Balasore became the first district in Odisha to have extensive data mapping and a specific dashboard for planning and monitoring purposes.

CASE STUDY

Overview

The Ank Aha team rolled out a data collection and micro-planning exercise in two of the twelve administrative zones of the district. This exercise would be aimed at collecting primary household level data from 98,000 households (translates to a population of approximately 0.4 million people) across 596 villages in the two administrative zones.

The team would then develop a dashboard to present the data analysis across different socio-economic metrics, and highlight the priority development interventions for the villages. They worked with the district and block administration to effectively use the dashboard for decision-making purposes as well as implement and monitor the ongoing development interventions.

The Problem

Policy makers use the Census 2011 data for planning and decision-making purposes. Using a dated data set, which does not provide a real time trend, is an extremely unreliable source for decision-making and as a result, decisions or policies don’t reflect the changing socio-economic conditions. Therefore, despite the best intentions of the government and policy makers, the targeted social benefits or welfare schemes often don’t reach the intended beneficiary or at times, even leave out the genuine beneficiaries. This was found to be the case in Balasore.

Ank Aha! Solution

The Ank Aha team rolled out a data collection and micro-planning exercise in two of the twelve administrative zones of the district. This exercise would be aimed at collecting primary household level data from 98,000 households (translates to a population of approximately 0.4 million people) across 596 villages in the two administrative zones.

The team would then develop a dashboard to present the data analysis across different socio-economic metrics, and highlight the priority development interventions for the villages. They worked with the district and block administration to effectively use the dashboard for decision-making purposes as well as implement and monitor the ongoing development interventions.

Impact

Based on the data, it was discovered that services under Aadhar and LPG schemes were not reaching the last-mile beneficiaries in Balasore.

Balasore became the first district in Odisha to have such an extensive data mapping and a specific dashboard for planning and monitoring purposes.

The team helped to organise the Adhikaar Abhiyan to provide Aadhar cards, open bank accounts, and distribute LPG connections to the last-mile. Village level camps in 14 least developed GPs were organized under this initiative. This resulted in more than 10,000 Aadhar Card registrations, more than 500 LPG connections, and many bank accounts were opened.