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This digitalization decision-making matrix is designed to help national malaria programmes and their implementing partners analyse their operational needs and context and decide whether to digitalize their insecticide-treated nets (ITN) mass campaign. The decision-making matrix will support discussions and decisions about the extent to which digitalization will be deployed, incorporating different factors and elements specific to the local context.

Digitalization of a campaign can mean several things in terms of scope and scale. While many national malaria programmes are using digital platforms for recording and aggregating household registration and ITN distribution data, digitalization is also expanding to other ITN campaign components and activities, including microplanning, social and behaviour change (SBC), supply chain management, supervision, monitoring, evaluation, and payments.

Refer to AMP's The use of digital tools to improve the operational efficiency of ITN campaigns guidance document for information about how different ITN campaign components can be digitalized to improve operational effectiveness.

The digitalization decision-making matrix is made up of

Operational needs:

The operational needs section of the decision-making matrix is designed to support national malaria programmes to think about their operational needs in detail. This process allows countries to (1) understand and align on the need and reason to digitalize the campaign, and (2) determine the scope and scale at which digitalization may be possible or required.

Context analysis:

The context analysis section of the decision-making matrix is designed to support national malaria programmes to analyse the context in which they operate, particularly the different elements that may affect digitalization. The context analysis helps national malaria programmes consider how to plan and budget for the digitalization of the different components of their ITN mass campaign, leveraging on identified existing digitalization initiatives and experiences within the country.

Planning and budgeting checklist:

The planning and budgeting checklist brings together the operational needs and context analysis sections. It lists the steps that national malaria programmes should consider to properly plan and budget for the digitalization of all or parts of their ITN mass campaigns. The planning and budgeting checklist should be used to develop the digitalization plan of action and the detailed budget.

View the Checklist (Excel)

Risks:

This section lists examples of the potential risks associated with digitalization of campaign activities by campaign area, as well as possible mitigating measures that national malaria programmes should consider when developing the risk assessment and mitigation plan for the deployment of digitalization. This list is an example only and is not exhaustive of all possible risks associated with digitalizing an ITN campaign.

View the Risk Register (PDF)

The following questions will help national malaria programmes decide whether to digitalize their planned ITN mass campaign and, if so, to what levels and for which campaign components or activities. The use of digital tools to improve the operational efficiency of ITN campaigns, which provides information about different campaign activities, their current challenges and possible digital solutions, should be used as a reference when completing this section.

The operational needs analysis is broken up into two sections:

• The first section has drop-down menus to select the answers. Considerations based on the selected answer will appear automatically.
• The second section is a combination of drop-down menus and text entry that requires input and descriptions from the user.

Prioritize that specific campaign component within your overall digitalization plan and budget for the ITN campaign. Consider whether you want to expand digitalization to other components of the campaign to improve overall campaign efficiency. There is a section in the matrix that will support decision-making around campaign components to be digitalized.

Review the campaign components that were most affected and determine which could be resolved through digitalization. Prioritize the components that should be digitalized first in case of funding constraints. There is a section in the matrix that will support decision-making around campaign components to be digitalized.

Decide whether you will focus your digitalization on areas that had problems in the previous campaign or whether you will expand to all areas targeted for the campaign. This will need to be considered in light of resources available for digitalization, as well as infrastructure capacity. The context analysis should support this decision-making.

Consider whether it is feasible in terms of resources and infrastructure to digitalize in all targeted areas or whether you will need to limit your digitalization to certain targeted areas. If you will need to limit your digitalization to certain targeted areas, identify the critical factors that you will consider to decide where you will use digital tools. The context analysis should support this decision-making.

The national malaria programme might consider digitalizing only a specific component (especially if there is limited experience in digitalization) during this campaign and extending the scope of digitalization in subsequent campaigns when more experience has been gained. However, digitalizing a specific campaign component presents an opportunity to digitalize other campaign components and national malaria programmes may want to consider additional digitalization options.

