360 Malawi mHealth Technical Deep Dive

In March 2018, Sonjara concluded a rapid assessment of 5 mHealth apps in Malawi as part of an mHealth 360 assessment for the Kuunika project (funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation).

This assessment involved interviews, site visits and observations, code reviews and demos and document reviews on 5 mHealth apps using 4 different platforms, funded by different donors, used for community level service delivery and data collection; four of the five were focused on maternal and child health and one on HIV referral support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC), funded by PEPFAR.

The assessment involved reviewing how data flowed from the apps into the overall data collection system in Malawi, directly observing usage of the apps, identifying common benefits and challenges faced by the implementers, and writing recommendations for the Government of Malawi’s Ministry of Health’s upcoming eHealth Strategy review.

African Country HIV Data Needs Assessment and Implementation

Sonjara was hired by an American University implementing an HIV testing and treatment direct service delivery project in Africa to review the previous project’s data management infrastructure and provide recommendations for the next project cycle, to meet ongoing and changing needs. Sonjara then supported the team in developing RFPs, job descriptions, and data management plans for the next five-year project, especially to meet PEPFAR’s MER data reporting requirements and protections of data privacy for data subjects.

Institute for Reproductive Health, Georgetown University

Sonjara implemented website analysis (information architecture and content), user and use case analysis, comparative analysis of other reproductive health partners' web presences and content workflow analysis. After delivery of the requirements analysis, Sonjara was retained to develop a new version of the IRH web site, based on the Drupal 6 content management system. Support to IRH has included development of a content management plan, and training for their editors on how to work with Drupal.

Monitoring and Evaluation of Emergency Plan Progress II (MEEPP II) Performance Evaluation

GH Pro conducted an evaluation of the Monitoring and Evaluation of the Emergency Plan Progress (MEEPP II), a $17 million USAID-funded activity to support planning and reporting by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in Uganda. The purpose of this evaluation was to comprehensively analyze MEEPP II’s performance in supporting PEPFAR data and analytical needs and assess progress in the transition from reliance on a project-managed database to the Government of Uganda (GoU) systems for reporting PEPFAR interventions. The findings of this evaluation are expected to contribute to United States Government (USG) decisions on the level and type of support to further strengthen the GoU data system for PEPFAR reporting and other national needs. Specifically, the evaluation provides an opportunity for USG to identify gaps, including strengths and weaknesses, and gather evidence upon which a post-MEEPP strategy can be based.

NCUIH Health Publications Toolkit

Sonjara worked with NCUIH for over a year on two related projects. The first project focused on developing the Knowledge Resource Center, toolkit for its members and the general public consisting of economic development and health publications specific to the needs of the Urban Indian Health community. The database features member only features, web-based data and user management, and an auto-glossary feature for key terms. Sonjara managed the auto population and migration of over 400 document records into the new KRC database.

The second project was an extension of the KRC to manage the entire NCUIH web presence using the new CMS feature of Fakoli. The new site has a web based content management system, which allows administrators the ability to create multiple sites, add/edit look and feel templates,  menus, pages, page content, page modules per site. In addition to configuring, populating and launching the site on the NCUIH servers, Sonjara also provided multiple training sessions, a user guide, and technical support.

Recently, NCUIH asked Sonjara to develop a new splash/distribution page to feature all their web tools and resources. The splash page features a slideshow built in Flash, rotating news feeds and multiple dropdown menus built in JavaScript.

USAID Accelerator Behaviors

Accelerate, part of “Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths” (EPCMD), has on the ground and distance technical support mandates, both of which are supported by the Accelerator behaviors website. Built by Sonjara, Accelerate is a KM system that mixes many features of a content management system (CMS) and a MIS. This application hosts data and content from a variety of sources, including DHS demographic data on infectious and non-infectious disease burden by country, an “ideas library” of case studies and examples for how to address these challenges, and a set of global behavior profiles to help Missions create their own targeted approaches to behavior change. The tool also allows for interactivity between USAID staff and the technical support team to help them understand how to improve their portfolios.  We created interactive tools that provide the latest information on how to integrate these behaviors with additional information from DHS and WHO. We also built interactive tools that allow health officers to experiment, save, and share with others in the mission, collect and curate a repository of best practices, sample language and lessons learned for mission staff to use and apply.

