Partners

Moving Femili PNG to the cloud

In December, Information Systems Officer, Andrew Howes, visited the Femili PNG offices to provide training and assist with moving more IT systems to the cloud.

As a Papua New Guinean run and registered NGO, Femili PNG operates its own IT, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and financial systems. These systems enable Femili PNG to support survivors of family and sexual violence.

Friends of Femili PNG assists in the development and improvement of these systems, and provides training and support to staff to enable Femili PNG to be fully self-sustaining with their IT.

A key focus for Friends of Femili PNG with this December visit was to assist Femili PNG to transform the paper-based M&E processes used to track outcomes for survivors.

Securing outcomes for survivors

Femili PNG supports over a thousand survivors of family and sexual violence every year. They secure a wide range of outcomes for these survivors, from court protection orders, to safe accommodation and the arrest of perpetrators.

It is no mean feat keeping track of all of these outcomes.

To do so, caseworkers complete complex forms which are manually processed each fortnight. The system works, but is error prone and time consuming. Time spent filling out forms and correcting mistakes reduces valuable time where caseworkers could be helping clients. In addition, there is no easy way to see which clients need what kind of assistance at any given time.

A photo of a caseworker using a pen to complete a paper form on a table. Her hand is focused with the rest of her body out of focus.
A caseworker completing one of the paper forms used to track client outcomes

Working together to find a solution

Friends of Femili PNG has been working with Femili PNG to improve this system.

Last year, we jointly developed plans for the CMS, or Case Management System. This is a customised cloud-based client relationship manager that enables caseworkers to securely see and update information about their clients in real-time. This provides useful information to the caseworkers, such as the status of their cases, and provides much more reliable and up to date reporting to management.

By using the CMS, caseworkers can spend more time focusing on clients and less time completing paperwork.

To ensure that the system meets Femili PNG’s complex needs, Friends of Femili PNG is working with Femili PNG every step of the way. We are developing it in three phases, with more features being rolled out at each phase.

Outcomes of the December visit

Visits to Femili PNG are essential for Friends of Femili PNG. During the visit in December, we trained 17 Femili PNG staff members on the new features of the CMS, and trained 14 more in other IT areas. A key focus is training staff on providing IT troubleshooting so that Femili PNG can be more self-reliant with their technological issues.

Phase one of the CMS development plan was successfully rolled out during this visit. Caseworkers can now see up to date information about their clients and cases, conduct client satisfaction interviews, process repatriations, and refer clients to Femili PNG’s other partners, such as safe houses and the police. Robust security and modern authentication prevents caseworkers from viewing information of unrelated clients, and prevents unauthorised access.

Through discussions and meetings with Femili PNG staff, plans for the next phase were also finalised during the trip. By working so closely with Femili PNG management and caseworkers, we have been able to identify their biggest issues with the current system and work to address these first.

We would like to thank the Femili PNG team for their dedication, and commitment.

Support the project

Complex and long-term projects like developing the CMS are only possible thanks to the generous support of our donors.

Without ongoing funding, Friends of Femili PNG would not be able to provide the vital support and assistance that Femili PNG needs to continue its important work.

If you can, please consider donating below.