know which actions are favorable over others within a shorter timeframe (listen to the testimony here). Data enables these agribusinesses to manage core business operations most cost-effectively and (re-)act on a day-to-day basis to the many short and longer-term effects of COVID-19.
Curious to see how SCOPEinsight’s Business Intelligence Platform can help your decision-makers be more impactful? Contact us today.
[1] Ware, 2004, “Information Visualization – Perception for Design.”
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