GreenLeaf Integrated Strategies Online Learning Tools

Sonjara has partnered with GreenLeaf Integrated Systems to build an online stress assessment toolkit and audio-based mini-course on Reintegration Stress for USAID foreign service officers who have worked in conflict areas or austere environments and may be dealing with PTSD-like symptoms as they return to the US. The stress assessment tool allows users to input their responses and track their results over time with data visualization using graphs and charts. The tools are available on the web and mobile devices.

Health Communication Capacity Collaborative

Sonjara was brought onto the evaluation team to provide insight into how targeted users utilized the tools. The Sonjara ICT expert visited Nigeria to observe local firms’ usage of the tools and their digital capacity, as well as performing extensive analysis on web analytics, user profiles in the community of practice, and other data available.  As part of this evaluation, Sonjara was asked to write a special analysis of an online community of practice and KM hub, SpringBoard, to see how it interacted with other digital tools of HC3 as well as on-the-ground peer-based capacity building activities.

ePartogram Android Application

Sonjara designed a quality assurance testing program for the ePartogram Android tablet application, developed by JHPIEGO Corporation, to monitor pregnant women in labor. This rigorous testing program is intended for JPHIEGO staff to implement, so included testing scrips, validation metrics, A/B comparisons, and other forms of performance testing to ensure the software performed as expected. The testing plan was implemented in spring and summer 2016 in several regions of Africa, where the ePartogram application was field tested to great success. Sonjara is currenly working with JHPIEGO to revise and update the original testing plan to include the expanded functionality added to the application since 2015, and more complicated validation measures to test the stability and thoroughness of the application.

Fordham University/Project REACH

Sonjara, Inc. is currently providing web application development for Fordham Universitys School of Education/Office of Special Education (OESP) through a 5-year Department of Education grant. Fordham is researching how educators respond to academic diversity through differentiated instruction using evidenced-based practices that promote rigor, equity, access, and collaboration for K-12 learners. The instructional practices are specifically geared for supporting students with high incidence disabilities in inclusive classroom settings.

In close collaboration with a subject matter expert, Sonjara is developing a web-based professional development tool for pre-service teachers to create lesson plans, activities and other solutions based on differentiated instruction. Teachers will be able to design lessons, tag their products to Common Core and NY State standards, publish their work, field test in a real classroom environment and provide feedback via the website. The site will act as a repository for other teachers to search for lessons and for Fordham University to conduct educational research.

STEM2Stern

In less than four months, Sonjara delivered a website for the Office of Naval Research STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Math) initiative, combining attractive interactive features with a complex, collaborative data gathering and management system. The site was implemented using the Fakoli framework, which was essential in allowing Sonjara to meet the very aggressive project deadlines.

The STEM2Stern coordination office needed an online space where students, teachers, and mentors could find and get involved with government-funded STEM programs. The public-facing site makes this possible using dynamic features such as an interactive map on the homepage that uses Flash and XML to elegantly display real-time information on STEM programs in the United States. Behind a secure login prompt, the restricted access site allows authorized users located around the country to input STEM program data into the system. The site also allows researchers to log in and analyze aggregated data, using it to measure performance, return on investment (ROI), and areas that need capacity building.

During a subsequent phase of the project, Sonjara expanded the functionality of both the public-facing and restricted sites by creating a mobile interface, implementing a blog feature, and building a shared document library system and a centralized online address book. Sonjara also built and manages spaces on the site for collaborative implementation, allowing project managers to create and manage performance and participant evaluation surveys.

The creation of this richly complex site has greatly helped the STEM2Stern coordination office with their data collection, analysis, and reporting.

Global Learning Portal, Academy for Educational Development

Sonjara supported the GLP website redesign effort as an outcome of support Sonjara gave to GLP as part of the technical evaluation under USAID. The work included:

Implementation support including user interface, navigation, graphic design and content organization

User experience support such as user behavior, web site problem areas and site mechanics modification

Training and support on-site and over the telephone on design, content and site architecture; providing strategic and implementation guidance to help address specific site improvement recommendations from independent evaluators

Providing feedback and recommendations on GLP.NET redesign project schedule; proposed site map content production plans, design comps, wireframes and other materials as requested

Direction on strengthening links between GLP.NET and GLP program activities during the redesign release period 

