Palladium.pdf

MCC-PEPFAR Tanzania Data Collaborative (Co-Lab) Project—#MCC-16-RFA-0002

Organization: Palladium

Contact Person: Sindri Kinnier, Senior Associate—Innovations & Technology

Contact Phone: +1 202 777 0941

Contact Email: Sindri.Kinnier@thepalladiumgroup.com

Palladium would like to express its interest in supporting a local organization to implement the

Data Collaborative (Co-Lab) Project.

Palladium understands the local Tanzanian context and has established networks of local collaborators, innovators, and entrepreneurs.

Palladium has worked in Tanzania since the 1970’s and currently has 70 staff working on 6 programs in its three offices across Tanzania, one of which is located in Dar es Salaam. These staff form a strong contingent of local expertise, providing relevant knowledge and facilitating work in the Tanzanian context.

Through its numerous programs—particularly the current UK aid-funded Human Development

Innovation Fund (HDIF)—Palladium has established relationships with local and national governments, civil society organizations, and private sector. Particularly through HDIF, Palladium has a strong, local network of innovators and entrepreneurs whom it can engage in marketing and outreach efforts. Our local staff have expertise in open data (particularly for health and HIV), data validation and cleaning, data analysis and visualization, and training.

Palladium is a thought leader and global expert in the realm of open data solutions.

Palladium’s Innovation & Technology Practice has a long history of designing and implementing customizable, open source software solutions. Our broad open-source portfolio includes global and national dashboards, electronic medical records and patient referral systems, mHealth, GIS applications, grant management tools, data mining tools and aggregate reporting tools. Our team of specialists analyzes current conditions and existing infrastructure at the organizational and country level and ensures that our systems and approach is appropriate for the local context.

Palladium has the capacity to establish, equip and maintain functional IT systems, including efficient training, analytics and programming through our team of experts.

Palladium’s Innovations & Technology Practice includes a comprehensive team of senior developers, software architects, business analysts, project managers and quality assurance testers working with technical experts across ten countries (including Tanzania) to develop software applications. Palladium’s extensive experience and holistic approach to information systems ensures that not only are we able to develop specific solutions for the local context, but we are also able to provide ongoing maintenance and support at every point—from the platform and operating system to integration with other systems. Having technical staff on the ground in

Tanzania allows us to support both new and existing systems efficiently and cost effectively.

Additionally, Palladium’s extensive experience with open source platforms will enable us to design an appropriate data repository for the diverse data sets used within the Co-Lab. In Kenya, our team has built a data warehouse for HIV/AIDS data under the CDC-funded HMIS project, providing us with key experience in the administration of a data hub with an open data approach.

Palladium has experience designing and implementing hackathons to foster collaboration across sectors and strengthen the open data ecosystem in a country.

Palladium has significant experience planning events to foster data use including the Code-a-thon under the Zambia Orphan and Vulnerable Children Management Information System

(ZOMIS). Through the Code-a-thon, Palladium helped foster a community of developers in

Zambia around ZOMIS as open source software and established linkages between the software development community and the Ministry to build sustainability of the system going forward.

Palladium has worked with a diverse group of stakeholders in Tanzania, including local and national government, civil society, the private sector, and international organizations.

HDIF is aligned with the Government of the Republic of Tanzania’s commitment to foster innovation. As such, HDIF works in close partnership with the Commission for Science in

Technology (COSTECH) to strengthen the capacity of COSTECH the innovation ecosystem in

Tanzania. Through HDIF, Palladium has also worked with local incubators such as Dar

Teknohama Business Incubator (DTBi), Buni Innovation Hub, and KINU. Under the CDC-funded LEAD project, Palladium has worked with local government officials and health care providers in Tanzania through implementation of our open-source solutions (IQCare, IQTools, and IQSMS) at HIV/AIDS care and treatment facilities.

Palladium’s experience includes extensive training in information technology and data use.

At the core of Palladium’s values is capacity building. We have developed methodologies, tools, standard procedures, and presentation templates in the area of strategic information and data demand and information use. We provide information technology training courses tailored to fit the specific needs of clients, including civil society, government, and the private sector. We have an experienced team of trainers and a curriculum based on best practices and lessons learned from field experience. Training courses focus on data quality and use of data, data use and information management, computer basics, data entry, system administration, Structured Query

Language (SQL), software development, security and malware, report generation, and custom query building.

Palladium also has extensive experience with online training via Project Ujjwal in India, which includes an e-Learning platform which offers interactive, multi-sensory, and self-paced learning for doctors. Palladium has also created a MOOC e-learning module for the Government of

Guatemala using the edX version of MOOC. Palladium has used the MOOC platform to build a

Knowledge Management Portal that allows different levels of users to find precisely what they need for their work: e-learning courses, tutorials, demos, manuals, policies, and best practices.

Palladium has established cost and expenditures control, including forecasting costs and accuracy in financial reporting.

Palladium is the holder of USAID’s Health Policy Plus Project—worth over $130 million—as well as numerous other USG-funded programs and projects. We employ strong financial controls to ensure compliance with USG funding requirements in all of our projects.