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The
2nd Generation LIVE DATABASE
Winner of the "2001 World Class Solution
Award" for Business Intelligence, by DM
Review
Strengthening
Capacity to Improve the Monitoring and Analysis of Poverty
& Development
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Introduction
Bringing
the Live Database (LDB) to Africa is part of a regional program
to help improve monitoring and evaluation capacity in African countries.
It is designed to provide decision makers in Africa, both within
and outside government, easier access to the latest development
data for more informed decision making. This is accomplished by
installing the LDB system in national and regional institutions.
During
the past two years ago, the LDB was installed as a pilot program
at the National Statistic Institute in Mozambique, the African Development
Bank, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the South Africa
Department of Finance, and demonstrated in another dozen institutions.
To date, over 20 institutions have made formal requests for installation
of the LDB.
The
process of installing the LDB in a statistics office, a ministry
or central bank inherently requires a needs assessment. It is a
unifying framework for supporting the way in which statistics are
collected, stored and disseminated to key constituencies. The LDB
therefore transforms the way people work by centralizing all data
in once place and providing users various tools to access and manipulate
the data based on their needs. Thus the LDB becomes a key tool for
strengthening statistical capacity.
Feedback
from the experience in these institutions has been positive overall,
though not without its problems. The positive feedback indicates
that access time has been reduced and efficiency gains have been
made in generating their regular reports. The Briefing Book was
particular popular as it provided non-specialists analytical capability
to understand the data and put it in context. Other indicators that
reflected that these institutions benefited from the LDB were that
the data were key inputs in their key publications and reports,
the creation of LDB departments, the establishment of LDB hotlines
or email addresses.
The
negative feedback has been that the system is not flexible enough
in its current state to really have full impact. The shortcomings
are the unsophisticated query tool, the inability to access and
generate reports with high frequency or sub-national data, the absence
of meta data (information on the data), the complexity of designing
new reports, and the lack of adequate data administration tools.
The system design is closed and changes require expensive and often
inaccessible programming time. The ability to wholesale the LDB
is limited given the enormous amounts of time required to fine tune
the system to various operating systems and conditions.
As
a result, a 2nd Generation LDB system has been under
development and nearing completion. The new LDB system addresses
all of the above concerns and adds new capabilities that make it
a powerful analytical tool. The system is fully web based and uses
On Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) technology. This means that
users can perform complex calculations on the fly, capabilities
not previously available or required expensive programmers to do.
At the same time, the system is designed as a tool kit, using off-the-shelf
technology that allows it to be replicated, transferred and installed
anywhere. This assumes minimum hardware and know-how.
The
strategy for installing the 2nd Generation LDB system
is to transfer the knowledge of the system to regional institutions
committed to supporting national institutions who wish to have the
LDB installed. This wholesale approach builds on the commitment
by regional institutions that have already installed the LDB, to
support other institutions. Trust funds and grants are being sought
to underwrite equipment, consultants (both short-and long-term)
and training workshops for national statistical offices and ministries.
Two workshops are current planned for Fall 2000, one in Southern
Africa (SADC countries) and another in Western Africa (francophone
countries).
For
more information please contact Ronnie Hammad
Lessons
learned from installation of the LDB in Africa
- Transforming
the way people work: The LDB is more than simply installing
hardware and software and periodically transferring data. It involves
transforming the way staff and managers store, access, manipulate
and analyze economic information. Where successfully installed
task forces were set up, implementation teams were put in place,
and appropriate administrative procedures were developed. The
key is to customize the system and deciding on how the system
can best serve its user’s needs. This implies wholesale training
of staff, extensive user support (hand-holding) and strong systems
support.
- Management
commitment: Organizations that perceive the LDB as critical
to their mission of developing country economic knowledge are
more likely to succeed in adopting the system. INE in Mozambique
was strongly committed to the project. They sent two staff members
to Washington for training, created an LDB unit within the National
Accounts Department, and have committed significant resources
and equipment to maintaining the system.
