About Observatories
To achieve its primary goal of promoting “better access to information for better people centered policies”, GORA Corp has established a system that links data to users at all levels. The system, named Observatories linking Research to Action (ORAs) is an easy to use open source platform which integrates a wide range of indicators into a database that can be manipulated to create quick reports and visual material for one or a multiplicity of decision-making-relevant aspects.
ORAs are institutional homes for development of urban indicators with quantitative as well as qualitative sources, from classical sources of information (population and housing censuses and household surveys) as well as GIS, Big data and social media. They are easy to use and manage monitoring, evaluation and result-based information management systems which majorly defragment and simplify procedures and processes associated with huge, multi-indicator databases.
ORAs are key components for promoting the people agenda, since they are not only open source, but can also be easily used and understood by both the policy makers and general public, as long as they have basic computer literacy.
ORAs are institutional homes for development of urban indicators with quantitative as well as qualitative sources, from classical sources of information (population and housing censuses and household surveys) as well as GIS, Big data and social media. They are easy to use and manage monitoring, evaluation and result-based information management systems which majorly defragment and simplify procedures and processes associated with huge, multi-indicator databases.
ORAs are key components for promoting the people agenda, since they are not only open source, but can also be easily used and understood by both the policy makers and general public, as long as they have basic computer literacy.
ORAs Architecture & development
The Observatories linking Research to Action (ORAs) comprise of four key components
- Indicators – which are administrator/user defined locally, regionally and globally comparable attributes for the collection, analysis and dissemination of decision making relevant data. The critical underlying character of an indicator is that is must be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant/Realistic, and Time-bound, and that it must generate relevant information that should follow the norms of other databases and data systems, and should not only be relevant but also locally and globally comparable.
- Software – which is the ORAs brain and background setup, in which indicators are created and data entered, and which also enables the hardware to understand a user demands through a set of commands, enabling accurate outputs and modelling capabilities. The host software combines a wide range of applications, including socio-economic data, physical data (through geographic information systems integration), as well as big data (achieved through integration of social media and other open source platforms)
- Policy/action toolkits – these area/problem/sector/organization specific guidelines developed by GORA Corp to help various data users and/or administrators to easily understand the ORA system and its data. The toolkits offer overarching guidelines on how to combine research analysis, impact assessments and learning practices and policies to assist in the decision making and policy formulation processes. They also offer guidance on creation of participation frameworks for the creation of people relevant actions. The policy/action toolkits are in the form of print (booklets), and soft copy (online guidelines and data disks)
- Training and capacity development – the attainment of maximum utilization of ORAs relies a lot on availability and quality of trained personnel particularly on the administrator end – who ensure proper indicator development, data accuracy, the continued supply of the observatory service and updated indicators. GORA Corp supports government employees, the ORA technicians and other stakeholders in the development of both indicators and in setting up the ORA platform. GORA's training and capacity development tools are tailored to the needs of people and technicians as well as managers, and decision-makers, to be equipped with instruments on the development and use of indicators to empower themselves and inform policies and programmes.
- Hardware – which comprises of the host system, which can be a computer, a mobile phone or any other digital device.
ORAs Application
ORAs are applied in a range of areas, from supporting decision making and policy formulation to enabling monitoring of various development indicators – including the sustainable development goals. Their range of application cuts across the various levels of governance – locally, nationally, regionally and globally. The indicators defined at the local level should thus be in line with national, regional and global norms for comparability purposes.