MobileActive.org

FLOW: The World Bank and Water Point Mapping in Liberia

FLOW: The World Bank and Water Point Mapping in Liberia data sheet 1512 Views

(This piece was originally written by The World Bank; it is republished here with permission)

Basic Information

Website URL: 

http://www.waterforpeople.org

Organization involved in the project?: 

The World Bank

Project goals: 

The goal of the project was to create a baseline map of water points in Liberia, using data collected from the Android mobile application FLOW.

Brief description of the project: 

The Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), working with UNICEF and USAID, assisted the government in mapping improved water points in rural Liberia, as well as sanitation in nearby schools, using FLOW. The purpose was to gather information for investment planning, in connection with the preparation of a poverty reduction strategy.

A total of 150 local enumerators were trained in using FLOW-equipped Android phones, provided with motorbikes, and sent out across rural Liberia. Approximately 7,500 improved water points were mapped.

Target audience: 

The target audience is the government of Liberia, as the collected data on water points will be used to assess the areas and regions that need water service improvements most immediately.

Detailed Information

Length of Project (in months) : 

1

Status: 

Ended/Complete

What worked well? : 

The project mapped roughly 7,500 water points in a one-month time period, with a group of 150 contributors participating in the project.

Using mobile phones allowed the data to be automatically mapped using GPS, saving time and eliminating potential transcription errors.

What did not work? What were the challenges?: 

Some challenges included:

• limited electricity, which made chargine the mobile phones difficult
• limited network connectivity, which meant that the data collectors had to sometimes come into the office to transfer the data rather than sending it from the field

Links to any evaluations/reports/research: 

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSIT...

Winners of the World Bank Apps4Dev Contest Announced

The World Bank announced today the winners of its first-ever Apps for Development competition. The contest launched last October as part of the Open Data Initiative and invited developers and development professionals to create mobile applications to help solve world problems apply their skills toward the Millenium Development Goals. A total of 107 applications were submitted form 36 countries across every continent.

Honorable mention, for example, went to Treepet from Mexico, that teaches people about the realities of worldwide deforestation via a game in which you plant a seed, nourish and water it, and try to restore an ecosystem.  One of the winning apps helps the Bank directly: StatPlanet World Bank from Australia uses the 3000-plus indicators available from the World Bank database in interactive maps and graphs.

A New Mobile Money Toolkit

At MobileActive.org, we’ve written about initiatives and research in the field of mobile money and mobile banking. It's a burgeoning industry and there is no shortage of relevant projects, services, and advances. Which is why we’re interested in the Mobile Money Toolkit from the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group.

We caught up with Margarete O. Biallas of the IFC to learn more about the toolkit and how it can be used by our MobileActive.org readers.

Q: Who would be interested in using the Mobile Money Toolkit?

A: Anyone engaged in providing electronic banking services using mobile technology.

Developing Mobile Money Ecosystems

CrisisCamp Ignite Session hosted by the World Bank - Friday, June 12 7pm

You are invited to CrisisCamp Ignite Session at the World Bank!

CrisisCamp DC is part of a global movement who is bringing together volunteers, academia, non-profits, companies and government officials to share best practices and lessons learned to advocate for further use of technology and telecommunications to assist citizens and communities during crisis. 

Mobiles Phones and Social and Economic Impact, Part 3: A New World Bank Report

Beauticians in Pakistan, sex-workers in Serbia, taxi drivers in Thailand. What do they have in common?  They're all being helped by mobile phones which make it cheaper to start up businesses, and reduce the cost of operating.  Besides sparking off "entrepreneurship," mobiles across the globe are giving a spurt to productivity, says a June 2008 World Bank report on The Role of Mobile Phones in Rural Poverty Reduction.

This report was missing from the citation of the GSMA Development Fund just produced, so we are reviewing it here.

World Bank Conference on m-Government

The World Bank e-Development Thematic Group is hosting a global dialogue on the use of mobiles in government. The seminar, titled "m-Government: The Next Frontier in Public Service Delivery," will take place in Washington, D.C. and is part of the eGovWorld conference, from November 29-30 in New Delhi, India.