Safe Schools Training Manual

Sonjara was tasked with developing and implementing consistent graphic standards for a set of training materials on on school-related, gender-based violence prevention and response, from data to print and CD-ROM. This set of three training manuals and two reference booklets was developed by another implementing partner and given to Sonjara for extensive instructional design treatment, copy editing, and desktop publishing. Sonjara created a unique look and feel for all five documents, supporting USAID branding guidelines and abiding by US Government accessibility laws, using icons and color to highlight lessons and activities, and embedding inter- and intra-document links to help users navigate the training materials. Sonjara also supported extensive review with subject matter experts and the USAID technical officer to ensure the manuals and reference booklets met their high expectations. In addition, Sonjara managed the process of getting the materials printed and burned onto CD-ROM for wide distribution. Lastly, Sonjara created digital versions of the training materials, designed and built a static HTML USAID web page featuring them, and posted all items to the USAID website.

AFDC Website and Class management Application

The AFDC hired Sonjara to design and build a custom application to manage their core business services, including memberships, certifications, course offerings and registrations, placement tests, classroom scheduling, private classes, credit card processing, and events. The site integrates with SendGrid and Event brite for social media engagement.

GEMS II - Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Education Evaluation

Sonjara is providing technology evaluation expertise for the USAID Education Office evaluation of two information technology projects: the Global Learning Portal, and the Education Policy and Data Center. Sonjara has conducted interviews with technical staff and consultants, reviewed project documentation, and performed usability analyses in order to evaluate the technology components of these activities. Sonjara also is providing concrete recommendations on improvements and next steps, including conducting use case scenarios, information architecture support, and user workflow analysis, in order to improve the implementation of these activities.

ICT-in-Education Toolkit

Sonjara, Inc. provided software development and management expertise in the production of the ICT-in-Education Toolkit, a highly-complex set of inter-related policy tools. Sonjara was also involved in addressing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) usability concerns, additional functionality requirements, and review of training process for recommendations on improved training workflow.

The site was implemented in PHP/MySQL using a custom developed XML-based form engine that provides a high-level mechanism for describing the complex workflows within the toolkit. The site debuted in September 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand and substantially extended in March 2007. A fully functional and dynamic CDRom version was also developed as part of this project.

NCCCxchange

Sonjara teamed with the Leonard Resource Group (LRG) to design and develop a low-cost online community of practice and four online learning modules for team leaders and staff members on five different AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) campuses throughout the country.

The objective of the online modules was to help team leaders and staff members navigate change in AmeriCorps brought on by new directions stipulated in the Serve America Act. The Act requires that AmeriCorps triple the number of volunteer corps members by year 2017 and target individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. The themes of the training program and community were change management, understanding poverty, diversity, communication, and conflict mitigation.

The online community featured discussion forums, calendar of events, video libraries, private groups for individual campuses, and polls. The online learning modules and the online community were tightly integrated, with several reflection questions in the online learning modules for participants to answer in private discussion groups with other members of their campuses.
 
The online community and online learning modules were tested in all five Americorps NCCC campuses in Maryland, Iowa, Colorado, California and Mississippi.

SeaPerch

SeaPerch came to Sonjara seeking a redesign and re-implementation of their website in that would offer, to users, a simplified navigation and workflow, improved labeling, and more easily accessible content. Sonjara developed a design using existing branding guidelines, and then migrated data and content from the old, proprietary platform into the new site, built using the open source Fakoli framework.

Sonjara revised the complex SeaPerch kit ordering workflow, and in doing so, dramatically reduced both the amount of time users had to spend ordering kits and the number of technical support requests they placed during the process.

On the SeaPerch website, teachers, parents, students, STEM mentors, and other educators and learners can find information on a variety of SeaPerch-related subjects, such as instruction manuals and building tips, and get involved in related events or activities. The site features an events calendar, event registration, photos, videos, blogs, a news feed, discussion forums, an interactive map of SeaPerch programs, and micro-sites for special events, such as the annual National SeaPerch Challenge.

TPSNVA

TPSNVA is a domestic nongovernmental organization (NGO) focused on providing teachers in northern Virginia and throughout the country with tools to access and utilize primary source materials from the Library of Congress as part of their daily teaching. TPSNVA selected Sonjara, Inc. to provide technological assistance and direction.

