The Where We Are Working section of this website has been updated with four new stories about our HRIS strengthening work. Read about how we are:
On June 4 the Capacity Project and Ministry of Health (MOH) facilitated a Technical Working Group (TWG) workshop to review progress and next steps on Kenya’s human resources information system (HRIS). The TWG coordinates the functions of the HRIS and consists of members of a larger HRIS stakeholder leadership group (SLG).
The meeting began with an update from local software developers who recently customized the Project’s HRIS software to meet specific needs in Kenya. Initially the HRIS is being populated with Capacity Project data on the Emergency Hiring Plan. Following a software demonstration, the TWG began drafting a list of HR policy and management questions. Dr. Pamela McQuide presented an overview of the Project’s HRIS strengthening approach and led a session introducing concepts of using data for decision making, emphasizing data quality and presentation. Monica Mburugu, TWG Chair and Chief HR Director at the MOH, expressed that she is very pleased with progress to date.
Several follow up meetings were scheduled, including the next TWG meeting, a larger SLG meeting and a Data for Decision Making workshop. The local developers shared the modified code with Dr. McQuide. Capacity Project developers are currently reviewing the code and hope to post it soon.
In Kenya, a team of local developers has customized the Capacity Project’s iHRIS software to meet the requirements of the Ministry of Health (MOH). The iHRIS suite is released under an Open Source license that allows anyone to copy or change the source code and redistribute it for free. The local developers, contracted by the Capacity Project/Kenya, downloaded and studied the code for iHRIS Manage (a human resources management system) and iHRIS Qualify (a training, certification and licensure-tracking system). Incorporating aspects of each product, they modified and rewrote the code in a different programming language better suited to Kenya’s specific requirements for data-sharing and accessibility. The modified software—to be installed in the MOH later this month—has three compatible modules that track staffing, payroll and training, with five additional modules planned for development. The Kenyans will provide the Capacity Project with their modifications and extensive documentation, which the Project will make available to the global Open Source community.
What is happening with HRIS Strengthening? Get news about our ongoing work in the field, find out when new features and releases of the software are available, learn more about human resource information systems, and join the conversation. Your comments and questions are welcome.