No stakeholder left behind: The 4-level framework for inclusive open source systems

In this talk, Alawa Alifabi discusses the Gambia Ministry of Higher Education's digital transformation project, aimed at implementing a Higher Education Management Information System (HMIS). The project focuses on integrating various institutions with differing levels of technological capabilities, from advanced ERP systems to simple paper-based processes. The speaker emphasizes the importance of stakeholder engagement, stating that understanding users' pain points is essential for successful implementation. He presents the Four-Level Integration Framework, which allows for effective data management by categorizing institutions based on their technological readiness. Through this framework, the project seeks to create a system that enables equitable access to digital resources across all institutions, fostering data-driven decision-making and improving governance.

[music] All right, good afternoon everyone. Um, my name is Alawa Alifabi. First, I'd like to thank you for coming to my uh talk. Um, I'm the technical advisor to the Gambia Ministry of High Education Research, Science and Technology on a World Bank funded uh digital transformation project called MIS. MS is an acronym for higher education management information system and uh the project was actually set up to

uh give a full digital transformation effort to uh the work the ministry does in the Gambia. All right. [clears throat] So um this was what actually happened before we actually did anything we needed to speak to the users because it will be very useless for you to build and then now go deploy to your users at the end of the day. So what we did was we

called several institutions and stakeholders. We brought them to a room uh in at the ministry in Banjul and then we listened to them you know what are their pain points and how we want to work on the system we want to so again like I said the MS is an acronym for high education management information system and it's a turnkey solution to help solve the ministry's needs

but still looking at it if the ministry of high education has the whole outlook of the high education sector it's still going to be a problem and digital transformation is incomplete if they do not uh digitize their own processes. So I came to them hey even with whatever you do with your different institutions you still have to also digitize your own processes. So we were doing a

full digital transformation project. So what actually happens is that most project actually um perpetuate and think oh everybody all stakeholders are the same level but that is not the case because some institutions might be using full-blown ERP systems some are using access some are using Excel and then some are using paper how do you make sure that you build for everybody so that no stakeholder is left

behind which is the essence of my All right. So, as I said, um we started by bringing everybody together. It was multi- um multi-day stakeholder engagements and as I mentioned um some had uh full-blown cloud-based ERPs, some had Excel uh based systems, some use PayPal, most of them. So, before this, nobody had asked them how do you actually get your things done? In fact, initially there was

a project called IMIS EMIS before the HMIS came in. You know, most times I was explaining to somebody earlier today, what institutions actually do is that when they build, they actually outsource their technical knowledge to the vendor. So the vendor builds and then forces whatever they build on them. But since there's no governance, there's no technical person in house, then it becomes a problem because it's whatever

the vendor builds they actually get to see. All right. So with this the traditional um answer forces one of of two situations either you're building for sophistication that has to do with those that use full-blown ERP system and then that means you are also going to what those that using paper you won't be building anything for them or you could also be forced to build simplicity you

build simple then what happens to those that use full-blown ERP system you won't be able to uh accommodate those expansive features but there's the third option and that is why we're here today and all this came from a field tested solution. uh this is not theory this is actually real world this is a work we've been doing since se since since se September last year and the

architecture and everything is currently ready all right so again both parts right either you build for the most uh capable or simplify for everyone they both both parts actually waste public funds because you're building for a small number either this way or that way all right so after this we decided to now go to meet these institutions. First we brought them in, we listened to them and

then we went to their institutions each and every one of them. So we took up 30 institutions uh which actually cut across uh the different levels you'll be seeing soon. So the 30 institutions um the information we got from them was able to help us make the decision we wanted to make. So some visits confirmed what we were going to do and some other visits. For example,

there was a particular public institution that the government is really funding and we thought they should be at level one. So just to give you some heads up, we have level one to level four. So we thought they could be at level one but then getting there we realized their servers were down, broken, nobody was doing anything. So it was more governance than what you could think

of. So going there, seeing them, talking to them, listening to them actually helped us to be able to architect a system that would actually help everybody to get in. All right. So the reality, like I said, the reality was more diverse than anyone had documented. So from the 30, we realized that nine nine of them had full-blown uh ERP systems and which means they are level one

ready. And then one person was landbased. So they have an ERP system but it's only used locally. So anytime they leave the uh the institution they cannot use the systems. And as you can staggering 60% either use Access or Excel they for them they're in level three and then level two one of them actually use paper but most of these guys still use paper to paper and

