by Reena Carvalho for BISMumbai

On 28 January 2020, the Homelink team from Don Bosco YaR forum, Delhi in collaboration with Don Bosco Balprafulta, YaR coordinating office organized workshop based on data-driven decision making (increasing the effectiveness of NGOs through technology) for various NGOs across Mumbai province. Around 24 NGOs participated in this program and the majority of the workforce comprised of directors, coordinators and documentation officers. The workshop was mainly conducted to understand the importance of documentation and the effective techniques of preserving and retrieving data.

Fr Gregory welcomed one and all and briefly explained the agenda of the workshop; this was followed by Fr. Thomas who explained the importance of documentation, the importance of digitalizing the documentation and the importance of keeping a track of our services to our organization.

This was carry forwarded by Maheshwari, who explained about how effective documentation can aid us in analyzing our institution work, our individual work, how it will enable our institution to understand our areas of strength and weakness and indirectly the technology can aid us in keeping a track on each and every minute activity carried within our institutes and thereby enabling us to grow in the required direction.

Live demonstrations of how we can research and analyze every minute information about our work within a span of seconds were shown to the panel members with appropriate statistics and figures.

Father Thomas after the break time explained about the ChildMiss website, the way documentation is been handled within this website, by showing that how documents from the time of admission till the restoration process , can be preserved within the website .The complete flow of our institutional work can be filled within the website and the team of CHILDMISS also communicated that how it is absolutely safe and secure to upload all the confidential information by various institutes within the CHILDMISS website . Father Thomas also aided the panel members in understanding how effective use of technology can enable us in handling day to day task in an effective manner, he explained about how to use Google calendars, Google forms, Google task forms, etc.

Father Thomas finally asked about the feedback of the participants and various queries were answered accordingly. He elaborated on how the ChildMiss can prove to be vital in boosting the documentation process through various examples that not only provide efficient and timely data but also empower the staff to understand their contribution towards their institutes thereby enabling the power of recognition and enabling them positively to put their best efforts.

Father Thomas communicated that digitalizing of data can only take place when we understand to walk along with the change of nature and also added that resistance to change makes equally an organization to collapse with time.

Father Gregory concluded the meeting by taking the feedback and accordingly communicated that we need to form a forum in helping each other and stated that gone are those days when NGOs were competing with each other and now its the time to collaborate with each other and share the best practices. The workshop got winded up with a vote of thanks by Ms. Nikita at around 5 pm along with tea and refreshing snack.

(published as received)