Using ICT to improve your

monitoring & evaluation

A workbook to help you develop

an effective ICT system

Background to this workbook

This workbook was commissioned by the
Performance Hub, which is a partnership of
leading infrastructure organisations working
to help third sector organisations charities,
voluntary organisations, community groups
and social enterprises to achieve their
mission more effectively.
Acknowledgments
The workbook was written by Dr Simon
Davey, Diana Parkinson and Avan Wadia.
We would like to thank the following
people for their help and input:
Trevor Burgess, Connections
Communications Centre

A number of sources were also helpful

in writing this workbook, in particular the
wealth of information contained in:
the ICT Hubs website www.icthub.org.uk
the ICT Hubs Guide to Managing ICT in
the Voluntary and Community Sector
the Techsoup website www.techsoup.org.
For information on where to find these
sources, see the Help and support section
on page 66.
The Performance Hub
The Performance Hub is funded by
Capacitybuilders through the ChangeUp
programme.

Ryan Cartwright
Jake Eliot, Performance Hub
Ashley Gamble, Performance Hub
Massimo Giannuzzi, ITsorted
Alex Grealis
Phil Jew, AdviceUK
Russ McLean
Stephen Nash, Prisoners Abroad
Matt Parker, Lamplight Database
Systems Limited
Rod Parker, North Warwickshire CVS
Kim Willson
Tim Wilson, Performance Hub
Pam Wright.

The Performance Hub is a partnership.

Charities Evaluation Services (CES) is the
accountable body. CES and the National
Council for Voluntary Organisations
(NCVO) are joint lead partners.
See www.performancehub.org.uk if you
would like more information on the work
of the Performance Hub.

Charities Evaluation Services 2008

ISBN 978-0-9555404-4-8
Published by the Performance Hub
Production management by Nicky Coward
and Tim Wilson
Edited by Helen Martins (Portfolio Publishing)
Designed by Positive2
Printed by Park Lane Press
Cover photograph Jacky Chapman

7
8

Company limited by guarantee

Registered office 4 Coldbath Square,
London EC1R 5HL
Registered in England and Wales
number 2510318
Registered charity number 803602

Throughout this workbook we make

reference to typical systems such as
Microsoft Access (a database system) and
Excel (a spreadsheet). Both of these are
Microsoft products which typically run on
Microsoft Windows. Access wont work on
Macintosh (Apple Mac) or Linux systems
and Excel wont work on Linux either. If
you use a Mac, Filemaker Pro is a good
alternative to Access while Open Office has
a database system and spreadsheet which
work on Linux, Macintosh and Windows.

Performance Hub
4 Coldbath Square
London EC1R 5HL
0800 652 5787
Textphone 0800 01 88 111 (minicom)
helpline@performancehub.org.uk
www.performancehub.org.uk

Charities Evaluation Services
4 Coldbath Square
London EC1R 5HL
020 7713 5722
enquiries@ces-vol.org.uk
www.ces-vol.org.uk

There are a number of terms and acronyms

that appear throughout this workbook, here
is a selection:
Monitoring and evaluation (M&E)
the process of collecting and recording
information in a routine and systematic
way to check progress against plans and
then using that information to judge
the performance of an organisation or
project.
Information and communications
technology (ICT) using computer
hardware, software and communications
to manage and process information.
ICT infrastructure everything that
supports your computer system (in
other words, your computer equipment
and how it connects up, as well as the
programmes and services it is based on).
Database a computer system that
stores and organises information
essentially an electronic filing system. The
best known database package is Microsoft
Access.
User the person using the computer
system.
Client the beneficiary, customer or
user of an organisation or project.

Unless otherwise indicated, no part of this

publication may be stored in a retrievable
system or reproduced in any form without
prior written permission from CES. CES will
give sympathetic consideration to requests
from small organisations for permission
to reproduce this publication in whole
or in part but terms upon which such
reproduction may be permitted will remain
at CES discretion.

The language in this workbook

Copyright

For a full Glossary see section 8.

Inside this workbook

Introduction

Who is this workbook for?

How can this workbook help you?
How to use this workbook

6
7
7

1. How can ICT help your monitoring

and evaluation?

What is monitoring and evaluation?

How can using ICT improve your M&E?
Sometimes you dont need ICT at all
Key challenges about using ICT
How do you decide whether you need an ICT solution?

9
9
10
11
12

2. Are you ready?

16

Is your organisation ready?

M&E readiness
ICT readiness

16
17
19

3. Matching ICT to your monitoring

and evaluation

21

Responding to different needs

Different computer software options

21
22

4. Now you know what you want your system

to do, how do you move forward?

25

Before you start

Step 1: Define the problem/need
Step 2: Ensure you have support
Step 3: Check awareness
Step 4: Set up a project team
Step 5: Plan and timetable
Step 6: Assess your current situation and define your expectations
of the new system
Step 7: Work out the detailed requirements for your new system
Step 8: Consider interim solutions
Step 9: Research
Step 10: Match against your requirements
Step 11: Cost, budget and fundraise
Step 12: Implementation
Step 13: Test
Step 14: Transfer your existing data
Step 15: Train and support your staff
Step 16: Review and adjust
Step 17: Sign-off

27
27
27
28
28
30
33
34
39
41
42
42
43
43
44
46
47
48

50

Option
Option
Option
Option

50
54
57
60

1:
2:
3:
4:

Improving your existing system

Developing something new in-house
Buying an off-the-shelf system
Commissioning someone to develop something new for you

7. Help and support

66

Further reading
Sources of advice and help
Other help

66
67
68

8. Glossary

69

9. Checklist

72

Appendix 1
Example evaluation framework

75

Appendix 2
Worksheet Weighing up the advantages and disadvantages
of the different options

76

64
64
64
65
65

Reporting to your funders and partners

Contributing to national, regional or local statistics
Internal evaluation
Maintaining the system
Developing the system

64

6. Getting the most from your new system

5. What are the different ways of developing

ICT for your monitoring and evaluation?

7
8
9

Case study
From Struggling to Super Effective
how using your ICT systems badly
or well affects your monitoring and
evaluation
Struggling UK is a medium-sized
organisation working with a range of
different client groups and offering a
number of different services. It reports
to various funders and has developed ad
hoc ways to pull together the paper-based
information for these reports; for example,
recording the names of those attending
an event in a diary and counting these up
manually. It hasnt invested time or money
to plan its monitoring and evaluation
systems or to develop ICT plans and
improve ICT infrastructure and software
because the organisation feels it would be
expensive.
In order to satisfy funders increased
interest in outcomes, staff have to read
through client files in order to find
relevant bits of information to report. One
team has developed a Microsoft Access
database; however, this is only accessible
to members of the team who work in
one specific office. Other members of the
same team based in other offices cannot
access it. The computer system is not
backed-up or properly maintained and
crashes frequently. Staff have not been
trained in how to carry out basic tasks on
the computer such as sending emails with
attachments. The organisation is spread
across two different locations and staff
have to copy information onto disk at one
office in order to bring it to the other
office.

The lack of ICT and systems investment

means information cant be shared easily,
progress cant be tracked effectively, and
reporting to funders costs a lot of time
and effort. Its all a bit hopeless
Super Effective is an organisation that
has been working to improve its systems
for quite some time, developing an ICT
strategy, building and supporting ICT
infrastructure, and developing an ICT
system for monitoring and evaluation.
The organisation involved staff teams and
service users, and the trustees supported
them with resources and provided
encouragement. The organisation has now
reached what has been described as the
holy grail in monitoring and evaluation
terms.
At the press of a button:
The director can view reports on
organisational outputs and outcomes or
service-specific ones.
Managers of the individual teams can
view their own reports. For example,
they can look at the size of their teams
caseloads, types of cases taken on, length
of time taken to deal with clients and so
on. They can produce reports for the
different funders of their service and
for the director and senior management
team.
Frontline staff can access case notes and
records, including those written by other
colleagues working with the same client
or produced if they were away. They can
set reminders for their work. They can
produce reports for their manager. They
can produce individual client progress
reports to use in key work sessions with
clients.
Clients can see how they have
progressed since they came to the
organisation and can be helped to see
how to improve further.

1
3

Learning points
Holding back on spending on your ICT
can end up costing significantly more in
staff time and resources.
ICT can change the way you work
(for example, managers viewing their

own reports), the speed at which

your organisation can react to change
(director has up-to-the-minute access
to organisational outputs and outcomes)
and offer added value services to clients
(they can see their own progress and
use that for further development).
Investing time and effort in well planned,
meaningful ICT systems is just that an
investment.
If youre going to use ICT, make sure
you use it well half measures dont
work.
Any organisation can move from
struggling to effective with the right
investment and the right tools.

Overall, Super Effective is an effective,

well managed, forward planning
organisation able to record its work
with ease, share information internally
and externally as appropriate, keep its
information safe and secure, satisfy its
funders reporting requirements and make
use of the information it gathers to inform
its service development.

4
5
6
7
8
9

Introduction
This workbook covers the steps and issues you need to
consider to develop appropriate computer systems that will
help you monitor and evaluate your work. Your computer
systems (which we refer to as ICT systems or information
and communications technology systems) can make a
huge difference to the effectiveness of your monitoring and
evaluation. This workbook is here to help.
Who is this workbook for?
We have written this workbook for any
organisation that has begun to monitor
and evaluate its work and is thinking about
using an ICT system to store and use the
information that it is collecting. It will also
be relevant to organisations that have

Our admin worker

cant cope with all the
forms we are giving her
because the system keeps
crashing.

Were collecting
so much information
now but we dont
know what to do
with it.

A volunteer set up a
database for us ages ago
and has now left. We cant
work out how to add any
new forms to it.

already developed an ICT-based system

for managing their monitoring data but are
finding that it is not meeting their needs
adequately.
You may recognise some of the following
problems:

Some of our staff are

using one system and some
are using another. We cant
link up our information and
they often end up putting the
information in
two places.

We have to go
through all our case files
manually every time we
need to produce a report
for our funders.

How can this workbook

help you?

looks at how ICT can be used to

support and improve your monitoring
and evaluation and the main advantages
and disadvantages of using ICT for M&E.
Section 2
discusses what you need to have in
place once you have decided you want
to go ahead and develop ICT for your
monitoring and evaluation.
Section 3

helps you to consider what type of ICT

will best meet your needs.
Section 4
takes you through the practical steps
that will enable your organisation
to identify and implement the best
ICT solution for its monitoring and
evaluation needs.

In the first instance, it may be easier to

browse through the workbook quickly
to familiarise yourself with the different
sections and what they cover. You can then
go through each section in more detail
depending on which stage your organisation

Section 6

focuses on how to make the best use of
your system, once it is up and running.

Section 5

explores the different options for
developing your ICT.

The workbook has six main sections.

These take you through the different
stages involved in assessing your needs
and developing your ICT to enhance your
organisations monitoring and evaluation.

How to use this workbook

Section 1

You can find more information on

how to set up your monitoring and
evaluation:
on the Assess progress pages of
the Performance Hubs website at
www.performancehub.org.uk
from Charities Evaluation Services
at www.ces-vol.org.uk

The different sections

This workbook does not take you through

the process of developing your monitoring
and evaluation system. It assumes that
you have already established this and have
identified what information you need to
collect and how to collect it.

This workbook provides a step-bystep guide to developing your ICT for

monitoring, evaluating and reporting on
your work. In particular, this workbook will
help you to:
review your current resources
carry out an assessment of your
organisations needs
find the best solution for developing your
ICT to support your monitoring and
evaluation processes
implement the system within your
organisation
use the system effectively.

is starting from. You neednt necessarily read

the workbook from cover to cover: you can
just dip in and out as appropriate.

Case examples
The workbook uses a range of real-life
case studies to illustrate key points and to
provide examples of the different ways that
other organisations have gone through this
process and the issues they have had to
address.
Worksheets
You will also find a number of worksheets
that you can use as you make your way
through the workbook. These are designed
to help you identify and address the issues
that your organisation will need to tackle
as you develop your ICT to support and
improve your monitoring and evaluation
processes.
Signposting
Wherever possible, the workbook signposts
you to other information that you may find
helpful. Weve also added specific pointers
to help you through the workbook and tips
to highlight useful suggestions, particularly
for those who are new to this area.
Other features to note
You may also like to note the following:
There is a flowchart on page 25 that
summarises the different stages that you
need to think about when developing

your ICT to support your monitoring

and evaluation. We have also provided
an online flowchart which is available on
www.ces-vol.org.uk
You can find information about further
help and support in section 7.
There is a full glossary in section 8.
You will find a checklist of the main issues
you will need to address in the process
of developing your ICT for your M&E in
section 9.

Dont panic!
Above all, this workbook aims to
provide you with a user-friendly,
non-technical guide that will help
you make the most of ICT when
monitoring and evaluating your
work. It may look a bit daunting so
you may find it easier to skim read
the workbook first and then work
through it section by section over a
period of time. Bear in mind that the
whole process may take you many
months and you can use the different
sections of the workbook as they
become relevant to you.

1. How can ICT help your

monitoring and evaluation?

What is monitoring and

evaluation?

7
8

Most organisations find it valuable to

use ICT to help them collect, store and
process their monitoring information. This is
because:
M&E involves gathering and assessing
lots of information collation, storage
and manipulation of paper data can be a
challenge

How can using ICT improve

your M&E?

Evaluation is the process of drawing

together this information to give you an
overall picture of how your organisation or
project is performing. This enables you to
form conclusions about your work, reflect
on what you have learnt and share your
findings with others.

Using ICT is also helpful because:

all your data can be stored in a single
system, making it easy to access
your information can be easily backed-up
theres less risk of losing information if
your system crashes
you can respond to enquiries quickly
because all records are searchable
staff and volunteers can input and access
data simultaneously
information can be inputted and accessed
from different locations if you have a
computer network or a web-based
system
it can help you to process huge amounts
of data and deal with repetitive and timeconsuming processing, calculations and
searches.

The foundation of any evaluation a good

monitoring system the information you
collect about your work. All organisations
keep records and notes, and discuss
what they are doing. This simple checking
becomes monitoring when information
is collected routinely and systematically
against a plan. The information might be
about activities or services, clients, or about
external factors affecting the organisation or
project.

ICT enables different people to access

different information and use it in different
ways e.g. the same information can
be used by managers to give them
management data and by project workers
to provide them with detailed analysis of
their work
it can enable you to cross-reference and
link different pieces of information which
makes it easier to understand patterns and
trends
it can also help you produce standard
reports which makes reporting much
easier.

Monitoring and evaluation is the process of

collecting information about your services
and their outcomes and making judgments
based on that information. It enables you
to assess and report on the progress and
value of your work and is a vital tool for the
planning and management process.

This section will help you understand how ICT can

be used to support and improve your monitoring
and evaluation as well as the main advantages and
disadvantages of using ICT for M&E.

ICT can be used to support the different processes involved in monitoring

and evaluation:
The process of M&E

How ICT can help

Agreeing your aims, objectives,

outcomes and outputs

Although most of this information can be

written in a document, some organisations
find it helpful to use a spreadsheet to
set out a framework for their M&E. See
Appendix 1 for an example evaluation
framework.

Setting indicators to measure your

outcomes and outputs

Collecting information on
your indicators

Analysing the information on

your indicators

Reporting and sharing

your information

The level and type of ICT that you need

for your M&E will be determined by your
needs. Some organisations only need a
spreadsheet or a simple database to store
and manage their information. Other
organisations need to develop a much
more complex system (especially if they
have staff in different locations or need to
report to a range of funders in different
ways).
However, you shouldnt assume that you
actually need ICT

Sometimes you dont need

ICT at all
All organisations need to develop some
kind of system for storing and processing

10

This is where ICT can be most useful not

only for designing forms and questionnaires
but in providing a means to store the
information centrally (for example, in a
spreadsheet or database).
Again, ICT can be really helpful here in
helping you to sort and analyse your
information, especially if you have stored it
in a spreadsheet or database.
ICT can be used to produce narrative
reports but it can also be used to present
your information in different formats (such
as charts) and to share your information in
different ways (such as presentations, web
pages and so on).

their monitoring information. However,

in some situations for example, in small
organisations with very limited resources or
organisations with a small number of clients
a simple paper-based system may be all
you need. There are advantages to using a
paper-based system, such as:
paper records can be simple to keep and
access
it is cheap to maintain
paper records enable you to store
physical evidence of your work
you do not rely on technology which can
sometimes go wrong
staff do not require any ICT skills or
training.

1
7
8
9

This workbook will help you address

these challenges and think about
how to use ICT to support your
monitoring and evaluation.