Excel. one of these guys used paper and we had to also place the institution I talk talked about here because they needed intervention. All right. So this actually helped us make it 100% integration feasibility within the project. So the diversity was not a barrier but then it was design at the end of the day it is what you design for everybody that has to do with the

capability of the system. All right. So um when uh I did my submission for OCX it was called the four-level integration framework as you saw level one level two level three level four level one are for institution institutions that have full-blown ERP systems and are able to be API ready. So what the MS platform will do is that it will connect to the different institutions and then

get data from them. Usually what the ministry does is that the ministry sends Excel sheets to every institution and they ask them for institution data, student data and all those data and they do it like every other month, every 3 months. In fact, during our first uh stakeholder consultation that we brought them in when I joined the ministry, they were like, "Oh, we are tired of always

being asked to send in Excel sheets. We do this over all the time and nothing happens still because they'll still come the next time and still ask us for the same data. But with this it's creating what permanent inclusion for everybody at the end of the day. So I've talked about this level one [clears throat] online system pathway level two networks a local network systems pathway level

three structured data pathway and then level four assisted entry pathway. still all of them would still be able to use this at the end of the day. So the essence is that every institution connects and nobody waits for anybody. All right. Again as I said you came in thinking you're coming to see four level integration framework but the work didn't stop. Remember the project is still on.

Right now we are currently waiting for the vendor the um project it's a as I said it's a world bank funed project and I'm the consultant on it. So it's now with the world bank and I think by now it should have been pushed to step RFP so that people uh institutions I mean um technology firms can um build on it but still while we were working

we're working with the institutions and we're refining everything we were doing. We go to the field, talk to them, come back and then that's brought this capability bridging framework. Yes, the methodology is fourle integration but then it's about capability bridging their capabilities So the four-level integration methodology is how it works and then capability bridging is actually what it does. All right. So it's a framework. The capability

bridging framework is actually an open framework that actually helps to build inclusive digital systems. All right. So what you actually do is that you assess before you build because looking at it like I said this happens all the time. V um institutions will outsource their knowledge their technical knowledge to vendors. Vendors just build whatever they need to do and then bring it back into the organization. But

what should actually happen is that every institution before going into any digital transformation project they should actually have to do what assess their capabilities first. So either you are going into an integration project or you want to just do something uh solo on your own. So um there are actually six major dimensions and there's a seventh. Again while we were building this came I think two weeks

ago we realized finances is also very important. How do you sustain a project without finances? So looking at this the slide ended at six but the tool has seven. So first you look at system infrastructure what technology so it's it's goes the assessment goes through this six part system infrastructure. What technology do they actually use from day to day? two dimension two digital literacy can staff actually

get to manage this technology because we realized there was a particular regulatory a technical arm of the ministry I'm trying to be very an uh anonymous as much as possible so what they did they they built they built a platform and then nobody uses it in fact they said they did UAT and I'm thinking how can you do a user acceptance testing and there's no data in

the system it's impossible you know so it's It's it's it's about ownership and all those things. So the third sorry second is connectivity. Do they have reliable connectivity? And then third is digital literacy which I've talked about. Then fourth uh data management practices. How do they actually collect, store and manage data and then five vendor relationships. Most in institutions don't have um the manpower inhouse to actually

build systems. So most of them actually outsource this even though they have IT departments that manage maybe hardware connectivity and a few other things. And then the sixth governance which I think is which I believe nothing think is extremely important looking at governance and that is why a lot of projects fail because the governance capacity is missing. So looking at these dimensions this problem actually came from

a particular problem. So which means this framework is applicable everywhere healthare um government agriculture municipal uh services and all. So what is needed to do is that anyone can actually use this assessment tool to actually see the level they on. I'll do a brief demo uh at the end of this. All right. So this is just an example. So for example uh this institution let's assume for

their system infra infrastructure they have cloud ERP and public IP access they'll be in level that would be level one connectivity reliable broadband level one digital literacy they have dedicated IT team and then inhouse uh developers level one two uh they have structured databases regular exports level one and then they have active contracts and documents uh available level one and then governance capacity they have formal policy

in practice. So in reality they should be at level one but the institution actually said they wanted level three. Why? Because the funds are not there. That was why the seventh dimension came in. So again like I said the framework is flexible by design. It can be used anywhere. The assessment actually helps you identify capability. The pathway actually reflects reality. This is actually where this institution stands.

