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Ghana’s Ministry of Finance selects Synergy DAD as the country’s platform for managing development assistance

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Vienna, Virginia, USA – 24 March, 2015 – Ghana’s Ministry of Finance has selected Synergy to develop the country’s Aid Information Management System (AIMS), an online IT platform that will provide a comprehensive, real-time picture of the development assistance landscape in the country. In particular, the system will help the Ghanaian government to track aid flows, align them with country strategies, and ensure that projects are implemented effectively. This project is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The Ghana AIMS will improve information exchange on planned and actual donor resource inflows, promote aid-on-budget planning, and monitor the alignment of Development Partner (DP) assistance to the national development plan. The system will facilitate the monitoring of aid flows, absorption rates, and project implementation to assess performance and ascertain results. On the basis of projected aid flows, the Ghanaian government will be able to properly plan the national budget.

“With the help of Ghana AIMS, the Ministry of Finance will be able to disseminate information to the public on development assistance and results, thereby improving government accountability and transparency to citizens” said Synergy’s Project Manager Emilia Khachatryan, who was recently in Accra, Ghana, to carry out the needs assessment mission.

The system will be powered by Synergy’s flagship AIMS solution, the Development Assistance Database (DAD). First launched in the late 1990s, DAD subsequently became the most widely adopted AIMS solution in the world.

Synergy Provides Capacity Building IDM Knowledge Builder Course

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Synergy just completed another round of Intelligent Data Manager (IDM) Knowledge builder training for the purpose of building local capacity to manage the Development Assistance Database (DAD). This latest training took place in Sri Lanka, where selected managers and database administrators were provided with a week long intensive training session on how to implement IDM’s unique Knowledge Builder tool.

This tool was designed to help rapidly execute the creation or modification of IDM based databases such as the DAD, and allows government personnel to affect changes within the database that would otherwise require the involvement of Synergy or an outside consultant. Synergy has also provided training in Pakistan (March 2007), Maldives (August 2007), India (October 2007), Indonesia (December 2007), and on more than one occasion for the government of Iraq. This in-depth technical training is dedicated to building capacity within local DAD teams and ensuring DAD’s sustainability in the long run. When ownership of the DAD application is transferred to the government of the recipient country, it is essential to make sure that the local team will be able to support the application without Synergy’s involvement.

This tool allows the Government to reduce maintenance costs and sustain a solution that evolves with the changing needs of the government. The goal of this training is to produce a local team that is able to perform all required maintenance activities on a daily basis as well as modify the existing application’s data structure, introduce new groupings, columns and filters in reports and enhance on-line and off-line Data Entries. For countries with an IDM Portal this also includes training on the Portal Administration module, allowing the local web master to maintain the country’s DAD Portal. Synergy will continue to offer IDM Knowledge Builder training to customers around the world to equip them to fully manage the operations of their Synergy solutions.

Ministry of Afghanistan Mission to Synergy Headquarters

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Synergy recently hosted a delegation of representatives from the Ministry of Finance for Afghanistan for an intensive two-day mission to finalize requirements for an upgrade of the Development Assistance Database (DAD), as well as to discuss additional needs for increased capacity in budget planning. Synergy presented a prototype of its latest budgeting system, which was well received by the participants. Dr. Ashot Hovanesian, Synergy CEO, chaired a series of very productive meetings and brainstorming sessions with the team from the Ministry, which included Budgeting Managers, Sector Managers, and IT Managers. Synergy has been working closely with it’s counterparts in Kabul to finalize the implementation of the DAD 5.5.

Synergy begins Webinar series on the DAD

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Synergy is beginning a series of Webinars on the Development Assistance Database (DAD) for UNDP staff, government officials, and NGOs through WebEx software.

There are two upcoming Webinars for those in government and the development community in the continent of Africa. They will be held at 9 AM, EST on Wednesday, September 20th, and 9:30 AM on Thursday, September 21st. The agenda includes a live demonstration of the DAD, as well as a discussion of best practices and lessons learned from implementations of the system in 19 developing countries.

Katrina Recovery: Lessons from the Developing World

By Ashot Hovanesian, President and CEO, Synergy International Systems

As we approach the first anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita it’s natural to ask “Are we continuing to make the best progress possible in the recovery effort, and are we better prepared today to respond to and recover from these, and other, types of disasters than we were nearly a year ago?”

