00:00:00 Introduction

Thanks so much for that introduction, Urooj. Hello everyone. Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, depending on where you're coming from. Thanks so much for spending your time with us today. Ganesh and I are very excited to be welcoming you to this new series regarding getting started on ActivityInfo. In today's session, we are going to provide an overview of ActivityInfo to get you started with the whole series.

There are three learning objectives for today's session. First, we will give you an understanding of where ActivityInfo fits within your organization and what it is for. Secondly, we will take a closer look at what ActivityInfo can actually do, covering some of the core functionalities. Finally, we will take a look at how you can use ActivityInfo for your own organization by covering some examples of use cases.

00:01:15 Where ActivityInfo fits in your organization

To start off this section, I want to introduce the concept of the data lifecycle. In any organization, whether you're working in humanitarian response or you're an NGO implementing development, naturally, you'll be working with data in the implementation of your projects and your programs. In any organization, the data goes through a lifecycle as it passes through the different areas of your organization.

We have adapted a diagram from the Harvard Business Review of what that entire data cycle looks like. You have many stages through which the data you generate goes through, from collection to processing, storage, management, and analysis. You need to visualize your data so that you can then take action on it once you interpret what those data are saying.

In your organization, you might be working with a number of different systems as you progress the data throughout this lifecycle. For instance, you might be collecting your data using a tool such as Kobo, storing your data in Access, doing some analysis on Excel, and creating some dashboards in Power BI. ActivityInfo uniquely is able to integrate across the entire data lifecycle. It is an integrated solution that contains many features that span from the collection stage through to storage, management, analysis, and ultimately visualization of your data.

00:02:50 Core functionalities and the relational model

Now that we've taken a look at where ActivityInfo fits within your organization, let's take a closer look at what ActivityInfo can do. First and foremost, ActivityInfo is a relational database. This means that the various features you will find in this software are built on principles that enable you to establish relationships between multiple data sets.

For example, if you are an NGO that implements a number of different development projects, you might have a list of those projects. Within those projects, you might have information about the activities that are being implemented, and then further, you might have the details about each of the implementations for those activities. You have these different data sets, and you might observe that there are relationships between them naturally occurring.

ActivityInfo uses an intuitive hierarchy for how data is organized. This hierarchy starts with the most basic unit of data, which is the record. The record represents a single discrete entity with its own attributes, such as individuals, objects, or events. Each record can be described by a number of fields, which are the specific attributes like a name, date of birth, or contact information.

If you have multiple records that belong to the same category, you collect those records within a form. Forms in ActivityInfo are the main way by which you bring data into your database. You might have multiple forms that relate to each other, which you can organize in a folder. Finally, at the top of this hierarchy, you have your database. The database is where all of your forms and folders are stored and is the workspace where you collaborate with your coworkers.

We also have features that allow us to operationalize this relational model. Key fields allow you to uniquely identify records to make sure that users aren't entering duplicate information. Reference forms allow you to create a one-to-many relationship between different sets of data, such as connecting different data sets to one standard list of geographic areas. Subforms allow you to create a parent-child relationship, which is useful for capturing recurring or repetitive information, such as monthly indicator results or household members.

Finally, you collaborate with your colleagues by assigning them a specific role. Roles in ActivityInfo are a collection of specific permissions, such as adding or editing data, designing forms, managing users, or managing reports.

00:07:30 Demo: Interface overview

ActivityInfo is a web-based platform that you access by going to activityinfo.org using any web browser. Once you log into the website, the first thing you will see is the list of all the databases that you have access to. If you want to create a new database as a database owner, you would simply click on the "Add database" button, give your database a name, and select from one of our pre-existing templates or create a blank database.

Inside a database, you can see the list of forms available. For example, a reference form might contain information about geographic regions. A more built-out form might have many more fields, including key fields, text fields, quantity fields, date fields, and reference fields that point to records in other forms. You can also see examples of subforms, where you can view how many records have been created underneath a parent record.

00:09:15 Data collection methods

ActivityInfo has multiple options for bringing your data into the platform. You can collect data anywhere from users or external partners.

00:11:00 Demo: Data collection and importing

To add a record via the web interface, you simply click "Add record" and fill in the fields, similar to other online platforms. For mobile data collection, you download the ActivityInfo application, log in, and you will see a similar dashboard where you can add records in the same way.

For the collection link, you can copy the link provided in the database settings and send it out. Recipients can click the link and access the form to record and submit data without needing an account.

The importer feature is very rich. You select "Import," and then copy your data from your spreadsheet (like Excel) and paste it into the importer tool. You then match the columns from your spreadsheet to the fields in your ActivityInfo form. The system will show you a summary of new records to be added or existing records to be updated, and identify any duplicates. Once you confirm, the data is uploaded instantly.

00:14:20 Data analysis and visualization

ActivityInfo is also a data analysis and visualization tool. You can analyze your data with pivot tables, use formulas for calculations, and create pie charts, bar graphs, and line charts. If you have geographical data (latitude and longitude), you can create maps.

There are two main categories of reporting:

You can share these reports internally with users within the platform or externally by publishing a standalone web page or embedding it on your website.

00:15:45 Demo: Reporting features

You can access reports by going to the "My Reports" section. In a notebook, you can scroll down to see different kinds of reports created, such as pivot tables, pie charts, and line charts. Within each report, you can see the specific analysis that went into building it.

The report design builder allows you to drag and drop fields into measures or dimensions. You can easily change the visualization type (e.g., from a bar chart to a pie chart). Once you are happy with the report, you can save it as a resource within the database so that other users can access it.

00:17:10 Common use cases

Our customers mostly come from the humanitarian and development sectors. Here are some common use cases:

For example, in a multi-partner reporting database, you can create a form for partner organizations and a subform for them to submit quarterly results. In a training monitoring database, you might have a beneficiary outreach form and a list of trainings with subforms for participants. For a global NGO, you might have a central projects form with subforms for logical frameworks and specific indicators for each project.

00:19:30 Conclusion and next steps

That rounds out our first session in this series. Looking ahead to session number two, we will take a look at how you would go about designing your first database in ActivityInfo. We will cover the principles of a good database, introduce a step-by-step approach for creation, explain how features work, and review design best practices.

We hope you are now motivated to get started on creating your own database. At this point, we will open the floor to the question and answer portion.