00:00:01 Introduction and audience polls

Brendan introduces the webinar, stating that most of the session will focus on a technology demonstration of ActivityInfo. Before diving into the tech, they will discuss reasons for choosing ActivityInfo for information management and briefly introduce how data is organized within the platform. Brendan suggests running two quick polls to understand the audience's background before starting.

Fay and Alex launch the polls. The first question asks attendees to describe their role, whether they are project or program-oriented, data professionals, in management, consultants, partners, or other. The second question asks what tools they currently use to manage their data. Brendan notes that Excel and Google Sheets are in the lead, which is a common scenario where spreadsheets are used as databases before organizations evolve into relational information management systems. The audience includes many data and digital systems professionals, some program staff, and management personnel. They leave the poll open to collect more responses before moving on.

00:02:41 Why choose ActivityInfo?

Brendan explains why an organization might choose ActivityInfo. Many new customers come from digitally fragmented or analog systems. They might use tools like Kobo for data collection, but rely on spreadsheets as their database and use visualization tools in Excel or Power BI to build information products. While these tools are useful, they do not form an integrated information management system, leading to challenges such as data quality errors, lack of security policies, performance degradation with large datasets, and difficulty accessing scattered information to answer stakeholder questions.

BeDataDriven designed ActivityInfo to address the entire data lifecycle with a digitally integrated system, from collection to visualization, enabling better decision-making. The platform supports data collection and entry through a browser-based application or an integrated mobile app, both of which work online and offline and can be configured in nearly 60 languages. Validation is enforced at the point of entry using field types (numeric, categorical, text) and validation rules, which improve data quality.

00:06:23 Key features and IT benefits

Brendan highlights data management as a standout feature of ActivityInfo. It includes role-based access control, a data importer for bringing in data from spreadsheets or other systems while resolving errors, and a deduplication tool to identify and resolve duplicate records during migration. This managed data can then be transformed into tables and visualizations, and disseminated to stakeholders through real-time information products.

ActivityInfo is easy to configure and use, allowing organizations to build capacity for internal staff or external partners. Organizations can design, configure, and use ActivityInfo-based systems in weeks rather than months, without needing custom code. It functions as a no-code relational database that structures data, enforces validation rules, and grants access and permissions aligned with organizational roles. This ensures users only access what their job requires, all while maintaining a full audit trail for data administrators to track changes and roll back errors.

These features ensure information is high-quality, secure, and auditable, which IT teams appreciate. Furthermore, these IT benefits are delivered without requiring IT support. There are no applications to develop, no servers or cloud infrastructure to manage, and the ActivityInfo team handles security and updates. Brendan also emphasizes the high-quality technical support provided by their team for troubleshooting.

Flexibility is another key feature. Customers often start using ActivityInfo for a specific thematic area or country office, and over time, expand its use to other areas to maximize their investment. The system scales easily to accommodate new needs and users, such as moving from tracking monthly indicators to primary data collection, beneficiary registration, or grants management, simply by configuring new forms. ActivityInfo also integrates well with other systems through open APIs, acting either as a comprehensive information management system or as the system of record within a broader ecosystem of applications.

Security is taken very seriously. ActivityInfo is ISO certified for Information Security Management. Since customers often work with vulnerable communities in challenging contexts and manage personally identifiable information, the platform includes technical measures like encryption at rest and in transit. Users can implement their own data security policies and governance using role-based access control. The platform also features dark web monitoring to alert users if their accounts are compromised. Additionally, organizations have complete control over their data, with options to use the software as a service or implement a managed version of ActivityInfo in the cloud provider of their choice to address data sovereignty concerns.

00:13:06 How data is organized in ActivityInfo

Brendan provides a brief introduction to how data is organized in ActivityInfo. The data model begins with the database. Users can have multiple databases or a single one, with resources organized within them. Folders are used to organize resources, which include forms and reports. A form acts as a dataset, storing data in rows and columns, referred to as records and fields.

ActivityInfo allows roles to be configured to grant access and permissions to resources at various levels. Roles can be assigned to access specific resources in a folder, a specific form, specific types of records, or even a single record. Recently released field-level permissions allow control over which columns and fields specific roles can see, ensuring data privacy policies are implemented.

