Depending on your organization's and program’s capacity and needs, you will want to consider the benefits and trade-offs of different available data systems for strong analysis and reporting on data.
There are many off-the-shelf, customizable, and online data systems. Since they are constantly changing and new systems are emerging, this toolkit does not recommend any specific platform; however, we share here considerations and pros/cons of different approaches to meeting data system needs.
There are many off-the-shelf, customizable, and online data systems. Since they are constantly changing and new systems are emerging, this toolkit does not recommend any specific platform; however, we share here considerations and pros/cons of different approaches to meeting data system needs.
Lower/No-cost Systems
Strengths:
- Budget-friendly
- Easy to learn; no special skills needed
- Tools are constantly improving and providing more analysis and user-friendly capabilities
- Easy to learn; no special skills needed
- More complex analyses may not be possible or may be more difficult
- More manual labor may be required to set up online forms and conduct analysis
- Some upfront learning required
- Technical support may not be available
- More manual labor may be required to set up online forms and conduct analysis
Higher Cost Systems
Strengths:
- May be capable of more complex analyses
- May have more user-friendly interfaces with more “controls” that can minimize data entry errors
- Reports may be more accessible, visually appealing and user-friendly
- Typically come with technical support
- May have more user-friendly interfaces with more “controls” that can minimize data entry errors
- Greater upfront costs and ongoing licensing fees may make these types of systems only accessible to larger organizations
- Generally require a dedicated staff person with capacity and experience to learn and manage