Six months into the project, the

organisation was presented with a
Microsoft Access database which could
record lots of information about its
members and produce a whole range of
detailed monitoring reports. Unfortunately,
the organisation collected only a very
limited amount of data and wasnt able to
fill in much of the database. The volunteers
only had two computers among them
and at this point one of the computers
broke down. The database had only been
installed on this computer and much of
the data was lost in a hard disk crash.
Fortunately, the membership administrator
had kept all the paper records and the
data could be recovered.

You also need to be aware that:

ICT wont always eliminate the need for
paper-based records
organisations often find it difficult to use
ICT for analysing their data (particularly
their outcomes)
an ICT system wont interpret your data
for you youll still need to do some of
the work.

Organisational data was typically stored

in a box file as paper records. The group
decided to invest in a simple database
and recruit an ICT volunteer to build it.
With little understanding of what EAG
needed, and a volunteer who was too
interested in technology and showing off
his skills rather than satisfying the needs
of the users, the system soon became
complex and unwieldy. The group couldnt
agree on exactly what it wanted and the
membership administrator was showing
marked reluctance to get involved.

All this costs time and money!

EAG is a small membership organisation

for individuals interested in Freudian
psychology. It is run by older volunteers
working from home, providing members
with an annual paper newsletter and
opportunities to get together to discuss
topics of interest. The group has very
limited access to computers, very little
funds and almost no ICT skills within the
organisation. Its aim was to have a single
source of easily accessible data, available
to all who needed it, when they needed it,
making it easier to report on its work and
manage membership data.

There are a number of key challenges youll

probably face if you are thinking about
using ICT for your monitoring and
evaluation. It helps if you have:
an ICT strategy to ensure your
organisation is clear about how its overall
ICT will be supported and maintained
(see section 2 for more information)
a strong and stable ICT infrastructure,
e.g. good hardware, software and
connectivity
reliable technical support
the skills to manage the change in how
people work that often comes with
developing new ICT systems
the time and skills to keep it all going
once you have got it set up its an
on-going process, not just a one-off
investment.

Use the simplest system possible

(and that might not be ICT)

Key challenges about

using ICT

Case study

However, the disadvantages are that

files and folders can get lost or damaged,
information may not be accessible to
everyone and it may be difficult to analyse
if you have collected a large quantity of
data. As a result, most organisations will, at
some point, want to think about using ICT
for at least some of their monitoring and
evaluation work.

11

Following a tense committee meeting,

the organisation decided to go back to
basics. With only 100 members (who
each completed their own membership
record on a piece of paper once a year),
storing the records alphabetically in a
lever arch file with alphabetic subject
dividers worked out well. There was no
need for further data entry. The file was
stored and maintained at home by the
membership administrator who was able
to access contact details as and when
needed (usually only once a week via a
phone call and never urgently).
Computers got in the way of what
we wanted to do we were using a
sledgehammer to crack a nut.
The organisation still had to do basic
monitoring numbers of members, which
borough they lived in, how old they were,
which of the three key activities of the
organisation they were most interested
in and so on but found with such small
amounts of data that it was relatively easy
to count these up and add to charts and
reports stored in the front of the folder.
It meant there was no need to worry
about computers breaking down, no
problem with learning new systems and
all the data was easily available when
needed.
Learning points
ICT is not necessarily the simplest way.
Make sure any ICT tool fits its purpose
dont overcomplicate a system. If
in doubt, start simple and add more
complex features as you go along.
Be aware that not everyone will be
happy to use ICT and the system may
have unexpected costs and implications.
When using ICT volunteers, choose
carefully and make sure they want
to support your needs, not simply
showcase their talents.
Time taken
Eight months.

12

Resource implications
Time and effort from management
committee including planning,
development and going back to paper
system; ICT volunteer time.
No cash costs apart from volunteer
expenses.

How do you decide whether

you need an ICT solution?
You will want to weigh up the advantages
and disadvantages for your organisation
of using ICT. It can be a good tool for
improving your M&E but its not the answer
to everything. You need to keep in mind
the real point of ICT its about helping
you to do things better. If its not going to
do that, you dont need it!
You can use the following worksheet
to help you decide whether to
go ahead with developing ICT to
support your M&E or whether a
simple paper-based system will be
just as effective.
Worksheet: Do you need an ICTbased system?
Use the following worksheet to help you
decide whether or not to go ahead with
developing ICT for your monitoring and
evaluation:
If you answer yes to two or more
questions marked ICT will help you
should seriously consider using ICT
systems for your monitoring and
evaluation.
If you answer yes to two or more
questions in each of the sections, you
should also seriously consider using
ICT systems for your monitoring and
evaluation.
If you answer no to most of the
questions, and have less than two ICT
will help responses, you probably dont
need ICT to help your monitoring and
evaluation.

Yes

No

If you
ticked
yes

What difference
would an ICT
system make?

Do you want to store large amounts

of information, e.g. a large number of
different records or lots of detailed
information?

ICT will
help

Large storage
capacity, easy to
search.

Do you need to use the data from

your monitoring on a daily basis?

ICT
might
help

Easier access to
information.

Do you have lots of complex

information that needs to be
organised, e.g. relationships between
people and projects, detailed records
of services used?

ICT will
help

Can produce well

structured database
reports.

Do you want a system that can

make links across different types of
information?

ICT
might
help

Can link data across

reports.

Do you want to be able to sort

information by type, e.g. by age,
gender, geographical location and so
on?

ICT
might
help

Easier than sorting

by paper.

Do you want to be able to manage

your information in a way that allows
you to check regularly for errors and
missing data, e.g. being able to check
automatically that clients date of birth
have been filled in?

ICT will
help

ICT helps define

data to be entered
and error checks.

Do you regularly spend much time

doing repetitive tasks, e.g. counting up
how many people you have worked
with each month?

ICT will
help

Can quickly count

up records or
different types of
record.

Do you regularly produce large

mailings?

ICT
might
help

Can save lots of

time by doing this
for you.

Do you need to make information

quick and easy to access?

ICT
might
help

Can quickly search

large sets of data.

Storing and managing data

3
4
5
6

Practicalities

7
8
9

13

Do you want to share information

across systems, e.g. do you want
to link your M&E system with your
fundraising system?

ICT will
help

Easy to share and

re-categorise data.

Do you need a system that makes

it impossible to input the wrong
information, e.g. only allowing certain
responses to be inputted or certain
questions to be answered?

ICT will
help

An ICT system
can be set up to
prevent the wrong
information going in
the wrong place.

Do many people need to be able to

input information, e.g. all project staff
or just the administrator?

ICT
might
help

ICT systems can be

set up to ensure
data is entered in a
specific way.

Do you want to be able to specify

who has access to what information,
e.g. project staff, managers, trustees?

ICT
might
help

An ICT system can

be set up to restrict
access to those who
need to use it.

Do many people need to be able to

access the information at the same
time?

ICT will
help

An ICT system
should help many
people access
information at same
time.

Do you want to produce information

in different formats quickly and easily,
e.g. reports for funders, statistics for
the annual report, discussion papers
for management?

ICT will
help

ICT can manipulate

information into
different formats
quickly and easily.

Do managers need to get specific

information quickly in order to made
decisions and plan for the future?

ICT will
help

ICT can help get

reports at the touch
of a button.

Do trustees and other stakeholders

need to see information on a regular
basis?

ICT
might
help

ICT can generate

specific reports
quickly and easily.

Do you need to provide your funders

with specific information or in a
specific format?

ICT will
help

ICT can generate

specific reports
quickly and easily.

Are your fundraisers asking for

information for fundraising bids?

ICT
might
help

ICT can help identify

trends and crossreference data.

Reporting

14

The decision to use an ICT-based system

will always involve weighing up:
the combination of time and effort saved
and

the benefits gained against the time, effort

and money spent to get a new system
and to maintain and use it.
The final decision will come down to what
resources you have (and can get hold of
through fundraising and volunteers) and
how much more effective you think an
ICT system will make your monitoring and
evaluation.

There are other good reasons to use an

ICT-based system for example, it can help
support effective administration. ICT can
be a big help if you send out lots of letters,
emails or text messages, or need to keep
track of correspondence and mailing lists.

3
4
5
6
7
8
9

15

2. Are you ready?

If you are sure that ICT can help you improve your
monitoring and evaluation, this section looks at what you
need to have in place before you go any further.
Before you begin, you really need to think about:
whether your organisation is ready for this
whether your M&E processes are well established
whether you have a sound base for developing your ICT.

Is your organisation ready?

Is your organisation committed to developing its ICT?
A clear sense
of what this will
achieve

Do you have a clear sense of what you want to achieve?

yes

no

U k
Support at
senior level

Does your senior management, CEO (chief executive

officer) or management committee support the project?
yes

no

U k
Resources

no

U k
no

U k

You need to have a small team of people involved in

the planning process. Where possible, dont just have
one person responsible for the work.

Do you have staff buy-in for changing the way you work?
yes

no

U k

16

Your senior management needs to allocate resources

to this work or to support fundraising to meet the
costs.

Do you have a team of people who have the knowledge,

skills and motivation to lead this work?
yes

Attitudes

You will need to seek management support for the

project before proceeding further. See section 4 (step
2) for more information on this.

Do you have money allocated for this work, and for the
staff time it will take?
yes

Leadership

You need to be clear about what you hope

to achieve from this work. You could have a
brainstorming session with colleagues, drawing up a list
of things they want from the new system. See section
4 (step 5) for more information on this.

It is crucial to get everyone on board. Spend time

selling the project to everyone in the organisation.

Have you considered data protection issues?

Legal issues

yes

no

U k

You need to make sure your organisation is

data protection compliant before developing a
system to store your data. See www.icthub.org.uk/
knowledgebase for more information.

Your organisation is committed to developing its ICT

3
4

It was really difficult

to commit time and resources to make
this happen. Something always seems
like a bigger priority (especially client
work!) but delays are counterproductive
in the long run. You need to make it
happen and accept that this sometimes
involves sacrifices in
the short term.

M&E readiness

You will also need to ensure that your monitoring and evaluation processes are well
established. This will enable you to be clear about what you need your ICT system
to do. Dont embark on developing your ICT until:
you have identified indicators for the work you want to monitor
you know how you will collect the data, e.g. through questionnaires, forms or
interview schedules
you have begun collecting the data.
Have you established your monitoring and evaluation processes?
Focus

Have you identified the areas you wish to monitor?

no

U k

You need to be clear which areas of work your

monitoring and evaluation processes cover, e.g.
outcomes, outputs, client satisfaction and so on.
See
the Assess progress pages of the Performance
Hubs website at www.performancehub.org.uk
Charities Evaluation Services website at www.cesvol.org.uk

yes

8
9

17

Monitoring

Have you identified indicators for the work you want to

monitor?
yes

no

U k

Data collection

Once you are clear which areas you are monitoring,

you need to specify exactly what information you
need to collect (in other words, your indicators). See
the Performance Hubs Keeping On Track: A guide to
setting and using indicators for more information at
www.performancehub.org.uk/publications

Have you worked out how you are going to collect this
information?
yes

no

U k

You need to have identified the methods you use

for collecting your monitoring information. Make sure
the methods you are using are working and are being
completed reliably and properly.

Have you begun collecting your monitoring data?

yes

no

U k
Reporting

It helps if you have already begun to collect your

monitoring data so that you have some idea of how
frequently it needs to be collated and analysed.

Are you clear how you will use your monitoring data to
report to your stakeholders?
yes

no

U k

Draw up a list of all the reporting requirements you

need to meet and think about all your different
stakeholders, not just your funders.

You have established your monitoring and evaluation processes

It was tempting to think

about the database before we had
really thought through what
information we needed to collect. Being
clear at the beginning about what we
needed to do was fundamental to success.
If we hadnt managed expectations at
the beginning, we may well have given
up when the going got tough. We also
needed external help to reflect
on what we needed.

18

ICT readiness
a simple spreadsheet, it is a good idea to
develop an overall ICT plan and strategy,
making sure your ICT infrastructure is in
good order and that you have access to
reliable technical support, otherwise you
wont get the most out of your new system.

It is a good idea to take a look at your

use of ICT and ICT infrastructure, in
other words, your whole computer setup: personal computers (PCs or Macs), a
network, a server, internet connection and
so on. If you envisage anything more than

Do you have a sound base for your ICT development?

Will your ICT support what you want to do? For
example, is your hardware good enough? Do you have
enough computers? Are you networked? Is your server
good enough? Do you have good access to the internet?
yes

no

no

U k

A strategy will help you to ensure that the technology

you buy and use is closely tied to your organisations
aims and objectives. See www.icthubknowledgebase.
org.uk/doyouneedstrategy

yes

no

U k

Are your ICT systems secure? Are you up to speed with

back-ups, virus protection and firewalls?

Do you have an organisational plan for maintaining and

developing your ICT infrastructure and the way you use
ICT (an ICT strategy)? Have you reviewed it within the
past year?
yes

Security

You need to make sure that your computer

equipment and infrastructure are good enough
before embarking on further development. See www.
icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/healthchecklists

U k
Strategy

Resources

It is crucial that your system is secure before you

develop it further. See www.icthubknowledgebase.org.
uk/keepcomputerssafeandsound

7
8
9

19

Support,
advice and
troubleshooting

Do you have someone in-house who can deal with

computer problems?
yes

no

U k

You will need to find a reliable source of impartial and

reliable support and advice. Consider training up one
of your staff as little as a few hours a week can then
be allocated for this role which can be incorporated
into a wider job description. (You could also give
them training on simple database development.) Or
you could consider sharing ICT support with another
organisation.
Consider seeking pro bono support from ICT
professionals. See www.it4communities.org.uk
Circuit riders are mobile technology development and
support workers, each of whom supports a caseload
of organisations. Find out if there is one in your area
who can help you. See www.icthub.org.uk/how_we_
can_help/Circuit_Riders_03.html
For more information on support with your ICT, see
www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/whyyouneedsupport

You have a sound base for your ICT development

We cant overstate
the importance of a
strong and stable ICT
infrastructure to the success
of the system. Shared
databases only work well
when ICT is well planned,
looked after and
working well.

20

TIPS
Its tempting to skip some of the issues
above and to think they only apply to
bigger organisations. Dont!
You need to get everyone on board
and get the resources to make the
project work.
You need to plan your M&E well and
be clear about your needs.
You may not have a computer
network (or need one) but you do
need to agree an overall ICT plan,
make sure your systems are secure
and ensure you can support the
system.

3. Matching ICT to your monitoring

and evaluation

1
7

It is generally more effective to store this

type of information in a more sophisticated
system such as a database rather than in a
simpler system such as a spreadsheet.

Specific monitoring activities

Sometimes you may want to carry out a
specific monitoring activity, such as a survey
of your clients needs or feedback on your
services. If you do this by interview or
paper questionnaire, you will probably
be able to use a spreadsheet or simple
database to enter and analyse the

This kind of information can be easily

managed in a system such as a simple
spreadsheet although the more detailed the
information the more youre likely to need
a database.

Integrated or in-depth monitoring

Many organisations find they want to
combine gathering monitoring data with
their everyday work processes; for example,
to enable staff to write up notes of sessions
or set reminders of appointments. Or you
may decide you need to gather more indepth monitoring information, such as:
outcome information evidence of how
clients circumstances change or how their
lives improve as a result of receiving your
services, e.g. finding work or moving into
permanent accommodation
process information e.g. how much
time was spent setting up a conference or
supporting a client through rehab.

Basic monitoring
You may only need to gather basic
monitoring information, such as:
profile information your clients name,
address, age, gender and so on
output information the activities,
services and products you provide your
clients with, e.g. number of workshops
run, how many events clients attend or
number of information leaflets distributed.

information you gather. Or you might want

to use an internet-based service which
enables you to create your survey on-line
and get your respondents to enter their
answers directly.

Responding to different
needs

Having established that your organisation is ready to

move forward with developing an ICT-based solution
to support its monitoring and evaluation, you now need
to think about what type of ICT will best meet your
needs. This will largely be determined by the type and
quantity of monitoring information you want to manage
and what you want to do with it. This section gives
you an overview of the different ways in which you can
approach this.

8
9

21

Different computer software options

There is a range of computer software options available which can enable you to manage
your monitoring data. Some of the most common ones are:
Spreadsheets
These enable you to enter information into tables and carry out quantitative analysis.
Pros

Cons

Quick and easy to set up spreadsheets

Easy to add up numbers
Use of formulas makes quantitative
analysis easy
Can collate spreadsheets from across
organisation
Charts are simple to produce and
make it easier to understand your data

M
 ight need extra training to use to their
full potential
Can add text but limited to 255
characters in each cell
Can make some links between different
pieces of information but is limited

Email and contacts systems

These can be used to store and share information.
Pros

Cons

Good for contact information

Good for facilitating communication
OK for storing basic notes

Difficult to extract statistical information

Cannot produce complex queries or
reports

Databases
These are computer systems that enable you to store, modify and extract information.
Pros

Cons

N
 eeds a medium/high level of skills and
expertise to set up
Might need extra training to use to their
full potential

Can contain text or numbers.

