Indicator codes

[Herb Caudill]

Hello, all. 

My company makes DevResults, which is management software for development projects. We're in the process of adding IATI import and export support to the software.

For our users, the main use case for IATI is as an interchange format for reporting results - either outbound reporting (to a funder, or to a home office) or inbound (from a grantee or contractor). 

As far as I can tell, the IATI activity result element gives most of what we need - except for any kind of identifier for an indicator, which is a bit of a showstopper. It's hard to see how results data in IATI format can be aggregated or put to any practical use at all without this. I suppose we could match on the indicator title element, but that's problematic for obvious reasons.

I realize that this conversation inevitably leads to discussion of a global indicator registry, or at least a registry of registries like the one for organizations. I think that should exist, and this may or may not be the right venue for discussing that. 

Meanwhile, I wonder if there's a practical medium-term solution. Would it be possible to add some kind of internal indicator identifier to the schema, while leaving the door open for a more universal identifier to be added in the future?

Cheers

Herb Caudill
Founder | Chief Technology Officer
202.294.7901

DevResults: A better way to manage international aid. | www.devresults.com

[Bill Anderson]

Hi Herb

 

You are quite right. The indicator element should contain vocabulary and code attributes (or another sub-element).

 

The vocabulary will contain an IATI-maintained list of known and widely used codelists, such as the World Health Organisations  Indicator and Measurement Registry.

The code would point to a value in that registry: such as 2714 - Number of Neonatal deaths

 

If it would help you we could create an extension, for immediate use, and propose including it as optional attributes in the standard proper in the next decimal upgrade.

 

There is a reason (if not excuse) for this oversight. Firstly most publishers don't have structured results data. Secondly with the exception of the WHO there are very few machine readable vocabularies available - most global indicators rely on their titles as identifiers. Thirdly most donors employ their own internally-maintained indicators. And fourthly the development community in general is very keen to talk about the importance of results, but less keen to publish results data in a standard format. (See my thoughts on this here.)

 

Best

 

Bill

Bill Anderson | Information Architect @ Development Initiatives | Technical Lead @ IATI | * email: bill.a...@devinit.org | ( Skype: bill.devinit.org | ( Mobile: +44 (0) 7969 445 928

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[David Megginson]

That sounds like a good plan, Bill.

On the humanitarian side, a couple of other good sources of indicator definitions are The Sphere Project (iNGO-driven) and the IASC Indicator Registry (cluster-driven) -- a lot of the same organisations are involved in both.

Cheers, David

[Herb Caudill]

Bill - 

That sounds like it would be a great solution. 

FWIW, in the universe of US government funded aid, the most important list of indicators is the F Framework, which consists of about 600 standard indicators. PEPFAR (the main vehicle for HIV-related work) has its own framework; here's an out-of-date version of that, there's a more recent framework available now. 

A couple of additional thoughts:

• It would be important to be able to associate multiple codes with a single indicator, since it's not uncommon for a project to have to report to multiple stakeholders who code things differently. 
• Along the same lines, in addition to referencing a "universal" code of some sort, it would also be important for us to be able to designate an indicator code as being purely internal. A program may be required to report on "custom" indicators that don't exist in any global framework. It is also common for one organization (for example, the USAID mission in one country) to have its own internal results framework with a corresponding numbering system that is meaningless outside of the circle of that mission and its implementing partners. 

Thanks!

Herb

[Bill Anderson]

Herb

Providing for multiple codes per indicator is possible.

Providing multiple titles (in the same language) would require re-engineering.

We employ a vocabulary called "Reporting Organisation" which allows for publishing of internal codes.

Bill

Sent from my iPhone