The Government of Guatemala announced last week the official launch of the Development Assistance Database (DAD) for Guatemala in close partnership with UNDP Guatemala. The DAD was presented by the Council on International Development, which includes SEGEPLAN (La Secretaría de Planificación y Programación de la Presidencia), the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Web-based DAD Guatemala is installed locally at SEGEPLAN headquarters, and is fully available in Spanish. DAD Guatemala is currently managed by SEGEPLAN and is operating under technical support from Synergy.
At the formal request of the Government, UNDP Guatemala procured the DAD through Synergy’s Long Term Agreement (LTA) with UNDP around the DAD software product and corresponding aid effectiveness technology services. In close cooperation with SEGEPLAN colleagues, Synergy customized the DAD to the specific needs of the Government, and provided comprehensive training to SEGEPLAN staff earlier this year.
Training was provided in a very systematic way to ensure buy-in from all stakeholders, enable proactive and structured data entry, and support overall country ownership. During the initial pilot phase, SEGEPLAN created a team of its own personnel to be responsible for the training of focal points who would enter project related information into the DAD. At the request of the Government, Synergy carried out its “train the trainer” methodology, and these personnel were given a comprehensive overview of DAD’s functionalities, including in-depth analysis of the list, charts, maps, reporting, and filtering capabilities of the DAD.
This methodical training approach, which was carried out entirely in Spanish through partnership with a local partner, greatly facilitated the initial data gathering process for the DAD. The DAD is currently in the initial data entry phase, with nearly US $140 million worth of commitments being tracked thus far.