Sonjara provided software development and usability improvement, focusing on re-engineering the existing site architecture for easier long-term maintenance, as well as providing new interactive tools for the website using technologies such as AJAX, flash, and audio/video components. Sonjara developed a Firefox plug-in application to address a longstanding data quality issue for the project, using the Library of Congresses newly rolled out meta data schema for a key portion of their digital sources.

This site showcases our Rapid Application Framework for complex tasks and the use for imagery to promote historical and cultural assets.

Food Frequency Method Online

Sonjara participated in USAID's Hack4Hunger, the  Security Open Data Challenge. In less than 36 hours, Sonjara went from concept to functional prototype which addresses a critical area innbsp;and micronutrient deficiencies in developing countries. The USAID Hack4Hunger convened entrepreneurs,  security stakeholders, data experts, programmers, and volunteers over the weekend to build powerful new technology applications to tackle critical food security challenges in developing countries. http://idea.usaid.gov/opendata/challengequestions

Sonjara built the Food Frequency Method Online (FFMO) http://www.foodfrequencyonline.org/ , a cloud-based open source prototype for NGOs and governments surveying food security and child survival.  Based on the Helen Keller International FoodFrequency Method for Vitamin A Deficiency, the FFMO maps current paper-based food frequency survey methods to measure malnutrition in under-five year old's by household. Not only does the FFMO make the scientifically validated method more efficient, but it also brings in just in time open source data into the survey design process. 

For example, survey managers select dates of the survey by looking at critical temperature and precipitation data from the World Bank for the target country, allowing them to decide when the best time to perform the survey, based on their goals. Managers also select and identify communities to be surveyed using Google maps. The FFMO also automatically tracks the status of interviewers and calculates questionnaire results. The tool can bring in additional outside data to put the results into context, making for better design of appropriate interventions. Finally, the FFMO makes the data exportable to be shared back with the food security/child survival community.

USAID honored Sonjara's contribution by including Sonjara in one of the four winning teams, presenting their work at the World Hunger Day in Iowa (October 16th, 2012). 

Forest Transparency Initiative

Enviro-Stormwater Management

Sonjara has developed and maintains a business presence for Enviro-Stormwater Management. Enviro-Stormwater Management is a small business that provides inspection, maintenance, and repair services for storm water facilities and related appurtenances.

Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge

Sonjara, as the technology lead, working in collaboration with Integra Government Services, LLC, and Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC), in under 3 months designed and built the custom designed Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge website - a visually engaging, responsive, public outreach site inviting technology innovators to tackle the issues around the trafficking and poaching of endangered wildlife (http://wildlifecrimetech.org/).

In the next month, Sonjara launched the Wildlife Challenge application portal and management tool that allows innovators to submit their Concept Notes and Solutions online and for USAID to track, assess and judge submissions, with a full audit trail and process management tools. 

Sonjara has also been responsible for compliance with security, USAID's data publication, 508 compliance, LPA branding approval, as well as maintaining and enhancing the site over time. 

Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group (ABCG)

The Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group (ABCG) is a coalition of the major US-based international conservation non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with field-based activities in Africa. Through their website at abcg.org they provide a valuable online community with collaboration tools and extensive content targeted particularly at conservation professionals based in Africa. Originally built on USAID's FRAMEweb platform, ABCG was starting to feel limited by their website, especially in terms of the options available for site navigation, look and feel, and integration of social media platforms. This is where Sonjara stepped in to offer ABCG a redesigned and improved website. 

Sonjara provided a new, modern look and feel for abcg.org, while also migrating the site's content to a new host and integrating it with Fakoli CMS for ease of adding and updating content. 

USAID AFOLU Usability Testing

Sonjara was asked to partner with a USAID contractor to perform a usability assessment and testing of the Winrock-built USAID's Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) Carbon Calculator site. The team used Google Analytics, website logs, and user testing scripts to determine who was using the site, for what purpose, and gather feedback for improvements. We worked with a climate change specialist to provide quality assurance feedback, UX and UI feedback on the USAID carbon calculator tool to provide an assessment of its ease of use, quality of data output, and validation of findings.

TABLE

Sonjara was contracted by TABLE (The Association of Bar & Lounge Establishments) to provide a database of current and former liquor license holders, collating data from public records held by liquor license boards. The goal was to enable customizable mailing list generation to vendors interested in contacting these establishments. The initial contract included data import for 12 states, and scope was subsequently expanded.