Consider whether there are "non-digitalized" components from previous campaigns that are worth maintaining because they worked very well, were cost efficient, and provided the required results.

Consider how digitalization can improve operational efficiency by looking at lessons learned from previous campaigns that have piloted or deployed full scale digitalization (ITN mass campaign, SMC etc.) and consulting AMP guidance on the different campaign areas that can be digitalized. Refer to The use of digital tools to improve the operational efficiency of ITN campaigns.

Consider how digitalization can improve campaign implementation and outcomes by looking at lessons learned from previous campaigns that have piloted or deployed full scale digitalization (ITN mass campaign, SMC etc.) and consulting AMP guidance on the different campaign areas that can be digitalized.

Consider whether there are "non-digitalized" components from previous campaigns that are worth maintaining because they worked very well, were cost efficient, and provided the required results.

Having government support facilitates access to and mobilization of resources, including funding and technical resources that may not be available within the national malaria programme. You should identify their potential roles and responsibilities to support their involvement in the digitalization of the ITN campaign and ensure strong coordination.

This “digitalization decision-making matrix” should help you develop a digitalization plan of action and detailed budget which can be used to advocate for funding and technical support from ITN campaign partners.

Having partner support facilitates access to and mobilization of resources, including technical resources that may not be available within the national malaria programme. You should identify their potential roles and responsibilities to support their involvement in the digitalization of the ITN campaign and ensure strong coordination.

This “digitalisation decision-making matrix” should help you develop a digitalisation plan of action and detailed budget which can be used to advocate for support from funding partners.

Before deciding to digitalize all or part of the ITN campaign, it is important to think through the objectives and desired results of digitalization. This is critical to inform a strong design of the digital solution, including identification of possible mitigating measures for risks that may arise in transitioning to digitalization. A brief example (in blue font) has been developed below for your reference.

Use the drop-down menu to choose the campaign activities that will be digitalized. The use of digital tools to improve the operational efficiency of ITN campaigns provides details about possible digital solutions for different campaign components. It should be used as a reference when completing this section.

The following questions will help you assess your operating context and inform the planning and budgeting process.

Where digitalization has been established within the MoH, the national malaria programme may be able to leverage on experiences to date to support the planning and budgeting process. Where digitalization has been established, there may be existing resources that can be used (e.g. technical capacity, devices, platforms, etc.).

National malaria programme experience with digitalization of activities will facilitate the planning, budgeting and implementation process for the digitalization of the ITN campaign. Where digitalization of activities has been implemented, there may be existing resources that can be used (e.g. technical capacity, devices, platforms, etc.).

Experience in digitalized ITN campaigns will facilitate the planning, budgeting and implementation process for improving or expanding the digitalization of the planned ITN campaign.

Having no or very little experience in digitalization of the ITN campaign will require additional time for decision-making, planning and budgeting. It may also require additional time and investment in human resources capacity, procurement, supervision and monitoring (amongst others).

Consider whether to expand the digitalization process to other target areas (if the digitalization was not in the entire area targeted by the previous campaign) and campaign components (e.g. include supply chain management if only household registration and ITN distribution were previously digitalized). Identify the strengths and opportunities that contributed to the objectives being met and whether these are still applicable for the planned campaign. Highlight any new opportunities and threats to digitalization of the planned campaign (e.g. growing insecurity) and if/how they can be mitigated.

Undertake a problem analysis to identify the root causes for why objectives were only partially met and determine whether and how these causes can be mitigated. Identify the strengths and opportunities, as well as weaknesses and threats, that led to the partial achievement of objectives and whether these are still applicable for the planned campaign. Highlight any new opportunities and threats to digitalization of the planned campaign (e.g. growing insecurity) and assess if/how they can be mitigated.

Undertake a problem analysis to identify and list the root causes for why objectives were not met and determine whether and how these causes can be mitigated. It will be important to address previous issues for digitalization of campaign components before considering expanding the digitalization to other components.

