Secondary Data

What a secondary data?

• Data that are collected by a source outside of the program/project

• Useful to complement, or triangulate primary (program) data

• Improve efficiency of monitoring system

Why are secondary data useful?

• Cost-effective to adopt indicators for which data have been or will be collected by– Government ministry, international agencies, local

agencies– Data from research, studies conducted at the same

time (or planned at a time consistent with project M&E needs), in-depth assessment, project reports

Examples of Secondary Data Sources

• Governments: planning departments, Ministry of Health Management Information System (HMIS), Agriculture data

• University or research centers• International agencies• CARE programs (FSF, SHOII, SHOII, ACCES)• Other projects/programs working in the area (BRAC,

Borne Fonden, Plan)• Financial institutions

Challenges with Secondary Data

• Applicability. Is the target population similar? Is the catchment area similar?

• Ownership. Who “owns” the data? Is data public or proprietary?

• Accuracy. How to ensure data are quality/accurate? Double counting.

What are your experiences/thoughts on feasibility of using HMIS data? Other program data?

Special role of the Health Management Information System• Important key country indicators• Collected by government health staff at various

levels (primary, secondary ,tertiary) by registers• Aggregated upwards in a routine basis (quarterly,

semi-annually, annually)• Opportunity for capacity building and data

strengthening

What types of data are routinely collected in your country HMIS?

Are there any “important” indicators that are not routinely collected?

Incorporating Secondary Data into the Pathway to Impact• What is feasible?

– Ownership and utility of data– Data quality, verification

• Frequency of abstraction– Quarterly? Semi-annually?– Feedback loop to the data source