All right. So along the line like I said this this whole thing is is like a movie right? It came from reality. So we called we initially called them capability tires. So if you say okay you you're tai one you're t two three four you make people look at oh does it mean I hope you understand what I'm trying to so at that point we decided oh

why not let's change this so we decided to call it what integration pathway so if you tell somebody you're in level four which means you can still go to level three when you add in some things level two and then level one so inclusive design is as much about language as it is about architecture. It's more than that. All right. So, four pathways, one source of truth.

Here's how this actually works. Again, like I said, governance is not about policy documents. Remember, like I at the beginning, I said, most institutions have no governance policies. It is not the papers. The papers could be there, but if the papers are not implemented, then it's going to be a problem. All right. So at the end of the day, most of these institutions have agreed to actually

get these policies working and all. So we look at um authoritative source. So the system is supposed to accept the MAS platform is supposed to accept data from different institutions and different stakeholders. For example, the accredititation authority has institutional data. The institution itself also has institutional data. So what is the source of truth from this? The institution themselves. Why? Because they actually own this data. So we

look at how versioning can be done in this framework. All right. Again, we have what timestamped versioning. I've talked about this. So every submission, whether it's an API submission, bulk upload or manual entry, there's a time stamp on it. And then when there's a conflict, as I've mentioned, um data coming from the accreditation authority, from the institution, who owns the truth at the end of the day.

So all this has actually been put into the framework. All right. So what actually happened was that there was a stark reality. None of these institutions 30 institutions that actually cut across all these different levels, none of them had formal data quality pro procedures. Zero. And then this is a problem. If data quality, we know how important data is. If the data quality is very bad once

it gets into the system then it's going to be a problem for the ministry. Remember the essence of all this is that for the ministry to be able to make datadriven decision making. So if the data coming in is not as good as it should be then it's going to be a problem. So as much as possible from the source this has to be done. All right.

Again like I said level one and level two we have real-time API validation on every submission. for level three template validation rules built into the upload process and then level four field level validation in the manual entry portal. So I've been talking about I'm sure you'll be believe you'll be thinking this is an open source um event and I've been talking without adding open source. So this

as I said this is for inclusivity inclusion and all. So first we would have to look at repository architecture. So it should use modular architecture as much as possible rather than monolith. And then for documentation strategy the four stakeholder types need documentation be it APIs be the bulk upload uh be the paper based and all and then time scope and then uh community contribution. So tied contribution

pathways mirror the So one thing I also haven't mentioned is that um the architecture of the uh platform of the MS platform actually follows TOGAF 10. TOGAF is an acronym for the open group architecture framework. So uh before since it's called the open group so I was thinking earlier I was thinking back in the day I was thinking oh I think this is open source. Then there

was a conference I went to there and no it's not open source even though it's an open framework right and then it helps you build architecture and um actually build inclusive systems to so you don't have to even implement the old toga um implementation you select whatever works for you and that works so finally the philosophy so if you believe every institution deserves what a pathway right

okay I'll go again the philosophy behind all this if you believe every institution deserves a pathway into your system. Then you should also believe every contributor deserves what? A pathway into your community. As much as possible, you need to build what? Community into whatever you're doing. All right. So, currently the site is live capability.org. I'm going to do a very brief demo. All right. So, there's an

assessment tool. Again, I as I said the um CAPA capability bridging framework is actually an open framework. It's inclusive. It's ready to use. It has several documents and assessment tool, five downloadable resources. Uh it has a case study. And then um one thing I should mention, remember we said this is supposed to be an open platform, right? And it's supposed to focus on what open source is

supposed to be. So all the components that was used to build this site are all open source from um Lucy CFML. It uses MySQL and it also uses goat counter. Go counter is an open-source uh analytics platform that helps you to actually um an minimize whatever you're bringing compared to what um okay I should mention Google will do for you. All right. All right. So I'm I'm