If there were issues in digitalizing these activities, consider a problem analysis to identify the root causes of the challenges and determine whether and how these can be mitigated for the ITN campaign digitalization. For example, if the issue was a lack of technical support, consider whether additional ICT capacity will need to be recruited, trained, and deployed during implementation.

If you have used a tool or platform that achieved most of your objectives, determine whether the same tool or platform is capable of meeting your needs for the planned ITN campaign, including for any additional components that you plan to digitalize.

If none of the tools or platforms that you have previously used for your ITN campaigns achieved your objectives, you should undertake a problem analysis to determine the root causes and whether the tools or platforms can be adapted to meet your needs. If not, you will need to consider other tools and platforms for your planned ITN campaign. See the features table.

If staff are using specific tools or platforms, determine whether these same tools and platforms can be adapted or modified for use during the planned ITN campaign to build on the experience that has already been gained.

Consider selecting tools or platforms that are "easy to use" and designed for audiences with limited ICT knowledge and experience. Ensure that planning and budgeting includes sufficient training, supervision and technical oversight for the deployment of the digital platform for the planned ITN campaign.

If staff are using specific tools or platforms, determine whether these same tools and platforms can be adapted or modified for use during the planned ITN campaign to build on the experience that has already been gained.

Consider selecting tools or platforms that are "easy to use" and designed for audiences with limited ICT knowledge and experience. Ensure that planning and budgeting includes sufficient training, supervision and technical oversight for the deployment of the digital platform for the planned ITN campaign.

If staff are using specific tools or platforms, determine whether these same tools and platforms can be adapted or modified for use during the planned ITN campaign to build on the experience that has already been gained.

Consider selecting tools or platforms that are "easy to use" and designed for audiences with limited ICT knowledge and experience. Ensure that planning and budgeting includes sufficient training, supervision and technical oversight for the deployment of the digital platform for the planned ITN campaign.

Consider whether it is possible for the digital tool or platform that you are planning to use for the ITN campaign to support integration of data in the repository as it is currently, or whether it will need modifications.

Consider whether it is possible for the household or population data to be integrated into the digital tool or platform that you are planning to use for the ITN campaign and if a budget or technical support would be required to do this.

Consider whether the data collected with the tools or platforms selected for the ITN campaign can be integrated into the registry and if a budget or technical support would be required to do this.

Consider whether the data collected with the tools or platforms selected for the ITN campaign can be integrated into the LMIS and if a budget or technical support would be required to do this.

The use of digital tools to improve the operational efficiency of ITN campaigns includes a table of platforms and features that can support decision-making based on operational needs and context.

Ensure that all ICT4D capacity available to the national malaria programme has been identified (e.g. MoH departments, implementing partners, etc.) and representatives have been included in the membership of the digitalization sub-committee to leverage on experience and expertise, as well as technical and financial resources. Plan and budget for the engagement of ICT4D staff from external organizations, including from the private sector, if this is where most expertise is found.

Consider planning and budgeting for technical support for digitalization. Where resources are sufficient, national malaria programmes may create a standalone ICT4D team to support the digitalization of the ITN campaign.

Consider the tools or platforms that you are going to use and review the plan and budget for the ICT4D team to ensure that it aligns with your existing funding. If the budget is insufficient based on the decisions that you have taken, ensure that you include additional funding needs in the ITN campaign budget.

Consider the tools or platforms that you are going to use and develop a plan and budget for resource mobilization for the ICT4D team. Determine whether you can include the costs for the ICT4D team in your ITN campaign budget.

Based on your decisions about digitalization, you will need to undertake an inventory of available and functional devices at all levels (e.g., health facility, district, region, national) and quantify the additional devices required. Ensure that you have funding available and undertake early procurement of any additional devices.

You will need to quantify the devices required based on your decisions about digitalization. Ensure that you have funding available and undertake early procurement of any devices.