Liquor license data is not standardized across US states (and sometimes there are multiple standards even within states, or for major cities). Sonjara provided a database with a meta-data configuration layer designed to cope with the differences between states, allowing site users to query based on terms related to the customers they were trying to reach without having to know the intricacies of differing license structures across state borders. Data formats provided by the states varied considerably. Some states could provide CSV or Excel data, some provided fixed-width text files and some provided only PDFs or printed output.

Sonjara customized a data import tool based on the extensible data import framework provided by their Fakoli application framework. This tool enabled the cross-walking of data fields to common definitions as part of the data import process. For PDFs, the data was first manually converted to CSV format. For print output the data was scanned and OCRed before data input. In the case of one state a custom data scraping tool was implemented to pull information from publicly accessible web data when no other data format was available.

mLabs: Do mLabs STILL make a difference?

Sonjara performed a second assessment of the World Bank funded mLabs program, looking at their impact on incubated firms, end-users, and the ecosystem in which they exist. Sonjara fielded teams of ICT entrepreneur experts to four countries in this rapid assessment, performing interviews, field assessments, and independent research to answer these key questions. 

Griot

Griot is a project financial management tool offering small business owners the ability to pull and link company data together in real time, allowing small business owners to make quick decisions based on accurate information. Griot provides integrated reports to see what is happening in a business as it happens, in time to make course corrections.

Griot has been developed over the last 7 years by Sonjara, Inc. to be used internally, but recently has been gone to market attracting interest from small businesses and government contractors.

Tennis Central

Sonjara began building the Tennis Central web application in June 2014 in concert with the Android and iOS versions, and was able to launch a beta version on all platforms by October 2014. Tennis Central is a place for tennis enthusiasts of all skill levels to connect, sharing their love for all aspects of tennis. It houses functionality for finding other tennis players and available matches based on geolocation, and allows members to track their scores, tennis progress, and upload photos; as well as improve their game with a carefully curated set of video instruction courses. The iOS and Android apps allow Tennis Central users to access the site anywhere, at anytime, making it a truly valuable asset to the ever-growing tennis community.

IRS Tax Forum Registration Management

Sonjara partnered with Enterprise Services and Technologies (EST) and the SIDEM Group to develop the web-based registration and participation management system for the IRS Tax Forums. The system supports online credit card payments, multiple user registrations, a highly customized exhibitor review and approval workflow, user surveys, online workshop registration, and integration with continuing professional education (CPE) units. The system also provides batched and individual barcode generation and printing, emailed and printed receipts, check aging notifications, and custom reports generated on the fly for managers.

Sonjara worked closely with the registration management team to optimize usability for registrants and managers as well as support marketing analysis, data export and contractual reporting requirements. We provided several rounds of training and technical support, supported the project on site for several forums in 2011, and assisted with the transition and hand off of day-to-day maintenance and upkeep of the site to EST.

STEM2Stern

In less than four months, Sonjara delivered a website for the Office of Naval Research STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Math) initiative, combining attractive interactive features with a complex, collaborative data gathering and management system. The site was implemented using the Fakoli framework, which was essential in allowing Sonjara to meet the very aggressive project deadlines.

The STEM2Stern coordination office needed an online space where students, teachers, and mentors could find and get involved with government-funded STEM programs. The public-facing site makes this possible using dynamic features such as an interactive map on the homepage that uses Flash and XML to elegantly display real-time information on STEM programs in the United States. Behind a secure login prompt, the restricted access site allows authorized users located around the country to input STEM program data into the system. The site also allows researchers to log in and analyze aggregated data, using it to measure performance, return on investment (ROI), and areas that need capacity building.

During a subsequent phase of the project, Sonjara expanded the functionality of both the public-facing and restricted sites by creating a mobile interface, implementing a blog feature, and building a shared document library system and a centralized online address book. Sonjara also built and manages spaces on the site for collaborative implementation, allowing project managers to create and manage performance and participant evaluation surveys.

The creation of this richly complex site has greatly helped the STEM2Stern coordination office with their data collection, analysis, and reporting.