going to go into that in a bit. So again like I said there are five different documents. The position paper uh the framework documentation assessment instrument governance templates the MSK studies. So all of them are available at this maybe I should have put a QR code so that yeah I'll move on. So while building is first the case was it is for integration but I also thought

about it while building what about individual institutions that just want to know um their digital readiness level what happens to them so to include so it has two routes first is for institutions that want um to integrate a project so whether you are um you're a platform operator you're a ministry or you're a municipal or you're part of a project team trying to assess institutions for readiness

or integration. The seven dimensions actually help you to go through it. It has integration specific framing and language technical next steps a pathway level financial sustainability advisory flag and then for those maybe um single institution that just want to see their readiness level they can actually get to see again as I said it is free no registration instant result it could be used with any sector and

it is anonymous too so you don't have to put in your institution name and all right Again, as I mentioned, the assessment tool is live. The framework is live. The governance approach is also live on the site which I'll be showing in a bit. So, where is this applicable? This is applicable everywhere. Remember this problem came because we were trying to uh integrate several systems together. So,

anywhere you have multistakeholder engagements or multistakeholder systems to be imple implemented or integrated then this framework should work for you. Right? So it can be used in healthare maybe um ministry of health or maybe um who wants to integrate a system and then maybe hospitals all across the country needs to integrate they can use this uh it can be also be used in agriculture municipal service delivery

in fact these four areas have an example as part of the framework that actually shows you how to implement it if you're in any of these sectors. So again if your stakeholders are not uniform your architecture also should not be uniform and you should not assume they are. All right so the Gambia just happens to be the one that solved this problem for all of us. All

right so the whole essence of this is that no institution is left behind. No stakeholder is excluded. No ecosystem left to figure out how things should be done. Again to summarize everything we have talked about, we should know that digital transformation that assumes uniform capability perpetuates the very inequality it's trying to solve. So the Gambia's um em actually showed that permanent inclusion is very possible, attainable, governable

and deliverable in real world constraints. So as much as possible you can take it, you can adapt it, you can improve it. It's open in what we say open sources. So I'll do a quick demo to show us what this looks like. All right. So I'll go to capability capability bridging.org. All right. So the site is everything we have seen is actually incorporated into the site. So

you can read the position paper to actually understand why this framework came in. So um you can look at the case So this is everything we have seen. Can look at the case study and then you can also go to downloads. Again like I said it is free it is open you can start using immediately. So framework documentation you can download it the position paper framework documentation

integration readiness assessment instrument. So you can actually take this into the field because this is also field tested governance templates as we have seen and then the case study and then finally I'll look at uh we would look at the online assessment tool. So I'll we still have some time. So all right. So integration uh readiness assessment. So before we begin, what best describes your situation? We're

involved in a multistakeholder integration project. This includes institutions being integrated into a shared system, uh platform operators assessing institutions they need to connect and project teams mapping an ecosystem. If a national or shared system is involved, choose this. So we'll try this, we'll try the other one and we'll see how. So again like we said these are the different dimensions talks about your organization, system infrastructure, system

accessibility, digital literacy, data management, vendor and governance. And remember I said there's a seventh dimension. money is extremely important even though it does not affect because um an institution could be at level one they have everything but what if they are uh subvented by the government and then they do not have money to continue with all this so I'll try this out so tell us about your

organization again like I said you can do this anonymously so this is optional so organization is optional um let me leave it optional so let me Let me call it a foundation. All right. Nice try. All right. What's So sector nonprofit organization type nonprofit. So we go next. So for this we'll take um the ISO that gives us level one or we could mix it. So how

does your organization primarily manage its data and operations? Cloud-based remember this is level one and then we have local installed software. This is level two. Spreadsheets is level three. So everything I've talked about has been translated into this platform to be used. So I'll choose cloud-based. Oops, sorry I I moved back. So let me just quickly Thank you. All right. So, I choose cloud base for Next.

