Qualitative Information System
Updated - Friday 28 September 2007
Experience shows that the use of participatory methods can empower local people to plan new services and make existing services more sustainable and equitable. However, participatory methods take a lot of time and often generate only qualitative information, which can be difficult to analyse and compare over time and space, especially when dealing with many different communities over large area, e.g. at district level and above.
Based on the success of the Methodology for Participatory Assessment (MPA), IRC, together with Pragmatix India, have developed the Qualitative Information System (QIS). QIS quantifies people’s perceptions of project progress and processes for the effective and efficient planning of new services and for the monitoring of existing ones, at both community and district levels.
Qualitative Information System
QIS is a new system to capture and manage qualitative information over time and space, store and manage this information on computer databases, and link assessment with action planning. In brief, QIS is a flexible system:
- to capture and manage qualitative information;
- which can be tailored to suit local conditions and needs;
- and yet generate uniform and comparable qualitative information;
- that can link assessment and action;
- for project management and communities.
