CATALOG OVERVIEW
LAST UPDATED: APRIL 2019
Welcome to the Impact Tracker Tech Catalog!
The purpose of this catalog is to help organizations navigate the seemingly complex world of digital tech.
There are so many affordable and useful apps, platforms, sensors, tools, etc.
out there that nonprofits and social enterprises should be using to make their work more efficient and impactful.
But, the reality is that these tools aren’t being maximized - and the catalogue aims to bridge this gap.
This 2019 update of the catalog has been implemented by Kopernik in partnership with Plan International.
It builds on the original 2014 catalog developed with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and Asia Community Ventures.
Read about the latest update
here.
How Did We Create It?
Creating the Impact Tracker Tech catalog involved countless hours of online research in order to understand a range of items including features, usage, and pricing. Since the best way to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a tool is to use it, we also experimented with as many tools as possible in Kopernik’s own projects and activities.
Alongside conducting desk research and using the tools ourselves, we also conducted a number of interviews with tech developers. These conversations were very informative and have helped us understand how and why these tools were developed, what challenges the developers faced, how developers understood their competition, and who uses these technologies.
It is also important to note that this field of impact tracker technology is dynamic and fast-moving. New tools come out on the market on a regular basis. Existing tools frequently expand their features to cater to users’ needs and challenge their competitors. Given this dynamism, the updated version of this catalog is a snapshot of existing tools and their features as of February 2019. However, we do encourage technology developers and users to contact us should there be any comments or questions regarding a specific technology not featured in this catalog.
Desk Research
Interviews
Firsthand Usage
More details here.
WHO SHOULD USE THIS CATALOG?
This catalog has been designed, researched, and written with the following type of organization in mind:
- A small to medium social enterprise, NGO or a nonprofit organization working in international development or humanitarian emergencies.
- Its main office is located in an urban area with decent infrastructure and has access to internet connection.
- The organization engages in work in rural, last-mile communities where mobile and internet connections are limited.
Therefore, accessible, turnkey solutions are preferred to enhance its impact tracking mechanisms.
EXAMPLES OF THE TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS WE HAD IN MIND WHEN DESIGNING THE CATALOG
An international organization with a local office in Kenya working to support vulnerable and marginalized children and their communities. The organization aims to raise awareness of early childhood education among parents. They hire field workers to gauge parents perception of early childhood education using digital data collection software and monitor the progress throughout the project.
An Indian social enterprise committed to distributing simple, life-changing technologies to remote communities through its micro-reseller network. Most of their resellers and customers only own basic phones with limited access to the internet. Besides monitoring the sales and repayments of their resellers , the organization is also actively monitoring the use of their solar lights and clean cook-stoves using SMS and voice calling platform to gather the information.
A regional organization working in Indonesia wants to assess the needs of disaster-affected populations at areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Sulawesi. The organization wants to collect up-to-date data quickly mapping the area using geographic information systems (GIS). The intention is to gain a comprehensive and reliable picture of the conditions to share, communicate and coordinate emergency response efforts with other organizations.