Information easier to manipulate
Can run queries and produce reports
Large community of developers to
create whatever you want

Databases can be created using software packages such as Microsoft Access or

Filemaker Pro, purchased as ready-to-use systems or developed through open source
platforms such as MySQL.
Please note that you can find explanations for any technical terms you are unfamiliar with in
the Glossary on page 69.

22

Choosing the right system to

meet your needs, expectations
and capabilities

7
8

The new system was launched in June

2006 and thanks to the skills of the
manager has been tweaked and developed
over time as the organisation has changed.
Excel was an excellent system choice for
the organisation as most staff were already
comfortable using Excel in their day-today work. It meant the reporting system
was easy to get to grips with and to bring
people on board, with no frightening new
complex systems to learn.

A new manager, skilled in using Microsoft

Excel, was appointed and took on the
monitoring responsibilities. The number of
projects had grown to 50 and the manager
developed a master Excel spreadsheet
a collection of 50 worksheets (one per
project). Each project was responsible
for its own worksheet, which had a
project summary, quarterly monitoring

Staff also worked with colleagues to clarify

the use of language to ensure the system
made sense; for example, they asked
themselves What do we actually mean by
milestones? A system with misleading or
ambiguous titles leads to messy data.

Its overall ICT is good and it has effective

ICT infrastructure, skills and budget.
However, DS wanted to be able to report
on what support it provided, at what cost,
to how many people and what difference
it made, in order to plan effective services
within the community and to assess its
work with different partners. Historically,
the organisation had monitored outputs
with a simple Word document. The 40
projects each had a single page report,
recording simple narrative statements with
no quantitative details, customer feedback
or evaluation. Reports were of limited use
and didnt show the impact or value of the
organisations work.

Involving and supporting users made all

the difference those who found change
most difficult to accept are now the best
at reporting through the system. Managing
expectations and taking things one step
at a time was critical. And dont take
resistance to a project personally its not
your fault!

DS is a local community development

subsidiary within a much bigger
organisation. It provides housing services
including advice, accommodation projects
and support for those living on their own
for the first time.

Key to the success of the project was

involving staff in what the system should
do and how. Consultation was fundamental
to ensuring users felt comfortable with
the system and that it supported them, as
much as it supported the organisation. A
lot of time was spent working with people
who either didnt want the system or
were unhappy about change.

Case study

data and a narrative report. Individual

project worksheets were emailed to
project managers (password protected to
ensure security and data confidentiality)
and, when completed, returned to the
manager for collation. The system was
set up so worksheets could be collated
easily at the end of every quarter and the
overall spreadsheet calculated the master
statistics.

We chose a system
(Excel) that we were
familiar with and made
sure it would do everything
we needed it to do. The need
dictates the system, not the
other way around.

The reporting system looks great

its easy to read, provides effective

23

information to the board, and the

nature of the individual sheets supports
partnership working and reporting. It has
increased accountability there are no
hiding places for projects which arent
delivering. None of this would be possible
without a strong ICT infrastructure
with excellent technical support. The
system wouldnt work without reliable
communications, a good email system and
the capability to handle big files.
DS is now looking to move onto a formal
database as the organisation grows but
the Excel system was a fundamental
prototype stage in understanding what the
organisation wants and how it works.
Learning points
Introducing new systems is a challenge
for everyone. Involve those staff who
are likely to find change difficult in every
step and attitudes will change once the
system delivers they will become the
champions.
Building the system on something
staff are already familiar with makes it
easier to train them and for them to be
comfortable using it.
Manage expectations and take it one
step at a time dont rush things
through.
Good ICT infrastructure and support
is essential to make the system work
people will resent the system even if it
is the infrastructure and support causing
a problem.
Without effective and managed
password protection, users can mess
about with the system and maintaining
system integrity can be a challenge. Make
sure you lock down what you need to.
You might be lucky and have someone
with the right skills and experience inhouse but you need to plan and share
that experience so projects dont
depend solely on a single individual.

24

Time taken
It took 12 months to complete the
project.
Resource implications
Senior management time support
provided as needed (limited
requirement).
M&E managers time considerable
(developing system, project
management).
Other staff time users involved
in planning, testing and feedback
considerable.

TIPS
Stick to the simplest solution for as
long as you can. Only consider moving
to something more complex when it
doesnt work for you any more.
Be clear with colleagues that changes
will be made in the development/pilot
process, but try to manage things
so that as many changes as possible
happen simultaneously at appropriate
agreed review stages. Also ensure
that changes are fully explained, such
as the logic and reason behind them.
Finally, clearly identify the changes that
have arisen directly from consultation
with colleagues and acknowledge their
valuable input.
Support system users all the way
through the project and they will
support you once youre ready to roll
it out across the organisation.
Design the system to meet your
needs dont change your way of
working to suit the new system unless
these changes help you to do things
better.

4. Now you know what you want

your system to do, how do you
move forward?

Ensure you have

support

Check awareness

Set up a project team

Plan and timetable

Assess and clarify

your needs
Work out your
specific requirements

Write down exactly what

you want your system to do.

During the process of

developing your system,
find a way of managing the
data you are collecting to
monitor your work so that
you dont lose it.

The project team needs

to develop an overall plan
and timetable to ensure
your work does not lose
momentum.

Review your current

situation and think about
what you want your new
system to do.

Try not to do this on

your own its better to
involve a team of people
with different skills and
experience.

Do all staff and volunteers

know about this project? Do
people care? You may need
to sell the project to others.

Have you got support from

your senior management
and trustees? Has the
organisation committed
time and resources?

Identify the need for this

development and how you
hope it will improve your
monitoring and evaluation.

Define the problem/

need

Remember that you will need to make sure your M&E

processes are in place before you start developing your
ICT see section 2 for more information on this.

In this section, we look at the practical steps that will

enable your organisation to identify and implement the
best ICT solution for its monitoring and evaluation needs.
The steps are set out in the flowchart below and each
step is then described in detail in the following section.

Consider interim
solutions

25

Worksheet to help you develop an ICT system to

support your monitoring and evaluation
Define the problem/need
Identify the need for this development and how
you hope it will improve your monitoring and
evaluation.

Write your notes here.

Ensure you have support

Have you got support from your senior
management and trustees? Has the organisation
committed time and resources?
Check awareness
Do all staff and volunteers know about this
project? Do people care? You may need to sell
the project to others.
Set up a project team
Try not to do this on your own its better to
involve a team of people with different skills and
experience.
Plan and timetable
The project team needs to develop an overall
plan and timetable to ensure your work does
not lose momentum.
Assess and clarify your needs
Review your current situation and think about
what you want your new system to do.
Work out your specific requirements
Write down exactly what you want your system
to do.
Consider interim solutions
During the process of developing your system,
find a way of managing the data you are
collecting to monitor your work so that you
dont lose it.
Research systems
Talk to others and find out what current
developments are underway.
Match against your requirements
Decide which solution provides the best match
with your needs.
Cost, budget and, if needed, fundraise
You may need to raise extra money.
Continued over page

Charities Evaluation Service

Worksheet to help you develop an ICT system to

support your monitoring and evaluation Continued
Implement
Improve
your existing
system

Develop
something
new in-house

Buy an off-theshelf system

Commission
someone
to develop
something for
you

Test
Pilot your new system to see how well it
works.
Transfer your existing data
Having tested your system, you need to
prepare and move your existing data into
the new system (unless you are developing
what you already have).
Train and support users
Make sure you train people to use the new
system and provide lots of support in the
early days.
Review and adjust
Seek feedback from the users and make any
changes necessary.
Sign off but dont neglect
Once the system is up and running, you may
think you can leave it to work on its own.
Dont forget to review regularly how well it
is working.

Charities Evaluation Service

Talk to others and find out

what current developments
are underway.

Research systems

Match against your

requirements
You may need to raise
extra money.

Decide which solution

provides the best match
with your needs.

Cost, budget and, if

needed, fundraise

Implement

Improve
your existing
system

Develop
something
new in-house

Pilot your new system to

see how well it works.

Buy an offthe-shelf
system

Test

Transfer your
existing data
Make sure you train people
to use the new system and
provide lots of support in
the early days.

Train and support

users

Review and adjust

Once the system is up and
running, you may think you
can leave it to work on
its own. Dont forget to
review regularly how well it
is working.

26

Commission
someone
to develop
something for
you

Sign off but dont

neglect

Having tested your system,

you need to prepare
and move your existing
data into the new system
(unless you are developing
what you already have).

Seek feedback from

the users and make any
changes necessary.

Before you start

6
7

TIPS
Make sure your chief executive and
management committee or trustee
board are clear about why you have
embarked on this project and how it
will help the organisation.
Keep them informed about the
progress of the project and seek
their active support, including
their agreement to act as project
champions.

The support
and commitment of
the CEO and trustees
made a huge difference to
our confidence to keep going.
They challenged us right the
way through the project but
were always supportive and
encouraging. We wouldnt
have made it without
them.

You will need to ensure that your chief

executive and management committee
or trustee board believe in the project
and actively support it at all times. They
will, in turn, need to ensure that staff and
volunteers are trained, motivated and
supported so that they can be involved
in the process of implementing a new
system. To do this, your chief executive and
management committee or trustee board
must understand the value that the new
system will bring. You might want to give
them a short presentation to help them
understand this. It is also a good idea to
ask your CEO to attend your project team
meetings from time to time. To help get
people on board, identify clearly and simply
the benefits for:
your organisation as a whole
separate departments (if you are a large
organisation)
individual members of staff
clients.

If you work in a small

organisation
You still need to go through this
process but weve highlighted some
specific shortcuts for you.

Step 2: Ensure you have

support

Successfully negotiating the process of

developing your ICT is really about people.
Its about getting everyone on board and
keeping them on board through clear,
open and regular communication and
consultation.

People around you may also have high

expectations of the new system and they
may become impatient with the time it
takes for the system to be implemented.

Identify the need for this development and

the ways in which it will help you progress
your monitoring and evaluation. At this
stage, you dont need to have a clear idea of
what you want the solution to look like, but
its helpful to have a good sense of how it
will improve your monitoring and evaluation.

As you prepare to embark on the process

of developing your ICT, it is important to
recognise that:
the whole process often takes far longer
than you expect
things may go wrong along the way
change can be threatening people may
have to adapt their work practices to suit
the new system
even after the new system is in place, it
may take a while before people really see
the benefit of using the new system.

Step 1: Define the problem/

need

27

Step 3: Check awareness

Step 4: Set up a project team

It is also crucial that the project has support

from people around you. You should try
to win over everyone in the organisation
who will be affected by the project. You
might like to draw up a list of these people,
why and how they may be affected, what
benefits there may be for them and what
issues they may have.

It is a good idea to think about who

should be involved in the process of
developing your ICT for your monitoring
and evaluation. You may want to set up
a team to help you. This will mean that
the workload is shared and will avoid you
ending up in a situation where one person
(you!) is left tackling the whole thing on
their own and no one knows what they are
doing or why.

TIPS
Build in time to sell the project within
your organisation.
Be aware that some people may feel
threatened by the project.
Seek to involve those who are most
resistant.
Provide a regular flow of information
to all those around you (but dont
bore them with detail).
Allow enough time so that change can
happen at an appropriate pace.
Manage expectations dont raise
them too high or promise something
you cant deliver.
Dont assume that everyone
understands what you are doing just
because they have heard you talking
about it. Keep everyone on board and
dont push too far too fast.

Involving
and supporting users
made all the difference
those who found change most
difficult to accept are now the best
at reporting through the system.
Managing expectations and taking
things one step at a time was critical.
And dont take resistance to a
project personally its not
your fault!

28

The people to involve may include:

a project manager
representatives of the systems future
users
someone with knowledge of your
monitoring and evaluation processes and
reporting requirements
and, ideally, someone with an
understanding of how ICT can be used.
The project manager
One person from the team will need to
have overall responsibility for the project
and act as a central contact point for the
project. They do not need to be an ICT
expert but they do need to have a good
understanding of your organisation and how
it works. They will need to:
facilitate meetings
consult other staff and liaise with senior
management
co-ordinate logistics and ensure
communication flows across the project
team
lead on the production of key documents
work with any external suppliers
see the project through from beginning to
end
ensure the plan is implemented.

For more information on using

volunteers to develop your ICT,
see www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/
workingwithvolunteers
and on working with consultants, see
www.icthub.org.uk/articles/What_Use_Is_
An_ICT_Consultantx.html

In reality, you may find your project team

fluctuates in size and membership as the
project evolves.

TIPS
Be clear about who is involved and
why.
Seek involvement from people with
different perspectives, knowledge and
attitudes.
Include a sceptic you want your
team to be positive but you need to
address issues and concerns as soon
as possible, right from the horses
mouth.

6
7

If you work in a small

organisation
There may not be enough of you to
make a decent-sized team so split up
the roles among you. But try not to
leave it all to one or two people!

8
9

Someone with ICT expertise

It is useful to have someone on the team
who has a good understanding of ICT. This
will help ensure you are realistic about what
can be done and what different options may
involve. They will need to:
answer questions about ICT options
and the strengths and weaknesses of the
proposed solutions

Someone with knowledge of your

monitoring and evaluation processes
Your group will also need to include
someone who has a good understanding of
monitoring and evaluation and a thorough
knowledge of how your organisation is
carrying this out (or what it is aiming to do).
They will need to:
provide information about your current
data collection tools and how you store
information in your organisation
help identify what the future system
should include.

If you do not have someone in your

organisation with this knowledge, you might
want to bring in an external person such
as a paid consultant or a volunteer to
support the team.

Representatives of the systems users

Its a good idea to involve a small number
of people with different roles and from
different teams across your organisation.
These need to be people who have a
direct interest in making sure that the
system will meet their needs; for example,
key workers, team managers and
fundraisers. They will need to:
provide information about how
they work
help identify what the future system
should include
help identify training needs.

Designing
things by
committee is hopeless.
You need to consult but
you also need to take firm
decisions in the interests of
the whole organisation. You
cant please everybody.
Make sure someone takes
a clear lead.

assist with deciding whether to build or

buy a new system
design and develop your system (if
appropriate)
help you identify future needs and
support.

29

Step 5: Plan and timetable

Before you embark on any major work,
take some time to review what you already
have in place. Are you sure you need a
new database? Do you already have a
system? Are you sure you want to scrap
it? You may not need to start from scratch
if your needs are simple or if you already
have a system that is worth developing.
If youre not sure where you stand,
try the basic database assessment
worksheet at www.techsoup.org/
learningcenter/databases/page5124.cfm

Task

Skills/qualities needed

Manage the
project

Good facilitator and

communicator, eye for
detail, negotiator, strong
willed, patient, committed.

Participate in
project team

Understanding of own
area of work and
impact on organisation,
willingness to discuss
without arguing.

Write a
business
analysis (see
step 6)

Interviewing skills,
developing understanding
of organisation and
activities, business case
development, good
writing skills.

Write your
systems
specification
(see step 7)

Understanding of
your current system
and what it does,
basic understanding of
computer systems.

Develop your
system (if
you decide
to develop it
yourselves)

Simple (or complex)

programming skills and
familiarity with systems.

30

You also need to think about whether your

organisation has the in-house skills and
capacity to take on the work.
You can use the following checklist as a
guide to enable you to decide who will be
needed to help develop your system. You
may not need to carry out all the tasks
listed below and you may want to add
some of your own that are specific to your
organisation.

Who?

How much
time?

Fundraising, understanding
of the benefits of an ICT
system.

Manage any
external
support (e.g.
if you hire a
consultant)

Management and
contracting, flexibility,
relationship management.

Test the
system (see
step 13)

Good eye for detail,

perseverance, time.

Develop
a training
programme

Good understanding of
system, understanding
of user skills and needs,
patience.

Train staff

Good communication
skills, understanding
of system, flexibility,
patience.

Implement the
system

Technical understanding,
managing relationships,
negotiation.

Provide
support to staff

Good communication
skills, good understanding
of staff needs,
understanding of system,
flexibility, patience.

Review
your ICT
infrastructure

Good understanding of
organisation, knowledge
of ICT options, technical
expertise, strategic
planning.

How much
time?

Fundraise
for costs
associated with
developing
your system
(see step 11)

Who?

Skills/qualities needed

Task

5
6
7
8

Now that you have some idea of the work
ahead of you, you will want to set out a
plan and a timetable for the work. Even
though you may need to revise this as you

go along, it helps to provide an overall

structure for the work and something to
help you keep moving forward. A basic plan
and timetable could look something like this:

31

Draft business analysis (see step 6)

By end of month 2

Agree and circulate business analysis

By end of month 3

Draw up systems requirements document

(see step 7)

By end of month 6

Consult on systems requirements

document

By end of month 7

Research potential solutions and costs (see

step 9)

By end of month 9

Select new system or system provider

By end of month 12

TIPS
Dont assume you need something
new.
Make sure your organisation has the
capacity to take on the work.
Draw up an overall plan for what
needs doing (and by whom and
when).
Be realistic about the amount of time
you should allow for the different
tasks.
Review it regularly to ensure it helps
you keep on track.