Brendan shows a simple example of a form with three records corresponding to different projects, storing information in two fields: project code and project name. In ActivityInfo, this form would be a resource in a database, potentially organized within a folder. He demonstrates a form storing project information in a Global M&E database, showing records with fields like code, country, and budget. He also points out subform fields that link to related forms, establishing a parent-child relationship characteristic of relational databases.

Brendan reminds the audience that while configuration and data management are important, the ultimate goal is to improve outcomes using actionable information. In ActivityInfo, this information lives in easy-to-configure reports built from live, real-time data, which helps improve decision-making.

00:16:43 Poll results and transition to demonstrations

Brendan and Alex review the results of the first poll. With 75% of attendees having answered, there is a diverse representation from program, data, digital, and management backgrounds. Excel is the default system for many, often used alongside mobile data collection tools, with spreadsheets acting as the database and visualization tools added on top. About a quarter of attendees use internal or custom-built systems, and a fifth are already using ActivityInfo.

They launch a second poll to understand what areas attendees are interested in improving and whether they are satisfied with their current systems or exploring new ones. The results show strong interest in dashboards, maps, summaries for decision-making, and tracking activities and results. Other areas of interest include collecting data, field team reporting, and standardizing data across teams. About a third of attendees are actively looking for new tools, half are on the fence, and the rest are either using ActivityInfo or just listening in.

00:21:15 Demonstration: Results tracking

Brendan transitions to the recorded demonstrations, noting that they are simplified proofs of concept meant to showcase possibilities and key features, rather than representative real-world systems. The demos focus on results tracking, case management, and partner reporting, though ActivityInfo is flexible enough for many other use cases like conservation or HR.

The first demo covers results tracking, suitable for M&E, program management, or information management. It highlights configurable forms, reference fields, standardized datasets, simple calculated fields, the importer, and building and publishing an interactive dashboard.

Brendan starts by creating a blank results database and adding a reference folder for standardized datasets. He creates a reference form to capture sample locations, setting a 'code' field as a key field to enforce uniqueness and aid discoverability. He demonstrates the interactive table view, which offers an Excel-like experience for adding rows and using drag-and-drop autofill, while still enforcing validation rules.

Next, he creates a master operational dataset to capture activities. This form includes an activity name (set as a key field), a date field, and a reference field pulling from the locations reference dataset to provide a standardized dropdown list. He adds a single-selection field for activity type (e.g., training, community meetings) and quantity fields for participants disaggregated by sex. He then creates a simple calculated field to dynamically generate the total number of participants by adding the male and female quantity fields.

Brendan uses the importer to bring in sample data from a spreadsheet, demonstrating how the tool flags and resolves mismatched field names. Once imported, the total participants field dynamically calculates the sums.

He then constructs a simple interactive dashboard with multiple pages, adding a header block with a title and subtitle. He uses pivot tables to display male, female, and total participants, resizing columns and the UI as needed. He adds another pivot table to show total participants over time, aggregating activity dates to the month level. He duplicates this pivot table to create a line chart for a time series view. Finally, he adds a slicer to filter data across all elements based on activity type.

Brendan explains that dashboards can be saved as resources in the database and shared using roles and permissions, or published via a URL for external stakeholders to access live data. He demonstrates the real-time aspect by adding a new record to the activities dataset and showing how the public dashboard updates immediately upon refreshing.

00:31:05 Demonstration: Case management and mobile app

Alex and Brendan discuss the mobile application, noting its usefulness for caseworkers or field officers who need offline access to databases in areas with poor connectivity. The web application also works offline, a feature prioritized since ActivityInfo's early development in eastern Congo.

The second demo focuses on case management, showing how to register cases and conduct longitudinal follow-up using a one-to-many relationship between a parent case and multiple child follow-up actions via subforms. It also covers advanced expressions and role-based access control, including record-level and field-level permissions.

Brendan starts with a pre-configured case form capturing ID, name, date of birth, sex, registration date, status, and narrative notes. He configures a follow-ups subform, adding a date field as a key field to help navigate records later. He includes a single-select field for follow-up type (e.g., intake, home visit, referral), a multi-line text field for notes, and a single-select field for outcome with a default value of 'ongoing'. He also adds a binary field for 'next action required'.

