Sullivan Global is a technology and advisory services company specializing in acquiring and providing analysis of “hard-to-get data from hard-to-reach places.” Their customers range from NGOs and aid organizations to telecommunications and financial firms, and they provide those customers with data-driven measures of effectiveness for their programs in emerging and frontier markets. They are active in the Syria humanitarian crisis.
Our work in Syria is on behalf of an aid organization seeking to provide the most effective aid possible to internally-displaced populations (IDPs) in that country. Unfortunately, while there are many estimates of the numbers of Syria IDPs and their locations, no real data exist on who and where they are as individuals. Likewise donors have little ability to track accountability for who receives the aid. We are using Magpi as very efficient means of establishing this dataset.
UNHCR IDP benefit card
Sullivan’s local partners collect the name, date and place of birth, phone numbers and emails and other relevant information associated with IDPs who receive aid in a multitude of Syrian refugee camps across the country. They also collect photos of the IDP and their ID documents. All of this data is then paired in a large database which client organizations compare to refugee registrations they collect independently.
The data provided are used to deconflict or rectify discrepancies in what is reported from various locations where the various organizations operate. In addition, when correlation (ie. enrollments of the same IDPs in two or more locations over time) is seen, this data can be used to to assess Syria IDP “flow” to different regions in the country, and anticipate flows into 3rd countries. Magpi’s photo feature is essential for this purpose, to determine if the records are a true match – “was it really the same person in 2 places?”
For more information: www.sullivan-global.com
Photo credit: Sullivan Global
Monitoring & Evaluation Guide
10 tips to build effective M&E systems and to avoid many common mistakes
Related blogs