32

If you work in a small

organisation
Make sure your plan is realistic. You
may not be able to do everything so
you may need to prioritise the areas
that are most important to you. You
can get volunteers in to help (these
could be trustees, subject experts or
even service users).

Step 6: Assess your current

situation and define your
expectations of the new
system

6
7
8

The information contained in your

business analysis will help clarify your
needs for the system but it is only after
you have worked through the next stage
of producing a detailed specification that
you will really be in a position to identify
exactly what shape your system will take.

Ideally, your business analysis should

provide information on:
Who you are the type of organisation
and your clients.
How you work what services you offer
and what information you collect.
What current systems you have how
your monitoring information is collected,
stored and processed.
How you currently deal with
confidentiality, access and security of
data issues.

Try to be really clear about the benefits

that a new system will bring. You might
want to identify some quick wins (the
differences that you will see immediately,
not just in two years time). Think about
what your whole organisation is doing and
how the new system will tie in with this.
Be as detailed as you can in your analysis
as this will make it easier to spot the gaps
and weaknesses before its too late. This
may also be an opportunity to change the
way you work and improve activities and
services.

One way of doing this is to write a business

analysis for your ICT development, which
describes your current situation and how
the ICT development will impact on the
organisation. You should also use this
opportunity to find out what changes may
lie ahead in your own sector; for example,
M&E requirements, partnership/consortia
working or funding developments.

Before
you decide,
work out exactly what
you need to do. What
will make life easier for
your system users?

You may already have a clear sense of what

you need to change or you may only know
that things arent working well and need
improving. Setting out your expectations of
the new system will enable you to clarify
your requirements for the system and to
see how these fit in with the rest of your
organisations M&E development.

What your needs are what reports

you currently produce and what other
information you would like to be able to
produce.
What the problems are the amount of
information you are trying to manage,
access to that information or how easy
it is to use it.
What you are trying to achieve a
description of the benefits that you hope
to gain from having a new system.
How you might do things differently
given the opportunity what
improvements you could make to the
way you work, what tasks you could
automate or eliminate.
The impact of developing a new system
how the process of developing the
system will impact on the organisation,
how it will meet your internal and
external stakeholders needs, what will
facilitate the process, what barriers and
issues need to be taken account of, and
what the impact would be of not taking
the work forward.

33

TIPS
Use the business analysis to consider
the context for this work and the
implications it will have for the
organisation.
Make sure you involve others in
drawing up the business analysis
and then circulate it within your
organisation, taking on board any
comments that arise.
This document will then form a useful
part of the information that will help
ensure that your future system meets
the needs of your organisation.
Interviewing colleagues is an important
part of business analysis you may
find out information and processes no
one knew existed.
Your business analysis document can
be very simple, but it should give a
clear idea of who you are, what you
do and what you are trying to achieve
by improving your ICT. Dont assume
everyone already knows this.

Consultation
is hugely important.
We asked users what they
needed, what they thought it
would deliver and where it stops.
But the management group takes
the final decision. It has to be
realistic in terms of time,
money and need.

34

Step 7: Work out the

detailed requirements for
your new system
Working out exactly what you want your
new system to do (sometimes referred
to as producing a system requirement
specification) means producing a
comprehensive list and description of every
piece of information you wish your system
to collect, how it all links together and how
you want to use it. It enables you to specify
the exact requirements of your system
so that any potential systems that you
consider later can be matched against this
specification.
It is particularly important to consider your
workflow (in other words, the order and
processes involved in carrying out your
work) at the system specification stage.
Tracking your clients journey through
your organisation can help you to identify
information-collection points that, in turn,
will inform the way you develop your
system. An example of how this is done is
shown on the next page:

Information recorded

By

Using

Client makes first

contact with your
organisation.

Clients name
Referral source
Date of contact
Type of contact
Action taken

Admin

Referral form

Client registers
with your
organisation.

Information on clients
background and needs.

Key
worker

Initial needs
assessment
form

Client meets with

a key worker on
a regular basis (or
attends events or
activities).

Dates that services

were provided and type
of service provided.
Any further actions
taken, such as referrals
made.
Clients outcomes (e.g.
gaining employment,
improving health).

Key
worker

Referral form

Clients contact
with your
organisation
comes to an end.

Date clients contact

ends.
Reason for contact
ending.

Key
worker

Exit interview
form

Client followed up
at later point in
time

Longer-term outcome
information.

Volunteer

Follow-up
survey

3
4
5
6

can sometimes find that a certain piece of

information is not being collected or is not
being recorded in a way that will give you
the right information for your reports.

However, it can also be helpful to

work backwards from the reports your
organisation needs to provide for your
funders and management. By doing this, you

Clients journey

8
9

35

You might like to use the following worksheet to help you work out what you want your
system to record:
Yes

No

Demographic information (e.g. age, gender, ethnic

background of your clients)
Referral information (e.g. the agencies to which you
refer your clients, when they were referred and why)
Data on clients presenting needs and circumstances
(e.g. offending history, health, employment, housing)
Family data (in cases where you also have contact
with their families)
Outputs (e.g. accommodation provided, career
guidance, grants, support activities)
Inputs (e.g. time spent providing services, resources
utilised, staffing)
Outcomes (e.g. employment gained, qualifications
achieved)
Qualitative information (e.g. workers comments or
notes of meetings/sessions)
You may also wish to consider whether you want your system to:
Track changes in outcomes (e.g. changes in clients
attitudes, behaviour or lifestyles)
Provide a casework tool (to enable workers to record
their contact with clients, review and plan future
activities)
Enable clients to complete information about
themselves directly onto the system (e.g. selfassessments)
Capture information in ways that meet the specific
requirements of different funding agency/audit
requirements
Link specific data to funding streams
Capture political information (e.g. parliamentary
constituency, ward, borough/local authority or other
boundary) which can be useful for policy work and
fundraising

36

Not sure

1
4
5
6
7

ICT and your outcomes

As you identify the key requirements of
your new system, it is important to think
carefully about how you plan to monitor
and report on your outcomes. Many
organisations find that their funders want
hard figures, such as the number of clients
finding employment, but find that this
does not do justice to the wider changes
made by their clients. Finding a system
that will enable you to collect data on soft
outcomes such as increases in confidence
and motivation is more of a challenge but
means that you will be able to present a
more thorough and balanced report of your
outcomes.

You will probably also want to make sure

that:
records of actions and outcomes are
dated so that you can pull together
reports for different periods
information on clients situations can
be linked to different points in time: in
other words, you can record a clients
housing situation on referral as well as
keeping information on how this changes
subsequently linked to dates and/or
actions.

Other issues you need to consider

As well as considering the information
requirements of your system, you should
also think about:
Remote access: do you want the
systems users to be able to access the
system from different locations, or even
from home?
Sharing data on clients: do you
want to be able to share data across the
organisation or with other organisations?
Links: does your system need to link to
other systems, e.g. for financial reporting
purposes?
Paper evidence: what paper evidence
might you need to provide to external
bodies such as funders, commissioners
and others? And how will your system
integrate this?
Security: do you want to be able
to limit access to certain parts of the
system by setting up password and user
management features to restrict access?
Snapshots: do you need a system that
can produce regular snapshots of the
work you want to monitor?
Training: what training will your staff
need and how will this be provided?
System management: who will be in
charge of the system once it is in place
and what will their responsibilities be?
Support: a new system may require
quite considerable on-going support such
as dealing with questions from users,
software and hardware fault management
and so on.
Resource: what hardware and software
do you have?
Future needs.

You should also collect together everything

that you want included in your new system,
including:
all the data-gathering forms you plan to
include in your new system (e.g. needs
assessments, reviews, exit interviews)
all the reports that you are required to
produce for your funders, management
committee and others
any other tools that staff currently use
to collect and store information (e.g.
spreadsheets, diaries, notes).

8
9

37

How to present your systems

requirements
Your final document should contain:
An executive summary which explains
why you need a new system and what it
will enable you to achieve (purpose and
scope of the system).
A description of the way your
organisation manages its monitoring and
evaluation processes and the information
flow that your new system will therefore
need to reflect. This should set out
what data you will be collecting and
the essential requirements of your new
system as well as considering how these
will relate to other aspects of your
organisations work.
Staffing recommendations which identify
which staff will be allotted time to
manage the system and their support
needs.
Training recommendations which identify
staff training needed to use the system.
Hardware and software requirements
which set out what you currently have
in the organisation and will need in the
future.
A plan for implementing your new
system, including timetable and
resources.
Key expectations (headline
requirements) of the system presented
as a list of what functions the system
must provide.
An appendix containing all the reports
and forms that will need to be included
in the system.

The specification doesnt need to be a

technical document. It should spell out your
requirements in your own terms. But be

38

specific. For example, if you say recording

contact data, you need to be clear about
what contact data is (line by line). Try to
break down what you want into discrete
elements so that you can compare what
different suppliers have to offer. And make
sure it is clear and comprehensive.
TIPS
Seek input from your staff and
management team in order to
determine the different needs the
system will need to take account
of. Involve your colleagues they
know what they do on a daily basis
better than anyone else, and their
involvement will mean you can
draw up an accurate picture of your
workflow as well as enabling them
to feel involved in shaping the end
product.
Think about your reporting
requirements (both internal and
external) and what these mean for
your system. Remember that the
information in your reports will rely on
the data you put in.
Be clear about whether you want a
stand-alone monitoring and reporting
system or whether you want it to
support your work with your clients or
other functions such as fundraising.
Focus on identifying the key data
that will meet your monitoring and
reporting needs; you can always build
on this later.
Prioritise your requirements by
indicating whether they are essential or
desirable.
Consider brainstorming what you think
your needs will be in three years.

Case study
Committing time and resources are
essential to success dont shortcut
your way to failure

6
7
8

AS is a black and minority ethnic (BME)

organisation with ten staff providing
direct support to vulnerable individuals,
groups and organisations. Services
include outreach and education,
counselling, emergency shelter and advice.
Organisational resources are limited as
fundraising is a challenge and lack of ICT
expertise means reliance on external help.
However, its overall ICT infrastructure
is good and monitoring, evaluation and
outcomes have been well worked out
following significant work in this area.
However, AS was relying on a makeshift,
bespoke Microsoft Access database
(developed by an external consultant)
which didnt provide the right reports and
was too small for the organisation. AS was
also dependent on external support if it
needed to make changes to the database.
The organisation needed to move on
and was trying to work out where to go
next, struggling with a lack of knowledge
and resources, and almost completely
dependent on professional independent
advice and support.

Without
that first Microsoft
Access database, we would
never have understood clearly
the detail of what we needed. It
became hugely frustrating as we
outgrew it, but the step was
absolutely essential.

As the process of developing an information

management system can be a lengthy one,
you may like to consider using interim
solutions so that data being gathered during
this time is not lost. This also enables
you to get a better picture of your data
management needs. A spreadsheet or even
a simple database can be developed to
capture this data and you may well find that
this data can then be imported into your
new system in due course (for example,
an Excel spreadsheet can be imported into
Microsoft Access and vice versa).

Step 8: Consider interim

solutions

The
requirements
analysis proved a
challenge. Although simple in
the first stages, the complexity of
particular aspects of our work meant
whole business processes and record
keeping had to be rethought we kept
coming up with better ways to do our
jobs! Helping the supplier understand
some of this was also time-consuming
but the trusting and respectful
relationship ensured all
worked out well.

39

Its aim was to acquire an outcomes

monitoring system which supports client
relationships and maximises time spent
with people rather than filling in forms.
Key to this was enabling easy, effective
management and funder reporting, quite
literally at the touch of a button.
The team got together and compiled all its
paper monitoring forms. Team members
decided what reports were needed, what
additional information would need to
be collected and which outcomes they
would like to measure. The structure was
worked out on paper and, with additional
support from a consultant, they developed
a detailed outcomes management system
(what they would record, how and why,
what the forms would look like and
how the data would be structured). The
prototyped, simple Microsoft Access
database was no longer meeting needs but
had been fundamental to understanding
exactly what they wanted a system
to do and how it fits their monitoring
requirements.
AS then undertook a thorough business
and requirements analysis setting out
what the organisation does and what it
needed to do. On completion, it took
a two-path approach; finding something
cheap off the shelf as an upgrade while
looking for funding for a more advanced
system for the medium to long term.
It was really difficult to commit time
and resources to make this happen.
Something always seems like a bigger
priority (especially client work!) but delays
are counterproductive in the long run
(staff frustration and more admin in the
meantime). You need to make it happen
and accept that this sometimes involves
sacrifices in the short term.

40

The cheap off-the-shelf upgrade took the

group to the next stage and made its life
easier. It also contributed to a better
understanding of what the optimum
system would need to deliver.
Funding was a challenge but eventually
came through and the new bespoke
system, properly managed and
implemented well, generates reports
at the touch of a button. The system
is user-friendly for everyone, supports
the work staff deliver with clients, helps
build relationships and provides clear
management information quickly and easily.
Learning points
Its difficult to commit time and
resources to make this happen.
Something always seems like a bigger
priority but delays are counterproductive
in the long run. You need to make it
happen. Efficiency improvements make a
big difference to staff morale as well as
helping you support more service users.
You cant just take a system off the shelf
without understanding what you need
the system to do working out your
M&E systems is fundamental to success.
If you dont understand ICT and
systems, its critical to get really good,
independent advice to help you make a
wise decision.
Time taken
Two years.
Resource implications
Costs of consultancy support
considerable.
Support with design of initial system
considerable.
Management and staff time
considerable.
Software costs considerable.

Step 9: Research

4
5
6

There
is a solution out
there but it may not
be in the likeliest place.
Ask around and find someone
you can trust and then build
the relationship. Dont get sold by
the technology when its personal
support and trusted advice that
you need. You also need to build
a long-term relationship to
ensure your developer can
make changes as your
organisational needs
change.

Other organisations may have designed a

database that you can use as a model, or
even purchase and copy. Or they may know
a system provider that has a good solution
for the work you are doing. Even just
looking at other organisations systems will
give you ideas and help you decide which
features are important for your own system.

7
8

TIPS
Ask other organisations that do similar
work to yours to show you what
they use and what they feel are the
advantages and disadvantages of their
system.
Find out whether your organisation
belongs to a network or association
that has a common monitoring system
or data set. It may already have a
system you could use or purchase.
Use an internet search engine (such
as Google) to do a search on terms
that refer to the type of system you
are looking for, e.g. carers database or
carers monitoring. You may find useful
results appear, such as documents with
results from a well designed system or
a well designed website, which may
indicate that the originating organisation
has invested in its ICT and M&E and
may have some good suggestions.
Ask your parent/umbrella/national
organisation for advice.
Find an ICT consultant or volunteer
who has worked in this area
before; you might be able to get
a recommendation from another
organisation. Most consultants will give
you a couple of hours of free time to
chat through issues.
Look at the suppliers directory at
www.icthub.org.uk/suppliers_directory
Look at the systems listed on
the ITforCharities website www.
itforcharities.co.uk/clientsw.htm
You could post a message on UK
Riders (a message board which
brings together ICT people who are
working with voluntary and community
organisations) to find out what systems
they are aware of that might be
relevant to your organisation. You can
subscribe to UK Riders at http://lists.
lasa.org.uk/lists/info/ukriders

Now it is time to carry out some research.

You will want to find out what options
there are for your new system. You
might want to see whether any other
organisations have done something similar
to what you are planning.

41

Step 10: Match against your

requirements
Having researched what other people
are doing and what solutions may be
available to you, the next decision to take
is which option you are going to choose to
develop your ICT (see section 5 for more
information).

Step 11: Cost, budget and

fundraise
Having decided on the solution for your
organisation, you will now have a much
clearer idea about the likely costs. The main
costs to think about are:
purchasing the system
training costs
customisation costs (if appropriate).
However, it is important that you also
consider costs relating to:
time for planning and testing your new
system
preparing your information for transfer
into your new system
moving your information into the new
system
support costs either from the system
provider or perhaps from an ICT
consultant.
You may also find that you need to make
changes in your ICT infrastructure (for
example, buying more computers or
laptops). This may mean that you need to
allocate money from your organisations
budget or you may need to carry out some
specific fundraising.
Also bear in mind that there will be oneoff costs (such as customisation and initial
training) but that you will also need to take
account of future costs, such as:
training for new users
further customisation
annual licence fees or support costs.