After importing sample case data and follow-up records, Brendan demonstrates how related follow-up records appear within the parent case form. He then configures a custom role for a 'male caseworker'. He sets a record-level condition so this role can only view and edit cases where the sex is 'male'. To enforce data privacy, he uses field-level permissions to redact personally identifiable information, removing access to the name and date of birth fields for this role. He demonstrates this by logging in as a user with the male caseworker role, showing they can only see male cases with redacted details.

Returning to the owner role, Brendan demonstrates an advanced expression in the formula editor. He pastes a formula that retrieves the outcome and date of the most recent follow-up action for each case, displaying it in a calculated field on the main table view. He then customizes the user interface using the record detail view, adding a header, selecting which information to expose, and configuring navigation to display related follow-up records. He saves this view and sets it as the default for the organization.

Brendan then showcases the integrated mobile application. Users can download the database to their device for offline access, viewing and updating records they have permission to access. The responsive interface mirrors the browser functionality but is optimized for mobile screens. Data collected offline is synced once connectivity is restored, automatically updating any configured data visualizations.

00:45:20 Q&A session

Brendan pauses to answer a few questions from the chat. Emmanuel asks how cases feed into indicator tracking. Brendan explains that granular data collected at the individual or case level can be easily aggregated into indicators within ActivityInfo using forms and reports. Alex adds that users can have real-time dashboards calculating metrics like case closure times or people served, or they can use approval workflows where managers review and sign off on data before it is pushed to headquarters or external stakeholders.

Matthias asks if it is possible to detect double counting at the data entry level. Brendan confirms this, explaining techniques like using serial fields for sequential unique numbers or setting multiple key fields (e.g., name and date of birth) to enforce uniqueness and prevent duplicate entries. Alex mentions the duplicate scanner tool, which is useful for identifying and resolving duplicates in legacy data after collection.

Radhe asks if any employee in the field with access to ActivityInfo can conduct all the demonstrated tasks. Brendan clarifies that users can only perform tasks if they have been granted the appropriate permissions by the database owner.

00:51:20 Demonstration: Partner reporting and multi-language support

The final demo focuses on partner reporting, illustrating how a database template created at a central level can be customized for local contexts, specifically by adding multi-language support.

Brendan uses a database template URL to create a new database for a Cambodia office. The template includes pre-populated resources like sectors and reports. To customize it, he adds Khmer as a local language. In the reference form for partners, he uses a translation field feature, pasting partner names in Khmer and setting the field to translate the names into the selected language. He then imports a list of local partners containing both English and Khmer names.

He adds a list of regional projects to the master dataset. Next, he configures a role for partners using a parameter that references the local partners list. This allows a new user to be assigned to a specific partner organization. He grants view permissions to the reference material (like the project list) and sets conditions on the monthly reporting form so partners can only add and edit records related to their assigned organization.

Brendan adds a new user, assigning them the partner role and a specific partner organization. He then uses ActivityInfo's AI-based translation capabilities to translate the database. Logging in as the partner user, he selects Khmer, and the entire user interface, including dropdown lists and forms, updates to Khmer. The partner can enter monthly report data in their local language. When Brendan switches back to the administrative view, the same monthly report data appears in English, demonstrating how multi-language forms facilitate secure and localized reporting workflows.

00:57:23 Resources and final Q&A

Brendan wraps up the demonstrations, noting the variety of organizations and use cases ActivityInfo supports. He points attendees to resources for learning more, including a self-paced course, upcoming and past webinars, templates, and a free trial license, with links to be provided in a follow-up email.

During the final Q&A, Brendan addresses a multi-part question from Yusuf about structuring ActivityInfo to support longitudinal analysis, such as linking pre-intervention, baseline, and post-distribution monitoring datasets while ensuring consistent indicators. Brendan emphasizes that the relational database design is key. The one-to-many relationship adds a time dimension, allowing organizations to capture multiple observations over the duration of a project and link new observations back to the original individual or case using reference fields.

Samik asks if it is possible to increase the area of the dashboard. Brendan explains that dashboards are highly configurable, allowing users to drag, drop, and resize elements. Users can paginate dashboards to create more surface area or use the notebook report type for a scrolling experience. Slicers also help condense visualizations by filtering data without needing multiple separate charts.

Brendan and Alex conclude the webinar, thanking the large group of attendees for joining and encouraging them to try ActivityInfo.