QIS workshop in Nepalgunj, Nepal

IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) and Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH) held a QIS (Quantitative Information System) workshop in Nepalgunj, Mid Western Region, Nepal from 17 to 22 June 2008.

The overall goal of the workshop was to develop a tailor-made, simple Qualitative Information System (QIS) as part of the European Commission (EC) funded project “Assistance to vulnerable groups and communities most affected by the internal conflict (VCP)”.

Our aim was to develop the QIS in such a way that it is also useful beyond the scope of the EC project, and that it can be used in different phases of a project cycle: baseline, planning, and monitoring; and at various levels: by programme staff, the community, as well as by local government staff and NGOs at district level.

QIS and NPA

The QIS can be seen as an improved version of the NPA, Nepal Participatory Assessment (NPA) methodology, which meant that NEWAH did not have to cope with yet another method, but that it can build upon previous experiences and use previous data collections analysed through NPA.

During the workshop the participants developed a first set of tools and scales. NEWAH agreed to develop the remaining tools and scales needed for the EC project soon after the workshop. The workshop team will try out the total package of materials and methods with one EC target community. Revisions will be made if needed before replicating the activity with other communities, with the help of local NGOs and the District Developmet Committees, and to use the data for analysis and project support at district/project levels.NEWAH decided to focus on the following domains mentioned in the EC project document: sanitation, water supply, hygiene, and livelihoods. For these domains indicators were formulated and participants discussed and agreed upon the tools to use to measure this.

Indicators

The indicators can be divided into outcome indicators, such as ‘social inclusion in the village assembly’; process indicators, such as ‘quality of hygiene promotion’; and impact indicators, such as ‘incidence of diarrhoea’. During this workshop we focused on the process and outcome indicators only. Examples of indicators selected during the workshop:

Process indicators

• Gender and social inclusion in village assembly and committee meetings
• Composition of water and sanitation committee
• Access to training
• Quality of hygiene promotion

Outcome indicators

• Water quality
• Water quantity and reliability
• Technical and financial sustainability
• Timeliness of repairs
• Defecation practices / latrine use
• Drinking water sequence – risk of biological contamination

Tools were developed or adapted for two purposes: for the collection of information and for recording the information. To collect the information, we have used participatory tools; to record the information, and to convert the information into numbers, we have used scoring sheets.

Using excel to process and analyse the data

After the collection of information at household and cluster level, the data has to be entered into a system to be able to analyse the data and to draw conclusions on gaps and on issues to improve. We have decided to enter the data in excel, as this program is widely available at NEWAH offices, as well as at district offices.

Related information

• QIS workshop in Bhopal, India
• From MPA to NPA : participatory assessment of water and sanitation projects in rural Nepal
• QIS : a new participatory management tool to assess and act on field reality