In post-disaster contexts, rapidly deployable and flexible information management systems are crucial. They support informed decision-making by tracking actionable information, help monitor the progress of recovery and reconstruction activities, and ensure that funds are spent transparently and effectively.
The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) is the special Haitian-international body set up after the January 12 earthquake to plan, coordinate, and monitor development priorities and projects for the country’s recovery. A key part of its mandate is to review and approve projects and programs funded by bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs, and the private sector. The Commission has so far received more than $1.6 billion in new project proposals on various aspects of Haiti’s recovery and development, including agriculture, education, and disaster preparedness.
In close partnership with the IHRC, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Office of the Special Envoy for Haiti, Synergy developed an innovative Project Submission and Monitoring System to help the IHRC lead the recovery process. The system allows organizations (donors, NGOs, the private sector) to submit project “concept notes” (or proposals) and report approved or existing projects through intelligent online forms. The IHRC reviews proposals for approval and monitors ongoing projects for effective implementation.
“Our goal is to support the Haitian government and its international partners in their collective effort to rebuild Haiti through a transparent, results-driven, and ultimately effective and sustainable approach,” said Synergy’s CEO Dr. Ashot Hovanesian.
The system features a powerful workflow capability that enables the review, feedback, revision and approval processes. The system is customizable in that it provides registered users with a personalized workspace, known as “My Portfolio,” for managing their portfolio of draft or submitted concept notes and projects. Moreover, an “organization profile” feature is being developed to provide a summary, consolidated view of each organization, including its financial contribution and areas of intervention.
The project submission and monitoring system is available on the IHRC’s website at www.cirh.ht and also on the Haiti Reconstruction Platform (HRP) at www.refondation.ht, which is the Haitian government’s one-stop-shop on recovery data. It is important to note that the data in the IHRC system and in the Haiti Reconstruction Platform are stored in one comprehensive back-end database system for further analysis, report generation, and automatic publishing of analytics on portals. Using its software technology, Synergy developed the HRP and the back-end database system.