If digitalization is possible in these regions, ensure that planning and budgeting have considered personnel and device security and any additional factors that may require adaptations and additional resources (e.g. more ICT4D personnel deployed as movement within the region is limited).

If digitalization is not possible in these regions, ensure that planning and budgeting include paper-based tools for data collection. Where a hybrid system will be used (digital and paper), ensure that training agendas and materials are developed specific to each strategy.

If digitalization is possible in these districts, ensure that planning and budgeting have considered personnel and device security and any additional factors that may require adaptations and additional resources (e.g. more ICT4D personnel deployed as movement within the district is limited).

If digitalization is not possible in these districts, ensure that planning and budgeting include paper-based tools for data collection. Where a hybrid system will be used (digital and paper), ensure that training agendas and materials are developed specific to each strategy.

For districts with less than 50 per cent mobile phone network coverage, consideration should be given to digitalizing at the health facility or district level. If digitalization is desired from the household level, plans and budgets should include requirements (such as MiFi) for this to be achieved.

For districts with more than 50 per cent mobile phone network coverage, national malaria programmes may consider digitalization at the community or household level.

During microplanning (or before microplanning if possible), ensure that a list of all mobile providers and their areas of strong network is compiled. Any communities that do not have mobile network access should also be identified during microplanning to ensure plans and budgets address expected challenges with connectivity.

For districts with less than 50 per cent smartphone penetration, you should plan and budget for extra time to be spent on practical exercises during training to ensure that participants become familiar with the devices to be used. Note that additional training time on devices should not detract from other areas of training to ensure high quality implementation, which may require additional days for planned training sessions.

For districts with more than 50 per cent smartphone penetration, national malaria programmes may consider use of individually owned devices for the ITN campaign digitalization. Familiarity with smartphones and tablets may mean training time spent on use of the device can be reduced to allow for sufficient focus on other areas of training to ensure high quality implementation.

The use of social media as a communication tool in ITN mass campaigns is becoming very popular. Social media is a way to share critical campaign information in an innovative and timely manner. There are several organizations that track and publish information on social media use such as Data Reportal (https://datareportal.com/), Statcounter global statistics (https://gs.statcounter.com/) and others.

For districts with less than 50 per cent with stable electricity access, you should plan and budget for power banks.

Even for districts with more than 50 per cent with stable electricity access, you will need to quantify and budget for power banks as a back-up and to fill any gaps.

Download Checklist (XLS format)

The activities contained in this checklist should be included in the campaign timeline to ensure that there are no delays related to the digitalization of the campaign. This checklist should also serve as a basis for activities to be considered and then costed in the campaign macro budget. The "Funding for what?" column should include as many details as possible for clarity during budget development and finalization. Who will fund and implement the activities may vary, and part of the digitalization macroplanning will include assigning roles and responsibilities to the national malaria programme and partners. The checklist may also identify gaps where resource mobilization is needed.

Download Printable Version (PDF)

The following is a list of potential risks associated with digitalizing ITN mass campaign activities, as well as possible mitigation measures that national malaria programmes should consider. Note that both risks and mitigation measures are not exhaustive. National malaria programmes should work with their digitalization sub-committee and ICT team to identify other potential risks that might be specific to their operating context. The risk assessment and mitigation measures for the digitalization should be included in the overall campaign risk assessment and mitigation plan and, as per the other risks identified, the status for each should be updated on a regular (minimum monthly) basis. Planning for the piloting or deployment of a digital platform should include a full risk and mitigation plan (heat map, risk owner, etc.) developed by the digitalization sub-committee. Refer to page 41 of AMP toolkit, Chapter 5, Brief 3: Risk mitigation planning.

Congratulations! You have completed the digitalization decision-making matrix. Please provide your name and email address so that a summary of your responses can be sent to you for use as you develop your digitalization plan of action and budget.