Rwanda has adopted the Remote Appraisal, Supervision, Monitoring and Evaluation (RASME) initiative, a tool that improves project-related data collection in remote areas. It is the first country in East Africa to do so and the seventh overall on the continent.
The initiative is a partnership between the African Development Bank’s IT Department (CHIS), the World Bank’s Geo-Enabling Initiative for Monitoring and Supervision, and the KoBoToolbox Foundation, a non-governmental organization affiliated with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.
RASME enables Bank staff, including task and sector managers, country and regional program officers and government officials, to compile project information directly from the field, using a smartphone , tablet or laptop, drones and satellites. Data is collected in a variety of formats, including text, video, graphics, and even survey responses.
The milestone was marked at a ceremony held in Kigali on May 17, 2022, in the presence of representatives of the government, project implementation units, the World Bank and several units and departments of the African Development Bank. development.
Gerald Mugabe, Acting Director of External Finance for the Government of Rwanda, said: “The Government of Rwanda welcomes the new initiative and believes that RASME will contribute to greater efficiency as it will simplify the implementation of projects, especially in terms of quality and project monitoring. .”
Francis Kohoue, IT Coordinator of the Bank’s East Africa Regional Office, said: “This tool is very useful for the Bank in two respects: in the context of Covid-19 where travel, missions and visits to construction sites are limited; and also when visiting projects located in remote geographical areas where accessibility is impossible, difficult or limited due to conflict, lack of security, dangerous terrain or logistical constraints.