42

www.icthub.org.uk/publications/HowTo-CostFund-ICT_web.pdf provides
a practical guide for costing and
fundraising for ICT.
www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/
winninggrants provides information on
writing applications for funding ICT.
www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/fundingict
gives details of funders who will
specifically fund ICT. Bear in mind
also that there are other trusts and
grant funders who look favourably
on applications for ICT within a
project application or as part of your
infrastructure development.
TIPS
Make sure your fundraising proposals
cover the full costs of your system
development including your own
organisations time and costs.
Approach your existing funders but
also think laterally about other funders
you might be able to approach and
how you present the proposal to
them.
Sometimes, rather than writing a
funding proposal for an ICT system,
it is more useful to write a proposal
that describes how your ICT system
will make you more effective and
efficient and how it will help more
beneficiaries.
Demonstrate the impact ICT will
make on what you do and who you
help. See also the guide How to Cost
and Fund ICT (see the Help and
support section on page 66.).

The process of implementation will depend

on the route you have taken in developing
your system. You might want to:
think about running the system for a short
period of time with only a small number
of users so that any obvious problems
can be sorted out before you launch the
system fully
consider piloting the system on a teamby-team basis; this will reduce the stress
of your entire organisation going through
massive change at the same time
try to avoid launching your system just
before any major activity that depends
on the system (e.g. mail-outs, reviews) so
that the new system has time to settle in.

Testing out your new system involves three

different stages:
testing how the system itself works
testing how it works from a system users
perspective
testing how it functions on a day-to-day
basis.

6
7

TIPS
Keep in mind that the underlying
principles for successful implementation
focus on good project management:
clear leadership and roles
good communication
consultation
knowing where you are up to and
what each person needs to do next
control the project through each of its
stages.

The trial run must last long enough to

encompass all the different data collection
events and must involve a representative
group of future users of the system.
Everyone should be clear that the purpose
of the trial run is to identify problems. Plan
for how you will ask for feedback and deal
with problems that are highlighted. You will
need to allow plenty of time to implement
the necessary changes.

See Implementing a database

practical and strategic issues
at www.icthubknowledgebase.org.
uk/databaseimplementation for more
information.

Its also a good idea to get a group of

people to test it out at the same time so
that you can see how the system copes
with different people doing different things
simultaneously.

See Project management

planning and software at www.
icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/projectsoftware
for more information.

Each of these stages is important but the

more problems you can pick up and resolve
in the first stage, the less trouble you will
find in the final stage. You might want to
test it yourself first with some mock data
before you ask other people to test it
for you. Once you are happy with how it
runs in theory, you can experiment with
how it copes with real data, perhaps by
transferring a few records or asking users to
enter new records.

Step 13: Test

Step 12: Implementation

8
9

43

TIPS
Before you begin testing your new
system, draw up a detailed set of
criteria so that you will be able to
identify which aspects of the system
are working well and which need
further improvement.
Only pilot the system with users once
you have tested it thoroughly yourself.
Encourage your pilot users to make
mistakes; it will help you establish
what training needs will need to be
addressed when you roll out the
system throughout the organisation.
It will also help you to see how the
system copes with data inputting
errors.
Consider piloting the system in phases
so that you can deal with different
issues as they arise.
Testing is really important. Dont
neglect this step its actually a good
way to get a feel for how you can use
the system.

Step 14: Transfer your

existing data
Unless you are developing an existing
system, you will need to transfer the data
out of your old system into your new one.
Before you do this, its a good idea to clean
up the data to make sure it is accurate,
relevant and up to date. You also need to
think about whether the way your data has
been stored in your old system matches the
way it will be stored in your new system. It
may take some time to sort through your
data manually in order to ensure you can
transfer the data smoothly from one system
to the other. Bear in mind that you may still
need to keep some paper-based records
as evidence for funders, commissioners or
regulators.

44

Data structure
The key to any successful ICT system is data
structure. This should have been worked
out as part of your system requirements
analysis and the original design of your
monitoring and evaluation system in section
3. A clearly defined and easy to understand
structure, with clear relationships across
different types of data (for example,
demographic data, services used, outcomes
achieved) will help you find information
more easily and report more effectively. It
can help to record numerical data, such as
age, as a number rather than a range and to
use drop-down lists to ensure typing errors
are kept to a minimum. If you still havent
finalised your data structure, stop and do it
now!
Data clean-up
Most organisations will already have some
form of data when choosing a new system.
Typically this is on paper or stored in a
number of spreadsheets, word processor
documents or simple databases. The first
step is to ensure that all data is assessed
and checked so that only accurate data
which still has meaning is put into the new
system. Before you do any work with your
data, make sure youve backed it up. You
never know when you might need to go
back to the original data.
Data clean-up (assessment and review of
your data) should always be done by the
person who owns that data (or the person
responsible for recording and managing
the data). They will be able to spot the
obvious errors (for example, the same
person entered onto the system more than
once with different details) and also identify
which data is no longer needed. A common
problem with small databases is the amount
of junk which is retained but no longer
needed. There are tools for managing data
and checking for duplicates but you cant
beat good old-fashioned manual review and
checking by eye.

1
7
8

Once youre happy that all data is where it

should be, you can start using the system.

Final testing
Once all your data is in the system, get
people to test it so you can verify that the
data is all stored in the right place. If youve
cleaned the data and migrated it correctly
it will be. If not, youll have to take the data
out again, check where you went wrong
and re-do the migration.

Data migration (data import or

transfer)
Data can either be imported (using a tool
typically an import function within the
database or spreadsheet) or typed in.
Importing data is usually quicker but if you
only have a few records it may be easier
to type them in. If they are paper records,
youll have to type them in.

Once youre confident that everything is

working and the data is clean, do the final
data migration. Stop everyone using the old
system at this point.

Data quality
Data quality is absolutely fundamental to
getting the best out of the system. Make
a clear rule that only data which has been
cleaned and fits the structure of the new
system can be entered onto the new
system. You should also check that old and
redundant data doesnt get added to the
new system. If you dont need the data, it
shouldnt go in.

It is a good idea to do a practice run before

you do the full data transfer. This will enable
you to identify any problem areas before
you attempt to transfer all your data. You
can do this without affecting other peoples
use of the system and its a good idea to
test what the impact of the data is on the
new system. Its also an ideal time to train
and support staff to use the new system
(see step 15).

Depending on the complexity of the system,

its often easiest to copy your data from
the old system onto a spreadsheet and
sort it out on the spreadsheet. Once every
data owner has assessed and cleaned up
their data, it can be collated and given
to the developer or project manager for
further work. They will need to de-duplicate
the collated data and ensure that all the
relationships across the data sets make
sense. At this point the organisation will
have clean data.

The first step is to make sure the data

matches up. As part of the data clean-up
process (and the previous steps in this
workbook), your clean data should match
up exactly with the fields and categories in
the new system. So first name in the old
system should match to first name in the
new system, ensuring the data is stored in
the right place in the new system. Some
systems offer tools to help map fields with
different names in different systems but bear
in mind that you can only copy from one
field to another, not from one field to three
fields, as with address lines for example.
You can sometimes copy from two fields
to one field, such as merging first name and
surname, but its not always straightforward.
Once youre confident all your data is clean,
you can start the migration.

Data clean-up involves a number of checks:

that the same person or organisation is
only on the system once (in other words,
one person = one record, no matter how
much data you store on them)
that data is accurate and up to date
that the key relationships and links with
other data are clear (e.g. if you had one
line for the address and now have three,
how are you going to split the data up?)
that there are no spelling mistakes (its
almost impossible to find data which has
been spelt incorrectly it will probably be
lost forever).

45

So do I use two systems?

When you are doing the actual data
transfer, you will need to prevent users
accessing either system to make sure
they dont enter or change data in the old
system or put data into the new system
before it is ready. You will need to warn
people of this well in advance!
During the overall data migration phase,
you can use two systems (the new one for
testing and training after the first attempt at
data migration while the old one is retained
for your existing work) but dont delay
using the new system any longer than you
have to. Staff shouldnt have to enter data
into two systems (its frustrating and timeconsuming and leads to error).
Managing the changeover is always slightly
problematic but if you stop people using
their old system on, say, Friday lunchtime,
you can usually have the new system up and
running by mid-morning on Monday (and
have the weekend off). Friday afternoon
can be spent migrating data and ironing
out a few bugs and Monday morning spent
checking that everyone can access the new
system.
Data issues
Its a good idea to keep checking data
periodically, checking for duplicate records
and generally looking after your system. See
section 6 for more information on this.

TIPS
Only transfer the data you need from
your old system into your new one.
Make sure it is accurate and up to
date.
Create a back-up copy before you
transfer your data.
Do a dry run to make sure the data
can be easily transferred. You may
need to do some manual sorting
before data can be transferred
between the two systems.
Warn your colleagues that there will
be a short period of time when they
will not have access to either system.
Check the data once it has been
transferred so you can be sure that
the right data has gone into the right
place.

Step 15: Train and support

your staff
You will want to think about training staff
both before and as they start to use the
new system. It is essential that you allow
enough time to train and support staff
because if they are inadequately prepared,
uncomfortable, or lack confidence in the
system, it can undermine how well the
system is used in the future. As well as
training users on the parts of the system
that they will use regularly, make sure they
are given an overview of the whole system.
This will help them see how the information
entered by frontline staff enables the system
to produce the reports you need for your
funders or senior management.
As well as providing training before the
system goes live, you should think about
making sure that people have easy access
to a help system, a manual and, ideally,
someone who can be consulted on an ongoing basis for support issues. In the longer
term, you will need to think about how new
staff will be trained to use the system.

46

Once your system has been in use for

a short while, plan a review of how it is
working. Have a look at the data that
has been inputted and how the reports
are beginning to look. This will give you
a good idea of whether the system is
being used properly or whether there
are any problems with how the system
is working. If necessary, make further
refinements to the system or to the way
in which people are using the system.

TIPS
Dont just sit back and assume all is
well with your new system. Check it
regularly!
Get feedback from different users as
well as looking at the information that
has been entered.
Expect to keep making minor changes
for at least a few months.

4
5

It took me a
month to build the
system but 11 months
to implement it! What
took the time was getting
people to comment on it
and then adjusting it
to make it work.

6
7

We thought
users would simply
get on with it. The system
was intuitive and appeared
straightforward. How wrong we
were! We quickly decided to train
every user and engagement, data
accuracy and system effectiveness
all improved dramatically. Dont
make our mistake train your
team before you use your
system.

Step 16: Review and adjust

TIPS
Be careful not to give people too
much training too far in advance of
using the new system otherwise they
may forget what they have learnt or
lose confidence in the interim.
During the first phase of use, provide
additional on-site support and
coaching for users even if they have
had training.
Check on the quality of the data going
into the database on a regular basis.
It may be tempting to think you dont
need to provide training. Although
training may be time and costintensive, if you dont get this step
right, the system will not give you
the value you need. Keep it simple
and make sure everyone knows what
theyre doing. They dont need to
be experts, just use the system to
do their jobs. However, make sure
that someone, somewhere in your
organisation is an expert.

8
9

47

Step 17: Sign-off

Once you have reviewed the system and
made any final changes, make sure that you
sign off the system; in other words, make it
clear that the development work has been
completed.

Case study
Working with external developers
and the importance of high level
internal support
DR has 75 staff and provides support to
families and vulnerable children across
England, working through a national
helpline and regional and local offices. The
monitoring focus is fairly straightforward
DR reports what it does and the
difference it makes, collecting inputs and
outputs, across different offices. However,
it was using six different Microsoft Access
databases across its regional sites. For
central reporting, each database was
emailed or posted to head office and
then amalgamated into a central one. The
process was time-consuming, inefficient
and meant that information was often
not being used or shared effectively.
There was a clear need to amalgamate
and simplify the organisations monitoring
systems which would improve use of staff
time and access to information to help
the organisation be more efficient and
effective.
In 2001, DR appointed its first full-time
ICT manager. The trustee board allocated
a 50,000 budget to develop a central
database and costs for head office ICT
infrastructure to improve the situation.

48

The new ICT manager looked at off-theshelf systems but found appropriate ones
too expensive. From previous experience,
he already knew of the existence of
good open source web-based databases,
found a database developer through
existing contacts and commissioned the
customised development of a single system
(to replace the six Microsoft Access
databases) using open source technologies.
We were never worried about specific
technologies or systems. It was about
getting the right tool for the job rather
than using this or that.
The organisation spent four months
defining what was needed. The
ICT manager convened a database
development group internally to pin down
detailed needs and requirements and
reworked some aspects of the existing
systems.
Development went well until the
developers were taken over by a bigger
company. The priorities of the developers
changed and work was either not done or
done badly. The organisation eventually
took the project back in-house and the
ICT manager ended up finishing the
development himself over five months.
His own skills were essential to the
projects success in this case. The board
continued to be supportive and allowed
the organisation to take calculated risks.
If you commission open source systems,
ensure you have access to the source
code and a good licence. Dont pay
developers upfront manage contracts
well and bargain hard!

Time taken
18 months, plus on-going development
to adapt and improve over four years.
Resource implications
Project management considerable.
Software development considerable.
Time to sit down and work out what
you want to do.
Staff time for database development
group.
Researching systems.
On-going developments to keep
improving system.
Training time for users.

4
5
6
7

Learning points
Tailor-made systems which are
adaptable to the changing needs of an
organisation are a major asset the fit
with organisational activity was ideal
in this case. But it needs continuing
development to keep it fit for purpose.
Dont pay developers (or consultants)
upfront. You dont want to be left with
half a product.
Its important to have the skills and time
to project manage external developers.
Dont assume everything will run
smoothly without management support
and monitoring.
If you dont have the ICT skills and

The database has developed with the

organisation over four years and can be
adapted to the changing needs of the
organisation as long as the database is
adaptable, the organisation wont outgrow
it. Some staff were initially resistant to
amalgamating databases and concerned
about data quality but can now complete
work much more quickly, have access to
up-to-date information and are very happy
with the result!

knowledge in-house, its important to

find them elsewhere by talking to other
organisations, hiring external consultants
or bringing in volunteers.
Development projects always carry risk.
Make sure its well managed and that the
results will be worth the effort.
Excellent support and trust from the
board of trustees was fundamental to
success and supporting risks to make the
project work.

The organisation now has a contacts

management and resource system which
records helpline enquiries, produces
effective statistics (and funder specific
reports) and enables the national helpline
to access local information and resources
quickly and easily. The 14 local offices can
update the single database quickly and
easily with current information, meaning
the national helpline has up-to-date access
to accurate information.

8
9

49

5.What are the different ways

of developing ICT for your
monitoring and evaluation?
When you want to develop a computer system to
support your monitoring and evaluation processes, there
are essentially four choices:
Improve
your existing
system

Develop
something
new in-house

Buy an
off-the-shelf
system

Commission
someone
to develop
something for
you

This section explores these different options in more

detail and highlights the key issues for each option. In
addition, you will find a worksheet on page 87 which you
can use to compare the advantages and disadvantages of
each option and decide how important these are to you.
Option 1: Improving your existing system
Improve
your existing
system

Develop
something
new in-house

What does this mean?

You may have a system which can be
adapted to meet your monitoring and
evaluation needs. For example, your
organisation may already be using a
spreadsheet or database which is meeting
some of its monitoring and evaluation
needs. By adding new functions or features
to this system, it may enable you to meet all
your M&E needs.
Whats involved?
If you think that your existing system is
worth developing, the next question to ask
yourself is whether there is anyone in your
organisation who has the skills needed to
do this or whether you will need to get

50

Buy an
off-the-shelf
system

Commission
someone
to develop
something for
you

someone in to help you. If you do have

someone in-house, do they have the time
available to devote to working on your
system? It can take a considerable amount
of time to develop, test and implement your
redeveloped system. You will also need to
consider:
whether they have the time and skills to
train other members of staff
whether they can provide on-going
support to system users and, if not, who
will
what will happen when they are away
on holiday, off sick or move on from the
organisation.

See Appendix 2 for a more

detailed assessment of the pros
and cons of this option.

See Working with volunteers at

www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/
workingwithvolunteers

If you do not have someone in-house or

an existing system developer that you can
turn to, you will want to find an external
consultant or company to take on the work.

See Choosing and using consultants

at www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/
usingconsultants

Cons
There may still be considerable
cost to the organisation in terms of
staff time and skills. Staff may need
additional training or you may need
to pay for a consultant to build new
functions onto your existing system.
You may be limited by the way the
existing system is set up and have to
make do with what is possible rather
than what you really want.
You can end up relying on a staff
member, volunteer or consultant who
may not be around in the future.

If none of your existing staff or volunteers

has the skills to develop your system, you
may need to bring in an external person
to do this for you. It may be that you can
go back to the person or company that
originally provided you with the system you
are using. They already understand how
your system is set up and should have some
understanding of your needs.

