As Nepal Country Coordinator for Swiss Red Cross (SRC), Kamal Baral is responsible for overall management of SRC’s Nepal program. This focuses on health and disaster risk management projects. Kamal enjoys working at grassroots level: “I like to work with the community, so I can see what problems they’re facing and how we can support them to resolve the need or problem.”
However, the lack of a robust document management system and processes was making it harder for Kamal and his team to carry out routine project monitoring and reporting, share lessons learned, and handover to new staff. Some project records were in a patchwork of unlinked Excel spreadsheets. Others were in bulky folders stuffed with hard copy documents. It often wasn’t quick or easy to find and share information with SRC head office, or get hold of documents Kamal needed from other SRC country programs.
“We were doing some really good work with communities: effective, sustainable, and cost-effective. But the detail of how we did it mostly remained with us, because things weren’t being properly documented and disseminated to other country programs so they can have a benefit to other countries as well.
And the gaps in institutional memory had a significant impact on our team.”
The Challenge: Patchy Documentation Increased Project Management Time and Inefficiencies
The Solution: An Integrated Software Solution for Stronger Project Management
Swiss Red Cross realized they needed a better way to store, manage, and share information across their international operations. They wanted something user-friendly and flexible enough for their specific needs. SRC chose NGO Online software because it ticks those boxes, and provides an integrated solution for managing programs, projects, and grants.
Kamal was an enthusiastic advocate for implementing a better system, and the SRC Nepal team helped test the new software in late 2018. It was then implemented, with a mixture of virtual and in-person training sessions for all staff.
Now, all SRC personnel have direct access through NGO Online to all documents from SRC programs around the world, organized systematically. And NGO Online’s centralized, web-based data collection system has replaced the numerous unlinked spreadsheets the Nepal field office were using. It allows for rapid, accurate tracking, analysis, and reporting of program and project data.
“I feel this is a medium that actually brings everyone onto the same page. It tells everyone where we are and how we have to move to achieve the goal of the project. That’s the beauty that NGO Online gives. Everybody knows where we have to go, and what tools we have, and where those tools are located.”
-Kamal Baral, Country Coordinator for Nepal, Swiss Red Cross
The changes in how project information is recorded,
stored, and shared have transformed the ways Kamal
and his colleagues work. Having all this vital program
information at their fingertips has freed up more time
and energy for delivering projects to the communities
they work with.
“Now we can save time, we can be more efficient. We can plan our activities and milestones, we can monitor the use of funds, and whether things are happening on time or not. I use the risk assessment part of NGO Online a lot, to monitor the risks we’ve documented. And if we need any standardized templates you just go to the resource library and get the latest version of a document. You don’t need to ask anyone at headquarters. It’s very user friendly.”
Kamal particularly likes being able to work collaboratively on draft documents within the system. Everybody can see at a glance which is the latest version of a document. This helps avoid errors with version control.
The Outcome: Faster, More Efficient Program Management – More Community Work
“Your whole office is within your computer, within your mobile device. All documents are there, in a very systematic order. And you can work together with your colleagues on the same document, sitting anywhere in the world. It’s helping to improve transparency and communication. I don’t need to click several emails to send documents to people, I just upload to NGO Online and they all have access. I like this tool a lot!”
Kamal can also instantly access information from other SRC programs to help him in planning and managing Nepal’s projects. “I can think, okay, let me find out how the health program is being implemented in Bangladesh, or how the response program is taking place in Haiti. And with just a single click I can collect this information. This is a big change for me.”
While Kamal and his team used to spend “a big chunk of time” writing around 20 pages for each quarterly report, they no longer need to do so. “Because we’re already entering project information into NGO Online as we go along, all the data is there. And you can just fit it into your template, it’s just copy, paste. It’s just so quick, so time-saving. It’s a wonderful tool and I would definitely recommend it.”
Experience the Power of NGO Online for Your Organization
By implementing NGO Online, Swiss Red Cross streamlined project management, improved collaboration, and saved valuable time
See firsthand how NGO Online can help your NGO operate more efficiently. Request a Demo Today and take the first step toward a smarter, more effective project management system!
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