Office of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment

Sonjara was asked to play the role of web presence strategist and web developer for the redesign of the public and intranet sites for the WID office. Tasks included developing the overarching web presence strategy, develop the sites information architecture and navigation, working with the client to gather, develop, and/or identify new content, building the sites in HTML, transforming finalized Word documents into 508 compliant PDFs, ensuring compliance with USAID web standards, overseeing the review process for final approval, and maintaining the WID public and intranet sites. The project also includes development of a simple PHP/MYSQL based document manager to handle the over 200 PDFs housed on the public and intranet sites and to automatically generate HTML files for posting the documents to the WID websites.

To this day, Sonjara continues to maintain the WID office public and intranet sites as well as the document manager, which now holds almost 800 PDF reports. Most recently, Sonjara designed and developed an interactive Flash slideshow with stories and research-based quiz questions to commemorate the 100th anniversary of International Womens Day. Sonjara will be working with the WID office on the transition of the USAID website to Drupal, the rebranding of the office as it officially changes its name and focus, as well as other communication requirements that occur during the year.

USAID Office of Middle East Website

Sonjara was requested to develop a new website for USAIDs Office of Middle East Programs, based in Cairo, Egypt. This site will be hosted on the USAID LPA managed server, requiring the site to be only in Static HTML. The site is to be in both English and Arabic, and able to the maintained by the staff in Egypt. Sonjara developed a custom look and feel design that fit with USAIDs branding requirements in both English and Arabic. We also guided the client on the navigation, content organization, the use of images, and additional information they may want to display on their site. Using our Content Submission tool (see Under DOT-ORG/AED), Sonjara then built the website in both languages, using content and images supplied by the client. 

USAID Yemen Monitoring & Evaluation Project (YMEP)

Sonjara has been supporting the USAID Yemen Mission through the IBTCI-managed YMEP project, by developing and implementing the USAID Yemen Communications strategy. This strategy, recently approved by the Embassy and LPA, outlines how USAID Yemen will communicate the results of its various projects to the Yemeni population, through video, audio, Facebook, and other media opportunities. The strategy also identifies the need to work with implementing partners and other stakeholders in Yemen on how coordinate communication efforts, create sample templates, develop talking points, and identify central events for communication opportunities.

The strategy also outlined the communications requirements for USAID and other US Government audiences, such as Congress, USAID Desk Officers, State Department and DOD. Delivery of the communications strategy includes content management of development of the USAID YMEP portal, training of implementing partners on how to create success stories, take photos, and other news items, hiring and training of a local medial specialist, and working with the main YMEP staff on reporting, data access, and review/approval/permissions requirements.

USPTO Prototype Case Management System

Sonjara worked with Design for Context to produce a working prototype to explore usability challenges and approaches to be used in the proposed reimplementation of the USPTO's patent review system. The prototype provided a subset of the proposed functionality, including multiple pane views of supporting documentation, variable text/image zoom, text annotations and a partial implementation of the workflow.

The prototype was then used as part of a large scale user review of the proposed interface. Around 5000 internal USPTO users were given access to the system, and their usage patterns and feedback were tracked by the system to provide usability data for the final report.

Sonjara implemented the prototype using Fakoli, our open-source rapid application framework.

GreenLeaf Integrated Strategies Online Learning Tools

Sonjara has partnered with GreenLeaf Integrated Systems to build an online stress assessment toolkit and audio-based mini-course on Reintegration Stress for USAID foreign service officers who have worked in conflict areas or austere environments and may be dealing with PTSD-like symptoms as they return to the US. The stress assessment tool allows users to input their responses and track their results over time with data visualization using graphs and charts. The tools are available on the web and mobile devices.

FACTS Info Next Gen Project Evaluation

The Office of Planning, Performance and Systems in the Office of US Foreign Assistance Resources (F/PPS) sought a performance and technical evaluation to examine and identify the factors that have caused delays in the Foreign Assistance Coordinating and Tracking System (FACTS) Info Next Gen project.

The purpose of this evaluation was to examine the management and technical factors that contributed to the delays and make recommendations on how to improve the management of the project so as to ensure confidence among the stakeholders that FACTS Info meets its currently projected implementation schedule.