Pros
It is likely to be cheaper than starting
afresh.
You wont need to transfer your data
into a new system.
Your system users are already familiar
with the system and they shouldnt
need much additional training to get
used to the amended system.

Asking an existing member of staff or

volunteer to develop your system is often
seen as a cheap and easy way of developing
your system. However, it is important
to think through the issues raised above
otherwise there is a risk that you could find
yourself with a system that doesnt work
properly and that no one understands.

6
7
8

Is this for you?

First of all, you need to make sure that
your existing system is worth developing
further. You should consider the following
questions:
Is your current system adequate? Does it
do what your organisation needs it to do
easily?
Could your system cope if the amount
of information you need to store and
process increases considerably?
Do you have more than one system? If
so, are they on different computers? Can
more than one person use the same
system?

51

 What does your organisation use the

system(s) for (e.g. specific information
on clients and donors, merging letters,
creating labels or reports)?
How many people use the system? Do
they have enough computer access to do
this effectively? How many people should
be using it? Could it cope if everyone
needs to access it?
Is everyone who uses the system able
to do the things they need to do on it?
Do they need more training in using the
system?
Do your computers have the capacity to
run your software adequately?
Does your organisation need to
upgrade to a newer version of your
current programme or even a different
programme? If so, what programme do
you need? Will all your computers be able
to run the new software?
TIPS
Create a back-up of your system and
its contents before any work starts.
Spend time working out exactly what
you want the system to do.
Be clear about which elements you
are changing, and why, and what
effects this will have on the rest of the
system.
Consult with others to make sure you
have got this right.
Work out how people will use the
existing system while changes are
being made to it. You may need to
ask users not to enter any new data
until the modifications are completed.
Test out the system before it is relaunched.
Document the changes that are made
so that in the future it will still be
possible to understand the changes
that have been made to the system.

52

Case study
Dealing with a lack of resources in
a very small organisation finding
trustworthy support and optimising
systems as you go along
In a very small organisation, it can be
difficult to know where to start. TD is a
small agency running a telephone helpline
and referral service for survivors of
abuse. With only one member of staff
and a handful of volunteers, resources are
scarce and there is almost no money or
expertise for ICT and limited experience
in monitoring and evaluation. Relying on
a few old PCs and limited ICT skills, TD
needed external help to support and
improve its monitoring and statistical
reporting as it was becoming increasingly
difficult. With some volunteer advice, it
decided that it needed an easy to use
shared database for recording data and
reporting statistics.
Its existing database ran separately on
three PCs, and databases had to be copied
and merged to enable reporting and
data sharing. The system didnt validate
information and it was difficult to extract
statistics from it. Monitoring needs were
simple but not supported.
TD knew it needed help but with little
money and few contacts it was struggling.
Asking around in the local community,
TD found a freelance developer, working
in another role with a local charity
accountant, through word of mouth and
recommendations. After a get-to-knowyou session, the two decided to work
together.
The best way to work with a very small
organisation is to develop as you go along
needs will change and there are no clear
requirements at the start. As long as the
overall system is fairly simple, and overall
needs well understood, its much easier to
prototype the technology and refine and
elaborate as you go along.

1
4

Time taken
Six months overall.

Resource implications
Staff time proportionate.
Consultant time within budget
(expected).
Software costs limited.
M&E planning limited.

As a result of the relationship and the

work, the single member of staff now
understands the database better and has
learnt basic reporting. The organisation
has increased confidence in data accuracy.
The system works better, is easier to use
and means that a single database is used
by everyone without the need to copy
and merge. The database can be used to
record phone calls more accurately and it
now supports monitoring as well as case
management, recording information such
as the district, referrals to/from other
organisations, issues discussed and how
they were resolved. It also provides a
central source of contacts and collates
statistics. The developer has become
the fixer and hand-holder and a trusted
advisor to the organisation.

There is a solution out there but it may

not be in the likeliest place. Ask around
and find someone you can trust and then
build the relationship. Dont get sold by
the technology when its personal support
and trusted advice that you need. You also
need to build a long-term relationship to
ensure your developer can make changes
as your organisational needs change.

Refine and elaborate as you go along;

your needs will change and its often
difficult to make requirements clear at
the start. Simple systems dont need
to be set in stone at the beginning; you
can literally make it up as you go along.
Prototyping does work.
Maintain a good relationship with your
developer. You will need to refine
and change your system and its a lot
more difficult to do that with someone
other than the person you built it
with. Involving your developer in your
organisation is rewarding for them.
Decide when youve finished the
main part of the project. It can be
frustrating for developers to keep
changing a system week after week
but most are happy to maintain a longterm relationship with a more limited
commitment.

The original database was redeveloped

to create a networked system (a single
database accessible from the three PCs)
with better reporting and data validation.
The developer provided trusted support,
a significant amount of hand-holding and
built a relationship with the organisation.

Learning points
Find someone you can trust, who has
the right skills and can work with you
the way you want to work. Try all
your contacts from other voluntary
organisations to your local accountant
and friends to a volunteer centre and get
a recommendation.
Dont necessarily expect ICT people to
understand monitoring and evaluation.
You may need to find someone with
expertise in both if youre unclear about
the M&E aspect.

8
9

53

Option 2: Developing something new in-house

Improve
your existing
system

Develop
something
new in-house

What does this mean?

Developing something new in-house means
getting an existing member of staff or
volunteer to plan, design and develop a
system for you from scratch.
Whats involved?
If you feel your needs are straightforward,
and you have someone with the skills and
time available in-house, then you may
decide that developing a system internally
is a good way forward. You might like to
consider whether:
you have someone with the time to do
this (and someone to manage them)
they have enough skills to develop
something that fully meets your needs
the software you are using is reliable
enough and, for example, whether it will
cope if your system has several users
accessing it at the same time
your developer has the experience to get
this right first time (or whether you can
afford the risks of trial and error)
you are doing this simply to save some
money or because it will give you the best
result
you will end up developing a system that
only you understand, which might be
difficult for someone else to modify and
improve later on
you will lose out by not having an external
perspective and someone to ask why this
way questions
you have a back-up plan if your in-house
development goes wrong.

54

Buy an
off-the-shelf
system

Commission
someone
to develop
something for
you

Pros
Its a good choice if your organisation
is small and you cant afford the costs
of buying an off-the-shelf system or
commissioning someone to build you
a new system.
Its particularly good for meeting
simple needs or working out what
your needs are before moving to
something more complex.
You will have someone in-house who
understands how your system works
and can support system users.
Cons
The system may be limited in terms of
what it can do due to lack of skills or
expertise within the organisation.
You can end up relying on one staff
member or volunteer who may not
be around in the future.
If your system isnt well built, you may
end up with an unreliable system.
See Appendix 2 for a more
detailed assessment of the pros
and cons of this option.

Is this for you?

Getting someone in-house to build a system
for you can be a good way of developing
something simple without requiring lots of
resources, or it can end up creating more
problems than it solves! The advantage
is that the member of staff or volunteer
knows how your organisation works and
should therefore have a good understanding

PD is a small humanitarian welfare

organisation with 16 staff, about half
of whom use a database. A significant
part of the organisations work is done
remotely and it also provides face-to-face
counselling support to clients, mostly
vulnerable young people separated from
their families. PD has significant in-house
ICT expertise and an excellent technical
infrastructure. Monitoring, evaluation and
detailed outcomes are well worked out
as processes but not supported by PDs
systems.

6
7
8

Led by the information officer, the

organisation decided to replace the
existing Microsoft Access database with a
new database, also using Microsoft Access,
but better focused on the organisations
current needs. This provided two benefits
an improvement in casework systems,
including electronic case notes, and a
wider range of data collected for M&E
purposes. The system was developed inhouse with an overall timescale of a year
for buy-in, development and testing.

The plan for information management

was a combination of systems which
would help demonstrate outcomes and
support management and development.
PDs old database was several years old
and becoming unstable. Case records
were held on paper and it was difficult
to report statistically on individual cases,
coupled with an increasing need to access
case information electronically. The
organisation was keen to publish results
and outcomes on its website and access to
statistics was difficult.

TIPS
You need to make sure that your
system developer:
spends time working out exactly what
you want the system to do
consults with others to make sure
they have got this right
considers not only how information
will be entered into the system but
also how information will be extracted
pilots the new system before they
launch it
provides training and also provides
user-friendly guidance notes that
people can refer to.

The advantages of developing

multiple systems in-house and
the importance of good ICT
infrastructure

For simple projects, it could be worth

investing time and money in training a
staff member how to develop databases
in Microsoft Access. It wont solve all your
problems but it is great for simple databases
and it means youll have an expert in-house
at a much lower cost than a freelance
developer or private company. Your expert
will also already have a good understanding
of your organisation.

Case study

of what you need the new system to do.

However, they may not necessarily be
skilled in good design techniques or be up
to date on the latest features in a particular
software product. This means they may be
able to complete the task, but it is likely that
they will face a steep learning curve and
the work can end up taking more time than
you expected. And there is a risk that you
end up with a system that doesnt actually
work very well. Generally, getting someone
in-house to build you a system can be useful
for small-scale, short-term monitoring but
has serious limitations for longer-term or
wider-scale use.

Before you decide, work out what you

want to do. What will make life easier for
your users?

55

The main users of the system, the frontline

staff of the charity, were involved from the
very beginning. They were consulted on
needs, and asked to buy into and support
the development. The information officer
shadowed some staff to gain a better
understanding of how the existing system
was used, and what improvements staff
wanted to see.
Successful projects are dependent on
happy users and managed expectations.
Dont make all the decisions yourself. You
wont be the only one using it.
Eighteen months after the implementation
of the new system, the organisation
carried out a survey of its service users
opinions to gain qualitative and quantitative
M&E information. Because this information
needed to be stored anonymously, a
second system was required. Also built in
Microsoft Access, this system made data
entry a much simpler process, and enabled
all the data to be captured, aggregated and
analysed. The two systems are not linked
in any way, enabling client confidentiality
to be maintained.
The impact of the decision to develop
two different systems (both in Microsoft
Access) was that both worked very well
and met the needs of the organisation.
The systems worked well in isolation as
there was no need to share data between
them. Bringing both together may have
been a bigger challenge. The two systems
provide better reporting and access to
information (qualitative and quantitative)
and are helping inform development of
services and improve outcomes. Its now
much easier to record, search and publish
statistical information. The systems were
built for purpose and are easy to use.
We cant overstate the importance of a
strong and stable ICT infrastructure to the
success of the system. Shared databases
only work well when ICT is well planned,
looked after and working well.

56

Learning points
Shadowing other staff when developing a
system gives you a real insight into how
a system can support their work and
also how they might take advantage of
the opportunities a new system might
bring.
Getting buy-in and support from system
users as early as possible helps manage
expectations and keeps staff happy. It
makes it much easier when they finally
start using a system theyve developed
a passion for and it is also useful in
encouraging other staff to come on
board.
Dont necessarily make one system do
everything. Two systems are sometimes
better than one, especially if you need to
secure data, and it means both systems
are simpler.
Microsoft Access is only effective up to
a point; youll need to upgrade as your
organisation adds more records and
more users.
A good, stable ICT infrastructure is very
important to a stable working system.
Users will get frustrated if their PCs and
network compromise their use of the
system, especially as they grow more
dependent on it.
Time taken
12 months.
Resource implications
Staff time to develop (all in-house).
Management time.
Staff time to participate in needs analysis
and user groups.

Option 3: Buying an off-the-shelf system

Develop
something
new in-house

Once you have identified an off-the-shelf

system that meets your needs, the process of
implementation is relatively straightforward.
The system provider should already have
experience of supporting customers through
this process and should give you a clear idea
of how they will be able to support you. The
system itself should certainly be a tried and
tested product so you wont need to test it
for bugs.
In some cases, you will be installing the
system on your own computer, perhaps
from a CD or by downloading it. More
commonly, you will be given access to an
on-line system that is stored remotely.

If the system is not being installed for you

by the system provider, you should be
provided with a telephone helpline to help
you cope with any technical difficulties you
may encounter. They may also be able to
advise you on how to make the best use of
the system, that is, how to get it to do what
you want.

Once the system is installed on your

computers, or your access to the remote
system arranged, you will then need to
familiarise yourself with how the new
system works before transferring your
existing information.

Once you have identified two or three

systems that you feel provide a close match
with your specification, ask the suppliers
to send a demo CD, let you use their
system over the internet or arrange for a
product demonstration. Its a good idea to
arrange to meet the system providers and
question them more closely. Remember
to compare the total cost for the solutions
you are considering, including designing,

See Working with suppliers at

www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/
projectworkingwithsuppliers

For an example of how to evaluate a

system, see the sample functionality
scorecard that was created for a
homelessness organisation at www.
techsoup.org/learningcenter/databases/
page5210.cfm

implementing, training and maintenance,

and ask for references. Talk to users of the
system and ask them how the system works
for them.

Whats involved?
First of all, you will need to carry out some
research into what systems are available.
Talk to other organisations and find out
if any of them are using an off-the-shelf
system. Having identified some potential
systems, you may want to use a scorecard
to assess the strengths and weaknesses of
each product.

Commission
someone
to develop
something for
you

What does this mean?

This is when you buy a system that
someone else has created. This may involve
purchasing something that you install on
your computers or outsourcing a system,
which means renting an application or
service from an outside provider that you
access over the internet. You may have to
use the system as it comes or you may be
able to customise it by adding your own
specific functions to it (although you may
need to commission the system provider to
do this for you).

Buy an
off-the-shelf
system

Improve
your existing
system

57

Pros
Some off-the-shelf systems can be
relatively low cost.
The system is tried and tested.
Support should be available from the
system provider.
Cons
It works the way it works. It may be
impossible to customise it or you may
have to pay for this to be done.
It could take time to import your data,
as there may not be a close match
between how your data is set up and
how it will fit into the new system.
There may be large financial
consequences if the system turns out
not to be right for your organisation.
See Appendix 2 for a more
detailed assessment of the pros
and cons of this option.

Is this for you?

This is a good solution if you can find an offthe-shelf system that has a good match to
your requirements. You should consider the
following questions:
Does the system provide the essential
features you need?
How well does it fit with your current
work processes?
Does the system have enough capacity to
support the organisation? Can it cope with
the number of computers, number of staff
needing access to the system, the speed
of your internet communication and so on
your organisation has?
Is additional customisation possible, how
much would it cost and how quickly can it
be done?
Can your existing data be transferred into
the system? Who can do this and are
there any costs involved?

58

What training and support are provided

both initially and on an on-going basis?
How much does this cost?
What will be the future costs of using the
system? You will no doubt incur additional
costs to further develop and grow your
system.
Bear in mind that once you have set up an
off-the-shelf system, you may be bound by
a contract which will mean you have to use
it for a considerable period of time. You will
therefore need to be sure that the solution
you choose not only meets your current
requirements but will also be able to meet
your organisations future needs.
TIPS
You might also find it useful to
go to specific charity shows such
as Members (the Membership
Management Technology Exhibition,
see www.conferencehouse.co.uk/
members/) or CHASE (Charities
and Associations Exhibition, every
February, see www.conferencehouse.
co.uk/chase/) or even local ICT
forums and talk it through with people
(your local infrastructure organisation
should be able to signpost you to
these).
Read through charity magazines such
as Charity Finance and Third Sector
which often have useful articles on
database systems.
Post queries on ICT forums on the
internet. You can do a search on the
internet for these or check out the
ones listed in the Help and support
section on page 66.
Ask consultants or volunteers to
help give recommendations, but
make sure the recommendations are
independent (and ideally free!)

Case study

7
8

Learning points
Good planning and effective use of
resources can help small organisations
improve the effectiveness of their
reporting through ICT. Project managing
the efforts of the team is important; all
projects need someone to lead them.
Understand what you want to monitor
and evaluate, and how, before you start
thinking about systems.
Dont underestimate the time, effort
and resources required, although it is
worth it in the end. Having all your data
in electronic format and basic reports
accessible at the touch of a button saves
significant staff time.

The organisation decided it needed

a database to help show what the
organisation did and to automate data
processing. Using external volunteer
support found via IT4Communities to help
assess its needs, CP planned the nature
of the database project and examined
some options. Key to this was managing
expectations and getting the monitoring
and evaluation needs and systems clear
first. Forms were redeveloped, data
reassessed and a new M&E system set up
before any ICT was involved.

We used to have data but now weve got

information and can justify the difference
we make. We know what were doing,
for whom, why and how it makes a
difference.

Its ICT infrastructure was fairly old and

limited in scope but functional for basic
office needs. Monitoring and evaluation
were based on forms and paper systems
and generating ad hoc reports as needed.
This combination proved time-consuming
and frustrating, distracting staff from
delivering services and contact with
local people. Reporting to funders was
cumbersome.

