Nano MIS

Nano MIS is a decision support system for frontline officials to improve the quality of policy execution. It is a ‘process innovation’ that changes the approach to building information systems by using a fast, cheap, and flexible design, concentrating on a limited number of priority outcomes, on issues immediately and directly relevant to citizens, and which emerge in a bottom up manner reflecting the needs of frontline staff. The vision is that this approach can produce cheaper, faster, and more user friendly information systems for use by frontline officials in low capacity settings to help improve last mile implementation of priority policies, especially those which directly impact the daily lives of citizens.

The pilot achieved the core objective – to develop and demonstrate Nano MIS in one chiefdom, the Mukobela Chiefdom in the Namwala district Southern Province. The system included information on a number of indicators on access to public services agreed in a consultative process with Chief Mukobela, including on proportion of households that drink treated water, distance to health and education facilities, child marriage, incidence of diarrheal diseases in children under five years of age, and other indicators. Chief Mukobela reported that the data showed challenges that he and his team were not aware of, and the evidence helped the Chief take action and secure additional support for the chiefdom, for example mobilising the community to make a contribution for the construction of a clinic in an underserved area.