The DMA is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of poverty alleviation schemes in urban local bodies. PANTOTO Communities is being used by the DMA to monitor
a.the funds that are being allocated and spent for the SJSRY scheme
b.the number and type of beneficiaries that are covered under SJSRY

The SJSRY is supported by the Central government and has several sub-schemes. The funds are used to carry out a wide variety of activities in the area of urban development and poverty alleviation. Depending on the scheme the activities range from helping set-up and initialize micro-enterprises to training and capacity building for underserved communities in Urban Areas.

The quantum of funds that the DMA provisions for the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Karnataka under the SJSRY scheme has been over Rs.100 Crore in the last three years. Monitoring the allocation and utilization of these funds is a critical responsibility of the DMA. Reporting by the ULBs has been efficient but has been limited to a paper and pen format and report submission was through traditional mail. An MIS was essential if the DMA wanted up-to-date information on a wide variety of parameters at their finger tips. The data collected through the MIS would serve the following immediate needs:
a. Reporting to the Central and State Government
b. Helping them create proactive interventions for ULB's that are under-utilizing funds under the scheme.
c. Provide enough data for the DMA to help in its planning activities.

The MIS system has been conceptualized and implemented by the DMA team using the PANTOTO Communities Software. PANTOTO offered three simple benefits. Firstly, because it is user friendly it can be maintained by the DMA team without having to depend on any technical expertise. For example, form building and maintenance of the database is in the hands of the DMA. This meant that there were no additional resources required to hire software professionals.

Secondly, because it is web based and user friendly, the project officers located at the ULB's would be able to begin using the system as long as they had access to an Internet connection or a cyber cafe. This gave them the reach that they had previous lacked.

Thirdly, the cost of the entire system was below one Lakh. In comparison, other solutions available in the market, need to be custom built and can range in cost from several Lakh to above one Crore. However, the fact that it could be quickly deployed in close participation with the DMA, a break from the traditional software development model, was what was most interesting to them. For example, the system was deployed by a project officer who designed the forms based on a paper based design that was engineered by the Joint Director (Development).

The DMA carried out an efficient Change Management process which focused on training. Project Officers were invited to our office for two days to learn how to submit online forms. When we found that this was inadequate the DMA organized a 3 day training program. The program was conducted for six batches and all the project officers were covered in the course of the training. The training covered basics of using a computer (facilitated by the Administrative Training College, Mysore) and an in-depth training session on feeding and modifying data online. This interactive training session helped clear the initial hurdles.

When it came to generating reports, we helped with building spreadsheet based reports. Users at the DMA could download data from the website and use predetermined formulas in spreadsheets to generate reports.

Similar solutions in the market range from several Lakhs to well above 10 Million Rupees. We managed to deliver the solution at a fraction of this cost. More importantly the DMA team can enhance the software as their reporting needs change.

The project has three distinct components:
(i) Data Capture: Which was done using PANTOTO and on the Internet
(ii) Training: General computer training and then training on the MIS for all Project Officers. This in particular was planned and implemented by the DMA to ensure that Project Officers could make a smooth transition to using paper based forms to an Internet based reporting system.
(iii) Report Generation: Defining formulas and report formats using spreadsheets that then use data from the MIS to produce the final report.