iMMAP Nigeria Reviews its Information Management Support to Partners
iMMAP Nigeria opens its doors to humanitarian partners in Nigeria, to reflect on this year’s achievements and challenges while strengthening coordination to better support the crisis response.
iMMAP Team and Partners at iMMAP Nigeria Technical Review Workshop
On 9 and 10 September 2021, iMMAP Nigeria held its two-day annual Technical Review Workshop in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. The event aimed to evaluate the information management (IM) support iMMAP provided to the humanitarian actors responding to the humanitarian crisis affecting the northeast region. Abdon Trowonou, iMMAP Operations Director, expressed these objectives by stating:
The purpose of the end-of-year review workshop is to self-critique and reflect on our IM support to the humanitarian sectors in northeast Nigeria. To see the areas that require improvement and collectively proffer ideas on how to provide better support in the future.
Abdon Trowonou, iMMAP Operations Director
The event was attended by 45 participants from donor agencies, UN agencies, international and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government institutions, and academia, with members of the iMMAP Nigeria team and representatives from iMMAP regional and global offices.
On the first day of the workshop, iMMAP information management officers (IMOs) delivered presentations on the achievements and challenges recorded in their respective sectors, sub-sector, working groups, and agencies.
In a year with challenges faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions, iMMAP provided IM services to 374 humanitarian organizations responding to humanitarian needs through IM support in data visualization, collection and analysis. Over 500 tailored-made IM products were developed, supporting the humanitarian response with evidence-based information across the northeast of Nigeria, with a focus on Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) states.
Furthermore, IMOs working across seven humanitarian sectors actively engaged in improving the IM capacity of 635 humanitarian operators. Complementing the humanitarian IM capacity strengthening sessions which iMMAP provided throughout the year, it has also implemented its internship program - made possible by the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) iMMAP signed with the University of Maiduguri, Borno state in January 2021.
The presentations by iMMAP IMOs also provided insight into the various challenges recorded at the sectoral level, including the lack of data coverage for some crisis-affected communities across BAY states, delayed data submission, and inadequate partner presence.
The sectoral presentations were followed by insights provided by the Borno State Agency representatives for the Coordination of Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Response (BACSDAHR) and University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID). These presentations highlighted the results and achievements of the strong partnership with iMMAP, with the hope to better serve the vulnerable communities across the BAY states in the coming years.
The BACSDAHR presentation, delivered by the Manager of the Borno State Data Center, Dr. Alhaji Maaji Umar Mustapha, outlined the various aspects of the support iMMAP provided to the agency, including iMMAP participation in the agency’s strategic development planning retreat in 2020, the training of staff and interns in data management and visualization and the support provided in the design of the state’s 25 years development plan. Alhaji Maaji further described the importance of the capacity strengthening support he received from iMMAP as a steppingstone to his current position at the Borno State Data Center. Concluding his presentation, Dr. Mustapha stated the following:
On the first day of the workshop, iMMAP information management officers (IMOs) delivered presentations on the achievements and challenges recorded in their respective sectors, sub-sector, working groups, and agencies.
In a year with challenges faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions, iMMAP provided IM services to 374 humanitarian organizations responding to humanitarian needs through IM support in data visualization, collection and analysis. Over 500 tailored-made IM products were developed, supporting the humanitarian response with evidence-based information across the northeast of Nigeria, with a focus on Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) states.
Furthermore, IMOs working across seven humanitarian sectors actively engaged in improving the IM capacity of 635 humanitarian operators. Complementing the humanitarian IM capacity strengthening sessions which iMMAP provided throughout the year, it has also implemented its internship program - made possible by the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) iMMAP signed with the University of Maiduguri, Borno state in January 2021.
The presentations by iMMAP IMOs also provided insight into the various challenges recorded at the sectoral level, including the lack of data coverage for some crisis-affected communities across BAY states, delayed data submission, and inadequate partner presence.
The sectoral presentations were followed by insights provided by the Borno State Agency representatives for the Coordination of Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Response (BACSDAHR) and University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID). These presentations highlighted the results and achievements of the strong partnership with iMMAP, with the hope to better serve the vulnerable communities across the BAY states in the coming years.