- Focus
groups: As with the development of the LDB at the World Bank,
the experience at the AfDB and DBSA has been that focusing on
user’s needs is key. An considerable amount of time was spent
consulting various departments and understanding the relationships
between the country departments, the statistics department, the
sector departments and the Financial Risk Management Department
(FRM) units. What new features, indicators, or standard reports
were need. Bottom line: buy-in from staff.
- LDB
Task force and role of team work: In the initial phase of
installation, an LDB task force composed of the Task Manager,
the Data Administrator, Computer User Support, the Network support,
and representatives of various departments, should be established.
It is recommended that in the initial phase the task force meet
weekly to review progress and to address any problem areas that
might arise.
- Data
administration: Instituting appropriate data administration
procedures is perhaps the single most important function surrounding
the database. The appointment of a qualified data administrator,
the setting up of access rights, and controlling access to the
database all determine the long-term sustainability of the system.
Frequently
Asked Questions
Can
the LDB system be customized to meet the needs of our staff and
organization? Can we add our own indicators and develop our own
standard reports? The LDB has the built-in flexibility to
allow one to add new indicators, customize standard reports, change
the methodology used to calculate growth rates, etc. It is a system,
not simply a database with current data from the World Bank. However,
the current LDB system does not accommodate high frequency data,
sub-national data, and meta data (information on the data). These
are being developed in the 2nd Generation LDB system.
Who
and how will the World Bank support us if we need assistance? For
how long will we have to rely on the World Bank. Can’t they do this
on our own? The World Bank is committed to supporting regional
institutions requiring technical assistance and has dedicated resources
to that end. The purpose of this support is to develop the in-house
capacity to maintain the system independent of the World Bank.
How
often will the data be updated and how will it be transferred?
The
frequency of updates to the LDB will be based on the Data Reporting
Guidelines established by the Africa region of the World Bank. Currently,
a minimum of four (quarterly) updates a year are made to the macroeconomic
data which come directly from the country desks of World Bank economists.
However, with some of the new 2nd Generation LDB tools
already in operational, more frequent updates are likely. In addition,
data from other sources (IMF, OECD, UN agencies, etc.) are updated
as they become available. Once the Database is updated at HQ, a
backup copy of the file is made and placed on a World Bank File
Transfer Protocol (FTP) site. An email is sent informing the data
administrators in each organization of the availability of a new
Update which can than easily be downloaded to replace the existing
one. It is important to note, however, that institutions can do
their own updating and need not have to wait for the next World
Bank update.
How
does the LDB link with econometric tools (RMSM-X, Maxsim, Eviews,
1-2-3, etc.)? Will they be receiving new upgrades to the
system once they become available?
Through
the Bank’s PREM Thematic Group Data and Tools for Economic Analysis
(TEA), a number of econometric tools are currently being redesigned
to become more compatible and allow for the easy transfer of data
with the CLDB platform, which is now the standard platform at the
World Bank. In addition, a number of new and powerful tool bars
(developed by the designers of Maxsim) are being added to the standard
CLDB that allow users to more easily access, calculate ratios and
growth rates, and interface with other files, sheets, and even SQL
servers. In other words, there is a group of people at the Bank
dedicated to ensuring that new tools are constantly being added
to the LDB platform.
How
much will it cost? What’s in it for the World Bank?
Currently
the World Bank does not charge for either the LDB programs or for
the regular transfer of data. However, it does seek to recover the
cost of the supervision missions from country budgets. Additional
costs could involve hardware, software, and licenses the institution
might have to acquire for installation (such as an SQL server and
Windows NT licenses). Finally, in cases where it is deemed necessary,
a programmer might be required to maintain the system. These costs
vary widely based on local costs and needs.
Press Release
11/15/00
- A 2 nd Generation Live Database allows for quicker analysis and
an effective tool to improve monitoring and evaluation of programs
and outcomes in client countries 
(837KB)
09/26/00
- The World Bank Implements Global Economic Analysis Solution Based
on Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and Knosys ProClarity Analytical Platform
3.0, Press Release by Knosys
and Microsoft
(76KB)
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