Who should use this checklist?
This checklist is intended for refugee service providers who are involved in collecting, using, and managing data for reporting and compliance. They may be monitoring and evaluation (M&E) staff, direct service providers, or others, depending on the structure of their organization. The checklist can be used by an individual or a team to allocate responsibilities and help their organization adhere to compliance and quality assurance standards.
Why is it important to dedicate time to compliance and quality assurance?
Data quality assurance standards, whether required by funders or simply recommended as best practice, are intended to guide you in collecting high-quality, useful data in an ethical way. Collecting high-quality data gives you the reliable information you need to be confident that you are serving eligible clients effectively. Ideally, the data will also help you and other stakeholders, such as funders and community members, learn about the impact of your programming. To ensure clients’ rights and privacy are protected, it is crucial to follow ethical data collection and storage procedures during this process. Finally, meeting funder requirements related to data quality and reporting increases the likelihood of securing additional funding in the future.
How can this checklist help you achieve these goals?
This checklist can help you to:
- Identify staffing needs and prepare staff for data-related tasks by equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need
- Establish a set of steps, systems, and standards to reference when completing data-related tasks
- Prepare for monitoring visits and demonstrate program compliance
- Streamline data processes to reduce error and burden, providing more opportunity for staff to learn from the data
Keep in mind that this checklist is a general list of data quality and compliance-related tasks. You can and should adapt it to your organizational context. You may use this checklist as a Word document, or you can print copies to distribute to team members. You may use the Additional Resources page at the end to quickly and easily access the resources linked throughout the checklist.