The BACSDAHR presentation, delivered by the Manager of the Borno State Data Center, Dr. Alhaji Maaji Umar Mustapha, outlined the various aspects of the support iMMAP provided to the agency, including iMMAP participation in the agency’s strategic development planning retreat in 2020, the training of staff and interns in data management and visualization and the support provided in the design of the state’s 25 years development plan. Alhaji Maaji further described the importance of the capacity strengthening support he received from iMMAP as a steppingstone to his current position at the Borno State Data Center. Concluding his presentation, Dr. Mustapha stated the following:
iMMAP has been with us since the formation of the state’s data center. They helped in the training and the capacity strengthening of our staff in the areas of data management and visualization.
Dr. Maaji Umar Mustapha, Manager of Borno State Data Center
Concluding the first day of the event, the representative from the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) in Borno state, Dr. Abdulkadir Hamidu Alkali acknowledged and commended iMMAP´s support for the capacity strengthening of selected graduates - which has not only created a career route for the fresh graduates but has also created job opportunities for those selected within iMMAP and other humanitarian and UN organizations.
On the second day, the iMMAP team turned their focus on an internal review exercise, taking a deep dive into successes and challenges across various projects implemented in 2021 with a focus on the methods employed by the team to track iMMAP’s impact on the coordination of humanitarian responses across northeast Nigeria.
The iMMAP ´Support to Humanitarian Information Management through Training and Capacity Building´ project focuses on capacity strengthening, the internship program, and technical support to partners. The project recorded nine training rounds, over 100 partner organizations across NGOs, UN agencies, government institutions, and academia. In addition, 210 participants benefitted from iMMAP capacity building activities, with the average knowledge gained standing at 80% across all training sessions.
Throughout the year in review, iMMAP selected 16 interns to acquire practical IM experience for a period of three months. Six out of the 16 graduated interns are currently working with iMMAP. Among the other 10 graduated interns, three are working with the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), two self-employed, while each of the remaining five work with the following organizations: The Borno Women Development Initiative (BOWDI), International Rescue Committee (IRC), Young Africa Initiative of Nigeria (YAIN), Action Against Hunger (AAH), and Rehabilitation Empowerment And Better Health Initiative (REBHI) in Borno state.
The internal review activities later peaked with an interactive session among iMMAP IMOs on data opportunities available to the team, with ideas shared to enhance the IM services provided to humanitarian partners in the upcoming year.
To close the Technical Review Workshop, iMMAP Country Representative, Dr. Andrea Porro, expressed appreciation to the team for their work throughout the year and for their participation in the review session through the statement:
On the second day, the iMMAP team turned their focus on an internal review exercise, taking a deep dive into successes and challenges across various projects implemented in 2021 with a focus on the methods employed by the team to track iMMAP’s impact on the coordination of humanitarian responses across northeast Nigeria.
The iMMAP ´Support to Humanitarian Information Management through Training and Capacity Building´ project focuses on capacity strengthening, the internship program, and technical support to partners. The project recorded nine training rounds, over 100 partner organizations across NGOs, UN agencies, government institutions, and academia. In addition, 210 participants benefitted from iMMAP capacity building activities, with the average knowledge gained standing at 80% across all training sessions.
Throughout the year in review, iMMAP selected 16 interns to acquire practical IM experience for a period of three months. Six out of the 16 graduated interns are currently working with iMMAP. Among the other 10 graduated interns, three are working with the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), two self-employed, while each of the remaining five work with the following organizations: The Borno Women Development Initiative (BOWDI), International Rescue Committee (IRC), Young Africa Initiative of Nigeria (YAIN), Action Against Hunger (AAH), and Rehabilitation Empowerment And Better Health Initiative (REBHI) in Borno state.
The internal review activities later peaked with an interactive session among iMMAP IMOs on data opportunities available to the team, with ideas shared to enhance the IM services provided to humanitarian partners in the upcoming year.
To close the Technical Review Workshop, iMMAP Country Representative, Dr. Andrea Porro, expressed appreciation to the team for their work throughout the year and for their participation in the review session through the statement:
I want to thank you all for stepping away from your busy agenda. We do believe that it is important to have this review not just for the sake of the review but to get to know each other, understand what we do, and bring experiences from different work backgrounds to grow the organization and ourselves.
Dr. Andrea Porro, iMMAP Nigeria Country Representative