DFA Monitoring: A Planning, Monitoring and Reporting Tool with a Global Impact

Data For All Monitoring is an online data planning, monitoring, reporting and evaluation tool that allows policy-makers and planners to plan and monitor progress against country, organizational or agency strategic objectives.

As the world rallies together in efforts to achieve the 2030 agenda, through National Development Plans (NDPs), Sectoral Strategies or Organizational Plans, DFA Monitoring can be used to measure success and highlight shortfalls towards planned results.

Community Systems Foundation first designed and developed DFA Monitoring in collaboration with the UN Secretariat to assist in the planning and monitoring of the joint work of United Nations Country Teams around the world.  This partnership led to the creation of UN Info - a now independent system owned and administered by the UN system.  Since then, CSF has gone on to adapt and support the use of DFA Monitoring over 20 times to support governments, programmes, and organizations around the world.

Having implemented DFA Monitoring in many contexts, CSF has developed many lessons learned and best practices which are further applied wherever we are called on to assist.   While there are common challenges and requirements, each context calls for unique configurations, modifications and parameters to measure progress.  DFA Monitoring has proven flexible, adaptable and ready to take on each unique challenge.  The result is successful planning, monitoring and reporting of regional, national and organizational priorities, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

To understand the versatility and broad application of DFA Monitoring, CSF has prepared this four part series to highlight the various ways in which the application has been deployed at global, regional, national and organizational levels.

Finally, the authors wish to acknowledge and express appreciation to partner organizations and counterparts - including, but not limited to, those featured in the series which follows.  There are too many names to mention from: Jordan (MOE and UNESCO), Jamaica (PIOJ), Botswana (NAPHA), League of Arab States, The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Malawi (NPC), Algeria (CNESE), Alma College, Out4Undergrad, Philippines (ECCD Council), Côte d'Ivoire (MOE, MOP, MOH), Guyana (MOE), Maldives (MOE), UNICEF, UNFPA ESARO, UNFPA HQ, UNESCO IIEP and the UN Secretariat.

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