Community-based Prevention Information System (CoPIS): A case study of the STEPS OVC Program in Zambia

Issue	Out of a population of 13 million in Zambia, 20% is an orphan and/or vulnerable child (OVC) or a person living with HIV (PLHIV).  World Visions’ STEPS OVC  Program provides care and support to almost 600,000 OVC and PLHIV through 380 plus community based organizations (CBOs) working through a network of more than 40,000 trained community volunteers. CoPIS development was done through a deliberate and systematic process of consensus building on information needs, standardization of forms across organizations with existing M&E structures, and rolling out a database to more than 80 data capture sites with low IT capacity and poor infrastructure.
Description	The program has conducted basic data collection training among 15,522 volunteer community workers.  With one in every four (24%) volunteer community workers unable to read and write in English – the primary language on forms – the program opted to pair illiterate community workers with literate ones, and refer the illiterate workers to adult literacy classes.  Standardization of data collection tools was achieved through three iterative reviews and pre-testing.
Lesson learnt	Lessons learned from the design and implementation of CoPIS include: a high-quality management information system takes time to develop and roll-out; involvement and feedback from the community is critical; and balancing adaptability, gradual change, and cost is important.
Next steps	The STEPS OVC CoPIS is currently the most comprehensive data collection information system in Zambia for OVC. The program will transfer the system to an appropriate government entity to ensure its sustainability.