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Handout For:
Back to Basics—Program Reporting Workshop
“Your Management Information System”
INTRODUCTION
A Management Information System or MIS is a systematic, uniform method for collecting and reporting information about a particular program, event, or activity. MIS structures vary greatly in terms of the way information flows into the system, the types of reports generated, and the level of detail. The amount of reliance on computers is a variable that affects the way an MIS is structured. Some require highly trained staff for data entry, quality control, and other MIS functions; other systems are less sophisticated. Ultimately, an organization’s MIS is based on its unique needs, capabilities and resources.
As you finalize your plans for project implementation is an excellent time for a new grantee to set up an MIS that is tailored to the project’s unique information requirements. This chapter describes how you can systematically collect information about key program elements to make informed judgments about your project’s effectiveness in achieving its goals and using its resources. With accurate, timely information about your grant’s activities, you can be a better manager and obtain objective evidence of your project’s value to the community. In addition, an organized and well-planned MIS assists you in providing required information and reports to DOL.
PURPOSES OF AN MIS
Whether elaborate or simple, an MIS is worthwhile only if it achieves its designated purposes. At a minimum, you need an MIS that producesthe required federal reports. In addition, your MIS should yield reports that guide management decisions. Finally, you may also want reports that offer staff feedback on how well clients are doing or that inform partners and the community about frontline operational issues. Therefore, the system you develop may be used:
❖ To meet federal and programmatic requirements for use in monitoring
Back to Basics—Program Reporting Workshop
“Your Management Information System”
INTRODUCTION
A Management Information System or MIS is a systematic, uniform method for collecting and reporting information about a particular program, event, or activity. MIS structures vary greatly in terms of the way information flows into the system, the types of reports generated, and the level of detail. The amount of reliance on computers is a variable that affects the way an MIS is structured. Some require highly trained staff for data entry, quality control, and other MIS functions; other systems are less sophisticated. Ultimately, an organization’s MIS is based on its unique needs, capabilities and resources.
As you finalize your plans for project implementation is an excellent time for a new grantee to set up an MIS that is tailored to the project’s unique information requirements. This chapter describes how you can systematically collect information about key program elements to make informed judgments about your project’s effectiveness in achieving its goals and using its resources. With accurate, timely information about your grant’s activities, you can be a better manager and obtain objective evidence of your project’s value to the community. In addition, an organized and well-planned MIS assists you in providing required information and reports to DOL.
PURPOSES OF AN MIS
Whether elaborate or simple, an MIS is worthwhile only if it achieves its designated purposes. At a minimum, you need an MIS that producesthe required federal reports. In addition, your MIS should yield reports that guide management decisions. Finally, you may also want reports that offer staff feedback on how well clients are doing or that inform partners and the community about frontline operational issues. Therefore, the system you develop may be used:
❖ To meet federal and programmatic requirements for use in monitoring