The whole project was based on

automating data, but has proved so much
more. The system chosen was fairly
inexpensive (a few hundred pounds)
and fits CPs needs fairly well. It works
within the limitations of its current ICT
infrastructure and doesnt need high level
skills to operate. Staff now have time to
spend with people rather than forms.

CP wanted to maximise its resources,

improve effectiveness and provide better
access to information about clients,
outputs and outcomes. It wanted to
automate data processing and move away
from paper systems.

Being clear at the beginning about what

we needed to do was fundamental to
success. If we hadnt managed expectations
at the beginning, we may well have given
up when the going got tough. We also
needed external help to reflect on what
we needed. It was tempting to think about
the database before we had really thought
through what we were trying to do with
it.

CP is a very small local charity providing

a range of open access services (youth
club, mothers groups and indoor sports
facilities) and support services (including
advice and counselling) via a local
community centre. With four staff (mostly
part time) and a host of volunteers, overall
resources were limited and there was
poor understanding of ICT and little ICT
infrastructure. Monitoring and evaluation
were almost exclusively paper-based with
the occasional spreadsheet.

A long-standing volunteer (and former

committee member) helped project
manage the activities, and with further
support CP selected a fairly simple offthe-shelf system and worked round the
potential limitations of the system.

A small local charity seeking to

provide better access to information
about clients, outputs and outcomes
off-the-shelf

59

 Do your research and dont hesitate to

ask for expert help to select a system.
Having a system can provide added
benefits such as identifying links between
different families and communities and
offering the organisation intelligence
to help tailor services and make better
decisions.
Time taken
12 months overall.

Resource implications
Time needed to plan.
Time involved in redeveloping M&E
system.
Software purchase 400.
Staff time for consultation, testing and so
on.
Volunteer project management time.
Installing software and adding data.

Option 4: Commissioning someone to

develop something new for you

Improve
your existing
system

Develop
something
new in-house

What does this mean?

This is when you use consultants (or ICT
volunteers) to plan, design and develop
a new system for you. For example, your
organisation may already be using ICT to
manage its information but you are finding
that your current system no longer fully
meets your needs.
Whats involved?
If you decide to get someone to build you
a new system from scratch, you will need
to consider who will develop the system for
you.
See Choosing and using consultants
at www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/
usingconsultants

60

Buy an
off-the-shelf
system

Commission
someone
to develop
something for
you

See also Working with IT

volunteers at http://www.
icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/
workingwithvolunteers
You may find it helpful to break the work
down into stages, with milestones for
completion:
agreeing the specification
system development
piloting
reviewing
implementing
as well as considering how the consultant or
company will provide training and support.

1
4
5
6

See Appendix 2 for a more

detailed assessment of the pros
and cons of this option.

TIPS
Make sure you have a good
understanding of the way your new
system will work and exactly what it
will and wont do.
Keep focused on the key features you
have specified and do not demand or
agree to new features unless you are
very clear on the costs and benefits
associated with these.
Take a step-by-step approach to the
development of your new system and
agree each stage as you go along.
Developing an ICT system is a
complex and dynamic process and
one that will require your constant
input. Make sure you have the time,
commitment and willingness to see
the project through.

Cons
It can be very expensive. If you do
not clearly identify what you want
from the beginning, the costs can
escalate. And costs for maintaining
and developing the system may also
be high in the longer term.
Getting a good system relies on
the developer gaining a good
understanding of how your
organisation works and what you
want your system to do.
You can end up relying on the system
developer for support and they are
not always around two or three years
later to troubleshoot their own work.

Is this for you?

Commissioning someone to build you a
system should get you a system that is
tailored to your specific needs. However,
it can be a complicated route and prone
to error. Its also likely to take the longest
time; expect it to take anything from four
to 18 months to have an effective working
system. Be cautious of working with experts
who blind you with science, and ensure that
you have the internal resources to take this
option. There are excellent examples of
systems that have been built this way but
dont expect too much. You should only do
this if youre sure nothing else will work.

Pros
This option is particularly useful if
you need to track information that
is not commonly used by other
organisations, and cannot be readily
added to an off-the-shelf system. You
end up with something tailored and
specific to your needs.
You can specify the reports and
features that you want.
It should be relatively straightforward
to import your data as the system has
been designed to match your needs.

7
8
9

61

Case study
Developing systems from scratch;
the importance of clear leadership
and a phased approach
VAX is a small infrastructure organisation
of 12 staff supporting local voluntary
organisations with information, advice,
training and resources. It has limited
resources and limited money but some
in-house expertise in both ICT and M&E.
The general ICT infrastructure is good
and senior management are supportive.
Its monitoring and evaluation focus is on
services delivered and profiling, which
are currently difficult to record and
providing limited value for either strategic
purposes or fundraising. VAXs target was
the development of a system to support
sector profiling as well as a central source
of contacts and relationships.
VAX made a choice to move away from
paper systems and to have a monitoring
system built for the organisation. Its
first attempt was far from ideal. The
system was designed by committee, giving
everyone not just a say but control over
what the system would do and how.
The criteria changed constantly, even
during development, and requirements
were never fixed. It quickly became
too complicated and cumbersome as
just another little thing was added.
Development was awkward, timeconsuming and frustrating, and when the
system was finished it still didnt work or
do what staff wanted and the organisation
became disillusioned. There were many
arguments between the organisation and
developer over whose fault it was.
Designing things by committee is
hopeless. You need to consult but you
also need to take firm decisions in the
interests of the whole organisation. You
cant please everybody.
The second attempt was much more
successful. The organisation adopted a
firm project management approach with

62

a smaller decision-making group and

commissioned an external developer. The
CEO offered her full support and the
project manager maintained the impetus.
The group developed a design brief,
got the first stage up and running and
signed it off. Adopting a phased approach,
VAX developed a good relationship
and understanding with the developer
which meant that the project forged
ahead without the need for constant
amendments and additions. Design and
phasing were more flexible and better data
standards and processes were adopted.
The project manager worked hard to
change perceptions within the organisation
and addressed individual concerns.
Consultation is hugely important. We
asked staff (the people who were going to
use the system) what they need, what they
think it will deliver and where it stops. But
the group takes the final decision. It has to
be realistic in terms of time, money and
need.
The new database is a good analytical tool,
being used well by staff. It enables effective
sector profiling which staff can manipulate
to produce data for use in evaluation. Staff
are excited by new possibilities, impressed
by what the system can do and how it can
support them. It supports the organisation
in collecting and presenting data to help
build cases and analyse gaps.
Learning points
Keep any decision-making group
strategic and have one clear lead
decision-maker. Consultation is not the
same as letting everyone have everything
they want.
Give users an early sight of the system,
let them see it as it goes along and
make sure they are involved throughout
(including preparations, requirements
and so on) but dont let them micromanage.
Develop with a phased approach. Get
parts of the system working and then
build on those. Quick wins help win over

1
2

the system users and promote use of the

system.
Your organisation must have good ICT
infrastructure, skills and knowledge to
make it work.
Be realistic; you wont be able to do
everything or meet everyones demands.

Time taken
18 months (including six months for
second system).

Resource implications
Software development 5,000.
Management time limited.
Staff consultation time considerable.
Project management time considerable.
Advice from M&E consultant limited.

You can use the worksheet in

Appendix 2 to compare the
advantages and disadvantages of the
different options and decide how
important these are for you.

6
7
8
9

63

6. Getting the most from

your new system
This section focuses on how to make the best use of
your system, once it is up and running.
Reporting to your funders
and partners
Now that you have a system set up to
store and organise your monitoring data,
you should be in a good position to start
extracting information from it to meet the
needs of your funders and partners.
For example, you should be able to find out:
how many services you have delivered
how many people you have helped.
Depending on the way you have set up
your system, you may also be able to find
out:
what type of people you have helped
what outcomes your client group has
shown
the resources used to produce these
outcomes (e.g. staff time, resources,
project costs)
who funded different aspects of your
work, what was claimed from each funder
and when
which organisation or team was
responsible for outputs or outcomes in a
multiple-delivery project.

Contributing to national,
regional or local statistics
Another way of making good use of the
data collected by your system can be
to feed into national, regional or even
local data collection and policy work. For
example, the demographic information you
collect on your clients can contribute to
information collected by local authorities
about the different groups of people living
in different boroughs or wards.

64

Internal evaluation
Remember that your system can be used
not only to produce information for your
funders but also to help you manage your
work. For example, some organisations find
it helpful to carry out a quarterly analysis
to see if there are any changes occurring
in their client group and to assess whether
clients needs are changing.

We used to
have data but now
weve got information
and can justify the
difference we make.
Well know what were
doing, for whom, why
and how it makes a
difference.

Some organisations have also found that

information from their system can help
them to work with their clients.

Now we
can produce
information which
we can feed back to
our clients to show how
far they have travelled
this can be very
empowering.

Maintaining the system

We could
have carried on
as we were but at
the cost of increasing
frustration, staff turnover
and a lower quality of
service. The investment
was worthwhile and we
wished we had done
it sooner.

You will also probably want to make

changes as you go along, such as adding
new drop-down lists, forms and reports.
You will need to allocate resources on an

Developing the system

Key points
Make sure your system keeps up to date
with changes in your organisations work.
Allocate resources to support both the
system and its users on an on-going basis.

Your organisation needs to have a plan

for providing on-going support and system
management. For example, you will need to
make sure the data is cleaned up regularly.
Some organisations have a database
manager who is in charge of making sure
the system continues to work properly by:
setting up and training new users
making sure the system remains up to
date (e.g. amending drop-down menus
and so on)
running maintenance routines
helping produce reports from the system
managing change requests (ideas and
requests for improvements and fixes).

annual basis in order to keep the system

in shape. If your system is to support your
monitoring and evaluation effectively, it will
need to adapt to changing and new services.

5
6
7
8
9

65

7. Help and support

This section provides information on where you can find
further help and support.
Further reading
Monitoring and evaluation
First Steps in Monitoring and
Evaluation

Charities Evaluation
Services

www.ces-vol.org.uk/
downloads/firstmande-1521.pdf

Keeping on Track: A guide to

setting and using indicators

Diana Parkinson and Avan

Wadia for the Performance
Hub

www.performancehub.org.
uk/publications

Putting Outcomes into

Practice

Diana Parkinson for

the London Housing
Foundation

www.lhf.org.uk/
Publications/ITPuttingoutcomesintopract.
pdf

Developing an ICT Strategy

Simon Davey for the ICT

Hub

www.icthub.org.uk/articles/
Developing_An_ICT_
Strategy_xPart_Onex.html

Guide to Managing ICT

in the Voluntary and
Community Sector

Mark Walker for the ICT

Hub

www.icthub.org.uk/
publications/managing_ict_
guide.pdf

How to Cost and Fund ICT

Marc Osten and Beth

Kanter for the ICT Hub

www.icthub.org.uk/
publications/How-ToCostFund-ICT_web.pdf

Getting to Know Your Local

Voluntary and Community
Sector: Developing voluntary
and community sector
profiles

NAVCA

www.navca.org.uk/
stratwork/localgov/
areaprofiles/vsprofilestoolkit.
htm

Information Management:
The cornerstone of nonprofit
effectiveness

Barbara Chang, Npower

New York

www.techsoup.org/
learningcenter/databases/
page5105.cfm

Does ICT Matter to You and

Your Organisation?

Simon Davey for the ICT

Hub

www.icthub.org.uk/articles/
Does_ICT_Matter_
To_You_and_Your_
Organisation.html

ICT development

66

Database development

ICT Hub

www.icthubknowledgebase.
org.uk/planningyourdatabase

Information Overload and

Database Dilemmas

Preponderate.network

www.preponderate.co.uk/
databasedilemmas.htm

Choosing a Database
Developer

ICT Hub Knowledgebase

www.icthubknowledgebase.
org.uk/
choosingdatabasedeveloper

Choosing a Database

ICT Hub Knowledgebase

www.icthubknowledgebase.
org.uk/choosingadatabase

Introduction to Databases:
How to keep track of data

Erik Bansleben and Gary

Orthuber for TechSoup

www.techsoup.org/
learningcenter/databases/
page5112.cfm?cg=searchter
ms&sg=Erik%20Bansleben

Avoiding Disaster: The

database planning process

Mary Duffy, for TechSoup

www.techsoup.org/
learningcenter/databases/
page5020.cfm

Sources of advice and help

7
8

The Performance Hub offers a support

finder service that provides a free
England-wide, on-line searchable database
to help you find support. You can search
by topic, type of service, specialism and
geographical region.
www.performancehub.org.uk/support.
asp?id=928
TechSoup provides a range of technology
services for non-profit organisations
including news and articles, discussion
forums, and discounted and donated
technology products.
www.techsoup.org
Charities Evaluation Services provides
training and consultancy in monitoring and
evaluation and quality assurance. It also
produces a range of publications, some
of which are free to download from its
website.
www.ces-vol.org.uk

Advice
There are lots and lots of sources of further
help and support available to you. Here are
some of the main websites that have plenty
of relevant information.
The ICT Hub (www.icthub.org.uk)
contains a knowledge base section
(www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk)
that provides a comprehensive on-line
source of practical help, information and
independent advice on ICT for small and
medium-sized voluntary and community
sector organisations. There is a useful
discussion forum at http://forums.icthub.
org.uk/index.php and a series of articles
related to databases.
www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/
databases

A Quick Guide to Planning

Your Database

www.icthubknowledgebase.
org.uk/setupadatabase

ICT Hub

So You Want to Set-up a

Database?

67

 IT For Charities is a website giving nonprofit organisations free information on

ICT products, services and technology
appropriate to UK charities, including a list
of off-the-shelf systems.
www.itforcharities.co.uk
VolResource provides information on
anything to do with running a voluntary
sector organisation, including a section
on Software and technology and
Information as an issue.
www.volresource.org.uk
Charity IT Resource Alliance (CITRA) is
a membership organisation specialising in
helping ICT professionals to develop their
skills and knowledge. It has a discussion
forum and sections on news, events,
publications and resources.
www.citra.org.uk
Idealware provides consumer report
reviews and articles about software of
interest to non-profit organisations.
www.idealware.org
Coyote Communications is an American
website providing resources, consultancy
and training for non-profit and nongovernmental organisations, civil society
and public sector agencies. It has useful
articles and tips on database software and
other technology tools.
www.coyotecom.com
Your local infrastructure organisation
may also be able to help. You can get
details from the National Association for
Voluntary and Community Action.
www.navca.org.uk

68

Other help
IT4Communities introduces volunteer
ICT professionals to charities needing ICT
help. It is free to registered charities, nonprofit and community groups.
www.it4communities.org.uk
The ICT Hub has a suppliers directory of
ICT consultants and database developers
and suppliers which also includes
many local infrastructure organisations
supporting ICT.
http://directory.icthub.org.uk/
Net:gain provides support and guidance
for managers in planning ICT.
http://ruralnet.typepad.com/netgain/
National Council for Voluntary
Organisations (NCVO) produces a
Directory of Approved Consultants, including
ICT consultants.
www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/publications/showall.
asp?id=1475
Preponderate is a network of ethical ICT
consultants providing support to voluntary
organisations. The website provides useful
links to other websites and there is a
helpful resources section.
www.preponderate.net
Charity Technology Trust provides
services and products to voluntary
organisations including ICT tools for
campaigning, fundraising, communications,
finance and ICT. In partnership with
TechSoup, it has launched the first
donated technology products programme
for charities and non-profit organisations
in the UK.
www.ctt.org

8. Glossary

Definition

Back-up

The process of making a copy of all your current computer files

and documents.

Client

A term used for a beneficiary of an organisation or project.

Data

Any information collected by an organisation or project to

monitor its progress.

Database

A database is something that stores data and provides a way to

quickly retrieve and update specific pieces of data essentially
an electronic filing system. It may have a specialist role; for
example, membership, case management, fundraising, customer
relationship management. Software for creating databases
includes Microsoft Access but many databases come as off-theshelf products; for example, Circle, AlMS, Advicepro, Raisers
Edge, Lamplight etc.

Drop-down menu

A list of options from which the user selects the appropriate

answer.

Evaluation

Involves using monitoring and other information to make

judgments on how an organisation, project or programme is
doing. Evaluation can be done externally or internally. (See also
Self-evaluation.)

Filemaker Pro

Software used to develop databases, similar to Microsoft

Access. Not very popular in the UK, Filemaker Pro has a large
community of users and developers in the USA, particularly
within the not-for-profit sector.

Field

When data has several parts it can be divided into fields. For
example, a date can be represented as three distinct fields: the
day, the month and the year.

Firewall

An appliance, or software running on another computer, used

to inspect network traffic passing through it. A firewall allows or
denies network traffic permission to pass based on a set of rules.