All right. So, how do staff access your main system? Let's say from anywhere. So we choose this we go next. So also the remaining options only from within. So you see everything translates to level one, level two, level three, level four only from within uh the office or on the office network. Then the third one only on specific computers in the office and then no digital access

to s uh to Next, how capable is your team with digital tools? This talks about your IT team and all. So how would you describe the typical uh digital capability of your data management staff? We'll take a pick advanced also. We have intermediate, we have basic and then we have minimal. How does your organization manage and share data? How do your does your organization currently collect and

store its main data? Again, we have a structured database with consistent standards and validation rules. spreadsheets with some structure but inconsistent standards mix of uh digital and paper with no consistent standards and finally primarily paper based. So I'll choose How does the organization currently share data with external bodies? So I I want to choose a different dimension so that you see the way the results are given.

I'll do this. We go next. So what who supports your technology and how is data quality managed? Okay. Um you have your own who maintains and supports your main technology systems. Our own internal IT team an external vendor or contractor with an active support agreement. An external vendor but support is limited. I'll choose this. No. And then next. Does your organization have formal processes for data quality?

Yes, we have documented data quality, informal practices, limited data quality and then no data quality. I'll choose this next. So this is the seventh dimension. Can your organization fund its integration? no current budget and then we can see results. So it's saying that based on everything we have seen um online system pathway your organization has the infrastructure for real-time API integration your you can sorry you can

establish an automated continuous data connection with the shared platform and then it shows you um systems infrastructure. So you also have details it explains whatever you have keyed in. So you can see the details. So what this measures, what this means for you and then the necessary next steps. All right. Um digital literacy is advanced. Data management is advanced. Data sharing remember we chose then it also

shows you your funding steps and then it shows you the ne recommended next steps and how you can actually get to do things. So this is one and then you can save it as PDF, send it in an email. So it's still nicely um so you can send it to your board, you can send it to your IT team and all. So I'll go and do the

second dimension. Uh so we are assessing our digital so this these are for institutions that are only managing they're trying to see their readiness level. They are not part of any integration project. So we are assessing our digital capability in independently. We want to understand where we stand digitally and want to improve whether we plan to connect to an external system in future or simply want to

run our own operations better. No integration project required at this point. So again it follows the seven dimensions but with different outputs. So again I'll just um let's say banjul sector I could say international government public sector organization type government department I'll go next so it's same but different or it's similar but different so for this I'm going to choose to use paper. how do your staff

access your systems? Let's say only specific computers in the office. How capable is your team with digital Let's say basic. This is everything we have seen earlier. How does your Let's do mix. How does your organization currently people. Let's do this. And then next, data managed? Let's say an external vendor. Does your Let me choose yes here. So, we see the variations next. All right. Can your

organization fund its digital capability? Let's say no. Remember this doesn't affect this course from the six dimensions. This is just to actually show you stuff. All right. So you can see system infrastructure foundational emerging emerging emerging data sharing is emerging and then vendor and governance is advanced just as we chose and then we have this. So recommended next step. So it gives you what a unique recommended

next next steps based on what you you choose. As you can see, start with one problem, not a plan. Choose the single most frustrating information challenge your organization faces. The one that wastes the most time or causes the most confusion and solve just that one with the simplest possible tool. A spreadsheet, a shared folder, a consistent register. One thing done well creates momentum. After that you find

your digital person who is a person in your organization that understands how uh digital tools are used and all and then it's also advising you not to buy any software yet. since based on the uh the assessment don't buy because you do not have the capability right um and then it's telling you to visit you can send you can get in touch again as I said this

is an open tool so you could also save it this is an open tool available for free for anyone to use we did this in under 10 minutes for each so it would not get wast Again, um I want to thank everyone for coming in. You could have been anywhere else, but you're here listening to mine. I appreciate you a lot. Um again, my name is Ali.

Um thank you. I'll take questions. uh you started with mentioning the uh 50 organizations where you want to information from. How do you get that information if they are filling it in anonymously? How how do you get your information that you need for your government? >> Okay. For so this is a tool >> that should the tool came up from the assessment. So just to mention um

I I I got a go ahead from the ministry because I know how sensitive this can be you know so the framework actually came from the work we were doing so it's separate from the work so the institutions they are different the tool itself is have you seen adoption outside what's the uptake been So thank you for bringing so this has this is the first time I'm

presenting this >> and thank you for bringing that I forgot I was going to go into Thank you so much. Thank you so much for that. So this hasn't been shared anywhere. I've not discussed this with any u well I've been discussing with people but I've not actually pushed this. So going to go counter since um I deployed this site on the 30th of March till today

less than a month and then uh there there has been about 65 people that visited the site there's no nothing else. I've not pushed I've not I've not done any digital marketing or anything. While building I just realized people have been visiting some way somehow. What's the plan? >> Yes, I I'll get there. I just need to show No, it's fine. I need to show something quickly.