The team approached this task as a process evaluation and assessment, looking at the procedures and tasks involved in implementing the FACTS Next Gen project as well as the current state of the software, with the goal to provide guidance to F Senior Management and F/IS on the three evaluation questions. As the project required an in-depth analysis of the technology under development, as well as an understanding of the management needs and structures within F and the US Government, the team roughly divided the design into two parts which overlapped considerably: management and technology. The team used mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) tools to triangulate the data whenever possible. The approach used for data collection included: Document review (such as formal systems documents, progress reports, and internal emails), key informant interviews (individual and group), Process observation (including sprint planning and review meetings, business owner meetings, and readiness reviews), software code review (including build records and the data model), usability analysis of the existing system, and a review of issue tracking tools (Team Foundation server) and other project management tracking tools (excel spreadsheets).

The team presented their findings to F and IS leadership to gather feedback and strengthen the report, and then presented the findings and recommendations to the full IS team for questions and answers. The IS team also received the report ahead of time and provided detailed written feedback that the evaluation team reviewed and replied to when appropriate

Health Communication Capacity Collaborative

Sonjara was brought onto the evaluation team to provide insight into how targeted users utilized the tools. The Sonjara ICT expert visited Nigeria to observe local firms’ usage of the tools and their digital capacity, as well as performing extensive analysis on web analytics, user profiles in the community of practice, and other data available.  As part of this evaluation, Sonjara was asked to write a special analysis of an online community of practice and KM hub, SpringBoard, to see how it interacted with other digital tools of HC3 as well as on-the-ground peer-based capacity building activities.

STEM2Stern

In less than four months, Sonjara delivered a website for the Office of Naval Research STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Math) initiative, combining attractive interactive features with a complex, collaborative data gathering and management system. The site was implemented using the Fakoli framework, which was essential in allowing Sonjara to meet the very aggressive project deadlines.

The STEM2Stern coordination office needed an online space where students, teachers, and mentors could find and get involved with government-funded STEM programs. The public-facing site makes this possible using dynamic features such as an interactive map on the homepage that uses Flash and XML to elegantly display real-time information on STEM programs in the United States. Behind a secure login prompt, the restricted access site allows authorized users located around the country to input STEM program data into the system. The site also allows researchers to log in and analyze aggregated data, using it to measure performance, return on investment (ROI), and areas that need capacity building.

During a subsequent phase of the project, Sonjara expanded the functionality of both the public-facing and restricted sites by creating a mobile interface, implementing a blog feature, and building a shared document library system and a centralized online address book. Sonjara also built and manages spaces on the site for collaborative implementation, allowing project managers to create and manage performance and participant evaluation surveys.

The creation of this richly complex site has greatly helped the STEM2Stern coordination office with their data collection, analysis, and reporting.

Office of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment

Sonjara was asked to play the role of web presence strategist and web developer for the redesign of the public and intranet sites for the WID office. Tasks included developing the overarching web presence strategy, develop the sites information architecture and navigation, working with the client to gather, develop, and/or identify new content, building the sites in HTML, transforming finalized Word documents into 508 compliant PDFs, ensuring compliance with USAID web standards, overseeing the review process for final approval, and maintaining the WID public and intranet sites. The project also includes development of a simple PHP/MYSQL based document manager to handle the over 200 PDFs housed on the public and intranet sites and to automatically generate HTML files for posting the documents to the WID websites.

To this day, Sonjara continues to maintain the WID office public and intranet sites as well as the document manager, which now holds almost 800 PDF reports. Most recently, Sonjara designed and developed an interactive Flash slideshow with stories and research-based quiz questions to commemorate the 100th anniversary of International Womens Day. Sonjara will be working with the WID office on the transition of the USAID website to Drupal, the rebranding of the office as it officially changes its name and focus, as well as other communication requirements that occur during the year.

Institute for Reproductive Health, Georgetown University

Sonjara implemented website analysis (information architecture and content), user and use case analysis, comparative analysis of other reproductive health partners' web presences and content workflow analysis. After delivery of the requirements analysis, Sonjara was retained to develop a new version of the IRH web site, based on the Drupal 6 content management system. Support to IRH has included development of a content management plan, and training for their editors on how to work with Drupal.

International Models Project for Womens Rights (IMPOWR)

Sonjara was hired by the American Bar Association to provide technical support and implementation for the IMPOWR Gender Legal Reform wiki. The goal of the project is to develop an online repository and empowerment community for those working in gender legal reform all over the world. The requirements for the tool include project descriptions categorized by country/region, gender legal reform topics and methodologies, an online library for documents, toolkits, videos, and web links, expert locator with advanced profile information, linkages to the library of Congress GLIN legal database, and blogs and articles about indicators of success, best practices, lessons learned, and other topics of interest to the community.

