The Challenge and the Solution:
Foundation for Mother and Child Health India (FMCH India) is a grassroots organisation that works to improve nutrition and health for women and children. The organisation was looking to conduct a baseline survey in their target community to understand the present status of nutrition and gain insights around food habits, myths, and taboos about food and early feeding, family support, availability of clinical services and breastfeeding practices. While they had carried out other surveys in the past using the paper-pencil method, they were looking for an efficient survey application (app) that was easy to use, provided high-quality, real-time data, and minimised training efforts for field staff.
This is where Dataogram stepped in — to provide them a tool that could streamline and refine their survey process as well as be customised to best fit their requirements.
About FMCH India: Foundation for Mother and Child Health India (FMCH) is a grassroots-level organisation that is working towards preventive health, balanced nutrition, and child development practices among vulnerable communities. They aim to bring about a paradigm shift in the manner in which healthcare and nutrition for women and children are viewed in the country. Read more at fmch-india.org
The Impact
- Reduction in time and effort needed to train for field officers.
- Collection of structured, real-time data providing accurate insights.
- Improvement in process efficiency that enabled a broader reach.
Dataogram’s solution has a user-friendly interface. It enables easy collection of real-time data and provides comprehensive dashboards. It has additionally made the training of staff easier. We were also able to collaboratively work with the team on the design of the survey and dashboard.
Shruthi Iyer, CEO, FMCH
- Effortless access to high-quality, structured data
The paper-based surveys used by FMCH had some limitations. For example, incorporating data validation rules in traditional paper-based surveys were difficult. Additionally, extracting and cleaning unstructured data to turn it into structured data was time-consuming. This had an adverse impact on the quality of data and subsequent analyses. Dataogram created a customised digital survey that incorporated certain rules and validations to ensure that data was collected in a specific format as needed by FMCH. This ensured a uniform structure and highly improved the quality of data. Thus, the FMCH survey was able to easily generate structured, validated data that could be easily analysed and used to plan, design their programmes.
Along with minimising the time taken to record the data, Dataogram’s survey tool immediately points out errors if any field has been missed. This is a great feature. Previously, we used to be able to spot errors such as omission of some data only after the survey was completed.
Field Officer, FMCH
- Ease of use for field staff and minimal training hours.
The conventional surveys that FMCH used needed them to spend several hours training field staff on how the surveys need to be conducted, what types of questions were to be asked based on the responses, etc. With Dataogram tool, the need to choose the questions manually by selecting appropriate questions based on the answers given was eliminated. Since the survey has an interface that is easy-to-use, it successfully minimised the time required to train staff, and it efficiently replaced the cumbersome paper-based forms.
The app has solved the problem of documenting the forms. We don’t have to be responsible for the movement of forms from one place to another now.
Field Officer, FMCH
- Instant access to real-time data and rich dashboards
Dataogram survey enabled immediate access to the latest data collected during the survey, which could be visualised in detailed, intuitive dashboards. This made it simpler for FMCH to track the progress of the survey and gain valuable insights about their beneficiaries efficiently. Real-time data also helped the team in effectively tracking the progress of the survey at every stage and analysing the trend of responses.
Earlier, when we had to prepare a report, we had to refer to previous forms to collate data and insights. But the app has changed this practice for the better. We can immediately generate a report when it is required.
Field Officer, FMCH.
We were able to access real-time data to design our program effectively, which is in contrast to the paper-based survey.
Shruthi Iyer, CEO, FMCH
The app allows us to simply enter the number of Anganwadi centres and immediately visualise the data relevant to it—the target to be reached, the number of home visits, etc. This is a great feature. Previously, this process used to be confusing as well as time consuming, but now that has changed.
Field Officer, FMCH.
- Faster and more efficient way to conduct surveys.
With a simple interface and a mechanism to view the relevant questions based on inputs, Dataogram enabled FMCH to collect data faster and more efficiently. It also enabled data collection in offline mode—this is extremely handy in remote areas or areas with spotty connectivity. In case of paper-based forms, the data collected had to be manually collated on Excel, and this left a larger room for error and was time-consuming. The Dataogram solution has helped the team refine the process and reach more beneficiaries in a shorter span of time.
- Transparency guaranteed.
The solution allowed the team access to information like the time of data collection, the employee who recorded it, and more. This helped democratise the entire process and ensured a high level of transparency.
One of the primary ways in which the digital survey method was different was that it was able to create a simple system of accountability of tasks.
Shruthi Iyer, CEO, FMCH
To sum up their experience of working with Dataogram to realise their goal, Shruthi Iyer, CEO says, “Compared to a traditional paper-based survey, the digital survey tool is definitely worth the investment because it is data-driven, and it helps us plan our programme better. In addition to having a great product, Dataogram also has the perfect team that stepped up to add value over and beyond our expectations. We have had a great experience working with the team and we see Dataogram as long-term partners in our growth.”