So, I'm going down. So, you can see four people have downloaded the position Two people have downloaded the governance templates. And then the most intriguing one is the locations. Of course, Gambia. We have United States. Six, four from Gambia, 29 from United States, six from Belgium, three from the Netherlands, two from Canada, two from France. I don't know why it has double France here. Poland, two from

Poland, two from Sweden, one from Denmark, one from Israel, one from Spain. So about 12 countries. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 without you know while still building the site. So I believe this has the potential to actually um redefine how digital transformation is actually done across the world. So yeah to answer that um once the site is live now I would

do more of um pushing the word out as this has already started. Push the word out. It's a free tool. Anyone can use it. Of course, we use social media channels and all. So, I'm not it's it's just a side project, but I see it as also a very important project. >> Excellent presentation. Um, I wanted to know if I know students that would love to get

involved, develop and, you know, harden their web coding skills and stuff and they want to contribute to your website, to your survey and stuff. Um, is this open source yet? >> I could open source it. >> Okay. Um, would you be able to announce when it's available and, uh, maybe we could figure out how to get students to look at it? >> Definitely. Definitely. I'll share my

card with with you with everybody of course so that we could you know at the end of the day I'm saying it's open all most of the work is in the documents the templates and all so if I can make that open why not the site itself you know so definitely we're going that route we're >> open source advocates so we need to actually preach what we

>> and you could protect your data but the site itself is what I'm saying >> sure >> this looks like something students would love because giving them experience but it's a not too hard problem yet. >> Yeah, sure. >> Just a minor question. I saw that quite some of the answer options they were an either or with no level of of maybe you're with some of your

systems already somewhat more advanced versus another half of your systems not so advanced yet. Um is that something that will be taken into account towards the future so you can be somewhere in the middle of the road instead of an either or? >> Yes. Thank you very much for that. Again, um when this submission was done, it was called the four level integration framework. But going into

the field, I realized it's more than just a four level. That was why it grew into the capability bridging framework, which means definitely more things will be added. In fact, the project hasn't gone live. Once the project goes live and the vendor builds, we take lessons from those and also add it in. So um so as much as possible it's continuous feedback refinement and the end goal

is to make sure anyone can actually check their readiness level they get an assessment and they know the next steps in what they need to get done. Thank >> Thank you very much. I just want to say thank you for sharing the the framework. I really like the um kind of thought process that went behind it and I think it's very logical. I wanted to ask on

in terms of now that you have this kind of um these pathway systems laid out, are there any resources already available for like how a level one could you know integrate with a level four? Because if you are, you know, all cloud-based and, you know, fully APIdriven, but then have to deal with a bunch of people who are doing paper stuff, that sounds like a good opportunity

for centralized resources on like here's how to integrate that. >> All right. Thank you very much. That is the whole essence of the capability bridging framework. So you have a central system that needs to connect to an API ready system, an Excel system, an access system, um paperbased system. So for level It connects via API. The central system connects to other system via API. For level two,

there'll be since they use Excel because also you cannot force people to maybe go to level one or level two. For example, an institution is just you know uh trying to get by. You cannot force them to go online, get a full-blown ERP. So you meet them at where they are. So as much as possible you cannot for for level two would use um uh bul upload

pathway they getting their data they send it in it's uploaded uh for level three the same for level four they they have a place to keep things in so you you have data coming from all the four levels you know generally all institutions or any business can fall in one of these four categories it cannot be more than four either you have a full-blown ERP them or

well maybe now that we have agents coming in maybe we'd have a level five whereby we move these guys to uh level two three four five and then agent comes in level one maybe but for now it's the four levels so everyone that is the essence of the capability bridging framework so that everyone can um get into the main system. Thank you. All right. Again, thank you

very much. I appreciate your time.