During this ongoing, multi-year project, Sonjara contributed a member to the working group committee, drafted the requirements and design documents, and built a sandbox version of the site using Joomla and existing Joomla components for the design committee to review.

NCUIH Health Publications Toolkit

Sonjara worked with NCUIH for over a year on two related projects. The first project focused on developing the Knowledge Resource Center, toolkit for its members and the general public consisting of economic development and health publications specific to the needs of the Urban Indian Health community. The database features member only features, web-based data and user management, and an auto-glossary feature for key terms. Sonjara managed the auto population and migration of over 400 document records into the new KRC database.

The second project was an extension of the KRC to manage the entire NCUIH web presence using the new CMS feature of Fakoli. The new site has a web based content management system, which allows administrators the ability to create multiple sites, add/edit look and feel templates,  menus, pages, page content, page modules per site. In addition to configuring, populating and launching the site on the NCUIH servers, Sonjara also provided multiple training sessions, a user guide, and technical support.

Recently, NCUIH asked Sonjara to develop a new splash/distribution page to feature all their web tools and resources. The splash page features a slideshow built in Flash, rotating news feeds and multiple dropdown menus built in JavaScript.

SeaPerch

SeaPerch came to Sonjara seeking a redesign and re-implementation of their website in that would offer, to users, a simplified navigation and workflow, improved labeling, and more easily accessible content. Sonjara developed a design using existing branding guidelines, and then migrated data and content from the old, proprietary platform into the new site, built using the open source Fakoli framework.

Sonjara revised the complex SeaPerch kit ordering workflow, and in doing so, dramatically reduced both the amount of time users had to spend ordering kits and the number of technical support requests they placed during the process.

On the SeaPerch website, teachers, parents, students, STEM mentors, and other educators and learners can find information on a variety of SeaPerch-related subjects, such as instruction manuals and building tips, and get involved in related events or activities. The site features an events calendar, event registration, photos, videos, blogs, a news feed, discussion forums, an interactive map of SeaPerch programs, and micro-sites for special events, such as the annual National SeaPerch Challenge.

USAID Office of Democracy and Governance

Since May 2008, Sonjara has supported the Outreach and Communications and Knowledge Management efforts of the Democracy and Governance (DG) Office at USAID by substantially contributing to the development of the DG Communications Strategy, maintaining the DG public and Intranet sites, identifying and implementing web tools, and developing 508 compliant PDF documents for posting on those websites. Specific initiatives included:

DG Intranet Sites: Sonjara implemented two communications portals for DG on the USAID AIDNET Intranet: A DG CommonSpot website and a DG Communities Tool in Drupal, an open source content management system (CMS). Sonjara migrated and redesigned the DG Intranet presence for the DG Office, retaining, updating, or archiving over 500 pages of data.

Online Grants Application and Tracking: Sonjara recently created a web-based online funding application and tracking tool for DGs Elections and Political Processes (EPP) group. The tool, using Fakoli, a CMS developed by Sonjara, allows participants to fill in application data online and for administrators to review, accept, and reject the submitted funding proposals. The tool lets administrators manage multiple rounds of funding, change the application templates by funding round, and tracks the administration process of particular applications as well as gives cross-application reporting. The tool also allows participants to submit quarterly and annual reports and success stories to the site as part of their project management obligations.

Presentation and Documents Management: Sonjara created two web tools within the same framework to manage DG documents. The first, DG Pubs, extends the functionality of the USAID Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs-managed public website and the Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) to allow users to search various classification criteria to find DG documents. This website can be found via the main USAID DG website. The second, DG Docs, is an internally focused tool that enables trainers and presenters to upload presentation documents to a secure website for specific training sessions. The tool improves the management of presentation documents and updates session information as needed.

Conference and Training Management: Using the same framework, Sonjara created DG Events, a tool that allows conference and training participants to apply online. This tool has an administrative backend for conference organizers to track attendees. Sonjara also supported the DG teams training initiatives by translating three training workshops into online modules now available on the DG Intranet, as well as publishing other training materials on the DG public and Intranet sites

iNGO Data Management Rapid Assessment

Sonjara was part of a rapid assessment team to assess the data management needs for a large international NGO and provide recommendations on software, governance and implementation guidelines.