The African Development Bank, in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Angola, has launched its collaborative ICT initiative RASME in Angola, after a three-day training session in Luanda, the country’s capital.
RASME, which stands for Remote, Appraisal, Supervision, Monitoring and Evaluation, is a set of real-time digital data-gathering tools and processes. It uses modern information and communication technology (ICT) while enabling the bank’s clients and development partners to better prepare projects, report on progress and evaluate impact openly and transparently.
This will be used for the preparation, evaluation, and supervision of projects receiving support from the Bank. The data will be collected using satellite technology and smart phones and will be collated by the Bank at the central level.
On Tuesday, November 22, 2022, the project was officially launched by Dra Rossana Silva, who is the head of the International Economic Cooperation Department at Angola’s Ministry of Finance, and Pietro Toigo, who is the African Development Bank Group Country Manager for Angola.
Speaking at the event, Silva told those present that, “Ensuring open and transparent reporting of our development initiatives is central to our mission. RASME is an important enhancement of our capacity to do this.”
Toigo also expressed excitement in his opening remarks, “I believe this project can significantly enhance the data collection which we use to assess the effectiveness of our development work here in Angola.”
The Bank Group’s Corporate IT department is helping to deploy RASME in partnership with the World Bank’s Geo-Enabling initiative for Monitoring and Supervision (GEMS) Team – Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV), and KoBoToolbox foundation.
The digital data gathering suite of tools used for the RASME project is based on the KoBoToolbox platform, an open-source ICT solution developed by researchers affiliated with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.
RASME is now active in 14 different African countries. The initiative will strengthen the monitoring and evaluation of the Bank’s development projects by increasing data collecting in inaccessible or distant places, especially those with security and logistical issues.
Earlier this year, the African Development Bank (ADB) launched the RASME project in Maputo, Mozambique. In July, Rwanda embraced the Remote Appraisal, Supervision, Monitoring and Evaluation and became the first East African country to do so and the seventh overall in the continent.