Hardware

Refers to objects that you can actually touch, such as disks, disk
drives, display screens (monitors), keyboards, printers.

Hard outcomes

Hard outcomes are defined as quantitative and often more easily

measurable; for example, the number of people moving into
permanent accommodation, finding work and so on. (See also
Outcomes and Soft outcomes.)

Indicators

Signs or signals that can be assessed to determine whether a

given thing has occurred or has been achieved (for example, an
activity, an output, an outcome).

Term

3
4
5
6
7
8
9

69

Information and
communications
technology

An umbrella term that covers computer and network hardware

and software, mobile phones and so on, and the various
applications and services connected with them.

Internet

A global network connecting millions of computers. The world

wide web is part of the internet and electronic mail (or email) is
transmitted over the internet.

Linux

Rival operating system to Microsoft Windows or Apple Macintosh.

Monitoring

The routine, systematic collection and recording of information

for the purpose of checking a project or organisations progress
against its plans.

Network

In the simplest terms, a network consists of two or more

computers that can communicate with each other to share
information or hardware such as a printer. All networking, no
matter how complex, builds off this simple system.

Off-the-shelf
systems

Refers to products that have already been designed and made,

compared to made to measure (one-off, custom-built, tailormade and so on) which refers to products that have to be
made to a special order.

On-line

Any capability available or work done directly on a computer; for

example, on-line help or on-line cataloguing.

Open source
software

Software that is free to use and which provides its original source
code so that others can adapt it to make it work for them. Visit
www.fossvcs.org.uk for more information on this option.

Outcomes

The changes, benefits, learning or other effects that happen as a

result of services and activities provided by an organisation. (See
also Hard outcomes and Soft outcomes.)

Outputs

The detailed activities, services and products provided by an

organisation.

Qualitative

A type of information that is primarily descriptive and

interpretative; for example, case studies.

Quantitative

A type of information that is numerical and can be assessed; for

example, our organisation worked with 123 people in the last
month, and 64 per cent were female.

Query

A request for information from a database.

Records

Records (along with fields) are parts of the structure of the data
held in a database. If youre familiar with Excel then (usually) the
rows are the records and the columns are the fields. A record is
all the information on one item (for example, a client, a patient,
an event and so on).

70

A database made up of one or more tables (related to each

other in some way).

Remote access

Being able to access the database from other locations; for

example, regional offices, home workers etc.

Search engine

A tool that lets you find information on the internet; for

example, Google.

Self-evaluation

When an organisation uses its own people and their skills to

carry out evaluation. (See also Evaluation.)

Server

A computer that delivers information and software to other

computers linked by a network.

Soft outcomes

Soft outcomes are typically defined as intangible, a matter of

degree and more difficult to assess. They are commonly used for
changes in attitudes, self-perception or certain skills areas. These
are often, but not always, intermediate outcomes. (See also
Outcomes and Hard outcomes.)

Software

Applications or programmes that run on a computer and give

the computer instructions or data; for example, Microsoft
Office is a productivity suite which includes software for writing
documents word processing called Microsoft Word.
Microsoft Windows and Linux are examples of operating system
software software which allows a computer to work.

Spreadsheet

A table that is used for accounting or other data in rows and

columns to capture, display and manipulate data. Generally
designed and used to hold numerical data and short text strings.
Software for creating spreadsheets includes Microsoft Excel and
Lotus 1-2-3.

SQL (structured
query language)

A standard interactive and programming language for updating or

extracting information from a database.

Stakeholders

The people who have an interest in the activities of an

organisation. This can include staff, volunteers, clients and their
carers, trustees, funders, purchasers, donors, supporters and
members.

System user

The person using the computer system.

Table

A set of data organised in rows and columns similar to a

spreadsheet. It is the structure that contains the actual data of a
database.

Relational
database

3
4
5
6
7
8

For help with other technical terms not covered here, see the glossary at
www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/index.php?id=glossary

71

9. Checklist
Is your organisation ready?
See section 2

Is your organisation committed to developing its

ICT? Have you got a clear sense of what this will
achieve?
Have you established your monitoring and
evaluation processes?
Do you have a clear ICT plan for your organisation?
Is your ICT infrastructure in good shape?
Do you know what you want?

See section 3

Are you clear what type of ICT you need?

See section 4, step 1

Do you know what you want your new system to

do for you?
Have you got support?

See section 4, steps 2

and 3

Have you got senior management support?

Are people around you aware of what your
organisation is planning to do?
Planning and project management

See section 4, step 4

Do you have a project team in place?

See section 4, step 5

Have you agreed a plan and a timetable for the

work?

See section 4, step 6

Have you produced your business analysis?

See section 4, step 7

Have you discussed and finalised your system

requirements?

See section 4, step 8

Have you considered whether you need to set up

an interim data collection system?
Developing your system

See section 4, step 9

Have you researched what others are using and

what else is available?

See section 4, step 10

Have you agreed which option is right for your

organisation?

72

Implementation

See section 4, step 12

Do you have a plan for implementing your new

system and training your staff?

See section 4, step 13

Have you tested, reviewed and signed off your new

system?

See section 4, step 14

Have you cleaned and sorted any data you wish to

transfer into the new system?

See section 4, step 16

Have you checked that once your new system is up

and running everyone is happy with it?

Have you got the funds to go ahead?

See section 4, step 11

Making the most of it

Are you adjusting your system so that it meets your
changing needs for information for your funders etc?

See section 6

Are you using your data to feed into national or

local policy work?
Are you looking after your system?

5
6
7
8
9

73

74

Appendix 1 Example evaluation framework

Outcome
indicators

Information
collection
methods

When and
by whom

How to
report and
use

Aim 1:
To reduce
isolation
among
Bangladeshi
women in
Haringey.

Women are
less isolated.

Number
of women
coming to
the projects
drop-in.

Drop-in
attendance
register.

At each
session by
drop-in staff.

Quarterly
management
statistics.

Number
of women
saying they
feel less
isolated.

Questionnaire

Given out
to women
annually by
the drop-in
staff.

Reports to
funders.

Outcomes

Specific
aims

Aim 2:

Aim 3:

Output
indicators

Information
collection
methods

When and
by whom

How to
report and
use

Objective 1:
To run a dropin centre.

Drop-in
sessions.

Number
of drop-in
sessions.

Project diary.

Project staff
at each
session.

Quarterly
management
statistics.

Profile of
women
attending.

Registration
forms.

Completed
with women
on first
meeting by
project staff.

Reports to
funders.

Outputs

Objectives

Objective 2:

Objective 3:

75

Appendix 2 Worksheet Weighing up the advantages and

disadvantages of the different options
Option 1:
Improve your existing
system

Option 2:
Develop something new inhouse

Cost

It is likely to be cheaper than

starting afresh.
BUT
There may be considerable
cost to the organisation in
terms of staff time and skills.
Staff may need additional
training if you are using
internal resources to develop
your system.
You may need to consider
paying for a consultant to
build new functions onto your
existing system.

Good choice if your

organisation is small and you
cant afford the costs of an offthe-shelf or bespoke system.
You may be able to use
existing software.
BUT
There may be considerable
cost to the organisation in
terms of staff time and skills.
You may need to purchase
new software.

Flexibility

The system can grow with

your organisation so you end
up with something that fits
well with your organisations
way of working.
BUT
You may be limited by the
way the existing system is set
up and have to make do with
what is possible rather than
what you really want.

You can build a system round

your needs.
BUT
You may not be satisfied with
the end result.

76

Some systems will allow you

to create new forms, reports
etc.
The supplier may continue to
develop the system with new
features.
BUT
There will be elements of the
system you wont be able to
change.

Developing your own system

is particularly useful if you
need to track information
that is not commonly used
by other organisations, and
cannot be readily added to an
off-the-shelf system.
BUT
An external consultant can
take a long time to understand
the degree of flexibility
required by your organisation.

Using an ICT volunteer means

you only have to think about
the cost in terms of your own
time.
BUT
ICT consultants are generally
expensive.
If you do not clearly identify
what you want from the
beginning, the costs can
escalate.
Costs for maintaining and
developing the system may
also be high in the longer
term.

Some can be relatively low

cost.
You know the cost of the
system now and for the
immediate future.
BUT
Some can be very expensive.
If you are customising an offthe-shelf system, this may
require a high level of staff
involvement to design and
plan the system.
There may be yearly updates
(or licence fees) that you need
to pay for.
You may not know what the
longer-term costs will be.
There may be large financial
consequences if the system
is not right for your
organisation.

Your comments

Option 4:
Commission someone to
develop something for you

Option 3:
Buy an off-the-shelf system

6
7
8
9

77

Option 1:
Improve your existing
system

Option 2:
Develop something new inhouse

Fit to your
organisation

You only create the functions

or features that you need.
BUT
Users may have adverse
attitudes to the existing
system these may be difficult
to resolve.

Good for meeting simple

needs or working out what
your needs are before moving
to something more complex.
You control the design of the
system so it should meet your
needs.
You only create the functions
or features that you need.
BUT
The system may be limited in
terms of what it can do due
to lack of skills or expertise
within the organisation.

Data transfer

You wont need to transfer

existing data.
BUT
If the data in your existing
system is not properly
organised, you may have to
spend a lot of time sorting the
data out.

It should be relatively

straightforward to do this if
the system has been designed
round your needs.
BUT
You may need to transfer data
from your old system into
your new one and the match
may not be close.

Support

You may already have support

for your system.
BUT
Support may be limited or
non-existent.
You can end up relying on a
staff member, volunteer or
consultant who may not be
around in the future.

You will have someone inhouse who understands how

your system works and can
support system users.
BUT
You can end up relying on
one staff member or volunteer
who may not be around in the
future.
They may not have enough
knowledge to provide effective
support.

78

It is tailored and specific.

You dont pay for more
functions/features than you
need.
You can be involved in design
and planning.
BUT
It relies on the developer
gaining a good understanding
of how your organisation
works and what you want
your system to do.

The system provider may

carry out the data transfer for
you (for a fee).
BUT
It could take time to import
your data, as there may not be
a close match between how
your data is set up and how it
will fit into the new system.

It should be relatively

straightforward to import your
data as the system has been
designed to match your needs.
BUT
It can take a lot of time to
import your data.
You need to be clear who will
be responsible for this.

Information on how to use the

system should be provided.
Support should be available.
There may be on-line forums
to share issues with other
system users.
BUT
Support for the product may
sometimes be patchy or nonexistent.

You should have instructions

written specifically for your
system.
BUT
You can end up relying on the
system developer for support.
Consultants are not always
around two or three years
later to troubleshoot their
own work.

You may be able to get the

system adjusted to fit your
needs. You can be involved in
the design.
BUT
It works the way it works
it may be impossible to
customise it.
It may be more complicated
than you need, or it may not
prove sophisticated enough.
Even with customisation, it still
may not match your needs
closely.

Your comments

Option 4:
Commission someone to
develop something for you

Option 3:
Buy an off-the-shelf system

5
6
7
8
9

79

Option 1:
Improve your existing
system

Option 2:
Develop something new inhouse

Robustness

Your system may already be

well tried and tested.
BUT
If your original system isnt
well built, you may end up
with an unreliable system.
Adding new functionality
could compromise the existing
system.

If you keep the system small

and simple, it should not be
liable to crashes and glitches.
BUT
If your system isnt well built,
you may end up with an
unreliable system.

User-friendliness

Your system users are already

familiar with the system.
You can develop the system
with staff involvement to
ensure it is user-friendly.
BUT
Developing user-friendly
features takes a lot of time,
planning and effort.

You can develop the system

with staff involvement to
ensure it is user-friendly.
BUT
Developing user-friendly
features takes a lot of time,
planning and effort.

Accessing the
system (for
example, from
different sites)

If your organisation is already

networked, it should be
possible to provide access
from different locations.
BUT
May have limited access and
be limited in terms of multiusers (depending on the
original system).

If your organisation is already

networked, it should be
possible to provide access
from different locations.
BUT
It may have limited access
or be limited in terms of the
number of staff who can use
the system at the same time

80

Should be very easy to use.

BUT
It may require staff to adapt to
new ways of working.

How user-friendly the system

turns out to be will depend on
how you manage the design of
the system.
BUT
The more complex a system,
the less user-friendly it is likely
to become.

Data can be hosted internally

or externally (dependent on
system).
Can be accessed from
different sites.
BUT
If you are using a system over
the internet, staff must have
on-line access to get to the
system.

Should be set up to meet

your requirements.
BUT
This will depend on your
existing set up.

Your developer should test

the system thoroughly before
handing it over to you.
BUT
Testing is done as you develop
the system and it may be a
while before the system is fully
operational.

Tried and tested.

BUT
The more you customise the
system, the more room there
is for error.

Your comments

Option 4:
Commission someone to
develop something for you

Option 3:
Buy an off-the-shelf system

6
7
8
9

81

Option 1:
Improve your existing
system

Option 2:
Develop something new inhouse

Training

Staff may not need much

additional training to get used
to the amended system.
BUT
You may end up relying on
one person to train others.
Staff may need additional
training if the system is
developed significantly.

You have someone in-house

who can provide training.
BUT
You may end up relying on
one person to train others.
They may not have enough
time to do this on an on-going
basis.

Meeting external
reporting
requirements

You can plan the changes to

your system to meet your
external reporting needs.
BUT
It may be difficult to get
complicated reports out of it.
You may find that you have to
make the best of the system
that you have.

You can ensure that your

system meets your external
reporting needs.
BUT
It may be difficult to get
complicated reports out
of it.

Impact on
organisation

Your staff will continue to

use a system they are already
familiar with the only major
impact will be the changes you
make.
BUT
You may need considerable
staff involvement in making
changes to your existing
system.
You will also need to decide
how people will use the
existing system while it is
being developed.
The process may be lengthy
and you can find that your
needs change over time.

May not be high impact if the

person developing the system
is skilled and the needs to be
met by the new system are
straightforward.
BUT
It may require a high level of
staff involvement in the design
and planning of the system
although this depends on
the complexity of the system.
The process may be lengthy
and you can find that your
needs change over time.

82

Training in the use of the

product should be available
(for a fee).
BUT
Training may only be provided
once so new staff will not get
the same level of training.

More personalised training and

support should be included
(for a fee).
BUT
May not be available in the
longer term if your consultant
moves on.

Usually has reports already set

up.
Some systems allow users
to define their own ad hoc
reports.
BUT
It may not provide the reports
you want.
You may not find it easy to
analyse the data it provides.

You can specify the reports

you want.
BUT
You may not be able to
modify these without further
cost.

It should be easy to set up

and start using.
BUT
You cant change the system,
so if its not a good fit the
impact on your organisation
will be high.

Once the system has been

tested, it should be easy for
staff to start using it.
BUT
You can expect high impact
in terms of staff time to
implement it.
There may be problems with
managing consultants and
developers.

Your comments

Option 4:
Commission someone to
develop something for you

Option 3:
Buy an off-the-shelf system

4
5
6
7
8
9

83

Option 1:
Improve your existing
system

Option 2:
Develop something new inhouse

Future
development

Your system can adapt with

you as long as your system
developer is still working for
you and has the skills to add
new features.
BUT
Relying on one person to
develop your system can
create dependency on
that individual (consultant,
employee or volunteer) for
any future database assistance.

Your system can adapt with

you as long as your original
developer is working for you
and has the skills to add new
features.
BUT
Relying on one person to
develop your system can
create dependency on them
for any future database
assistance.

Security

If you already have a good

system of backing up and
protecting your data, your
redeveloped system should be
relatively secure.
BUT
It relies on you to carry out
regular back-ups.
System may crash and leave
you stranded.

If you already have a good

system of backing up and
protecting your data, your
new system should be
relatively secure.
BUT
It relies on you to carry out
regular back-ups.
System may crash and leave
you stranded.

84

System provider should

continue to develop the
system in response to the
needs of its users.
BUT
Might lock you into the
supplier (you may need to buy
upgrades every few years as
part of your contract).
Not likely to be possible to
modify or develop it yourself.

You will be able to build on

something that already offers a
close match to your needs.
BUT
You will probably need to go
back to the system developer
for future development.

B
 ack-ups should be done for
you (if over the internet).
System less likely to crash.
BUT
If your data is held elsewhere,
you will need to be happy that
it is stored securely.

If you already have a good

system of backing up and
protecting your data, your
new system should be
relatively secure.
BUT
It relies on you to carry out
regular back-ups.
System may crash and leave
you stranded.

Your comments

Option 4:
Commission someone to
develop something for you

Option 3:
Buy an off-the-shelf system

4
5
6
7
8
9

85

86

ISBN 978-0-9555404-4-8
Performance Hub
4 Coldbath Square
London EC1R 5HL
0800 652 5787
Textphone 0800 01 88 111 (minicom)
helpline@performancehub.org.uk
www.performancehub.org.uk