Read Full Article here

Sri Lanka Deploys Housing Tracking Module in Synergy Development Assistance Database and Portal

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Synergy International Systems, Inc. (Synergy), the Intelligent Data Manager(TM) company for mission-critical data collection, analysis and dissemination, today announced that the government of Sri Lanka’s Reconstruction and Development Agency (RADA) has launched a new Housing Program module within its deployment of Synergy’s Development Assistance Database (DAD) and Synergy Portal. The module extends the breadth and value of the role DAD-Sri Lanka is playing in increasing visibility and accountability into how Asian Tsunami Relief funds are spent and how projects are progressing.

Read Full Synergy Press Release here

Final DAD Pakistan Launched

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The Development Assistance Database for Pakistan was launched on Saturday, seven months after the earthquake that devastated the Kashmir region of the country. The DAD was developed, tested, and installed over a period of four months.

The DAD Pakistan is Synergy’s newest model with a new design and the most state-of-the-art capabilities now available to Synergy’s customers. The DAD Pakistan supports English and Urdu, and is fully integrated with Pakistan’s Loan and Grant Tracking System. This and other user friendly attributes make the DAD accessible to the public and enhance transparency and accountability to the local and international public. The DAD system also facilitates Monitoring and Evaluation by tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in line with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.

The DAD is tracking nearly $9 billion worth of commitments from bilateral, multilateral and other donors.

Synergy and Horn Group Team Up for World-Class Marketing and Public Relations, Islamabad, Pakistan

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Synergy International Systems and Horn Group, Inc. have formed a marketing partnership to elevate and underscore Synergy’s global success story in delivering mission-critical solutions using the Intelligent Data ManagerTH web services and business intelligence platform.

With demand growing for Synergy’s IDM-powered products such as the Development Assistance Database (DAD), Synergy Portal and Synergy Analytica, Synergy is making the commitment to executing an effective marketing communications and public relations campaign to the general and business media, technology press and industry analyst community. Synergy selected the Horn Group after an extensive search process for a PR firm that had the best mix of enterprise and web software technology experience coupled with innovative marketing and messaging capabilities.

Horn Group is an independent, full-service technology communications firm, with the mission to set the industry standard with best practices in client service and employment. The firm works with companies at all stages of growth in the supply chain, ecommerce, infrastructure, security and storage and technology services market segments. The company serves clients from its San Francisco, CA headquarters, Boston, MA, New York, NY and Washington, DC offices. Horn Group was recently voted the Best Mid-Sized Agency in 2005 in the PRSourceCode High Tech Survey. More information on Horn Group is available at http://www.horngroup.com

Synergy deploys DAD system for Rwanda

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Today, Synergy International Systems launched the new DAD Rwanda in conjunction with UNDP Rwanda and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning at the Second Annual Development Partners Retreat (DPR) held in Gisenyi. The retreat gathered government representatives, multilateral and bilateral donors, international and national NGOs, and members of the private sector. The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning and the Resident Coordinator for the UN were in attendance.

Rwanda’s development strategy includes a clustered approach to sectoral aid coordination. This means that health, education, and private sector partners are working together to achieve government objectives through aid. This process is reducing reporting, monitoring and evaluation constraints on all parties by streamlining and standardizing these procedures. The DAD will be an integral part of this process.

The new DAD will aid in the development coordination process that Rwanda has undertaken to produce more reliable and consistent aid flows. The DAD will help coordinate the large development assistance community that is already present in Rwanda.

Synergy Joins UNDP and Iraqi Government Ministries for Orientation and Needs Assessment Workshop

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The United Nations Development Programme hosted a week long Development Assistance Database (DAD) Orientation and Needs Assessment Workshop in Amman, Jordan for the key government ministries of Iraq to collaborate with Synergy professionals and discuss the role of the DAD in Iraq’s development strategy. The Amman workshop provided a forum for key stakeholders to review goals, achievements, processes, procedures, and best practices established during the first phase of the DAD’s implementation.

The DAD Iraq is currently tracking live data on over US$8.5 billion worth of development assistance. Synergy originally developed and launched the system in June 2004, in conjunction with the Coalition Provisional Authority, to track and manage financial contributions for development projects throughout Iraq. The DAD was subsequently transferred to the Iraqi Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation (MoPDC) in March, 2005 as a key tool in their role as the central aid coordination and management organization for the national government.

After the initial launch of the DAD, Iraqi officials observed the efficacy of an integrated aid coordination platform. The latest Amman workshop was designed to build upon this success by promoting a forward thinking analysis of the DAD with discussions regarding new and potential data management capabilities beyond the central DAD. Several government line ministries are now pursuing a comprehensive solutions package to complement MoPDC’s DAD which will enhance and extend the transparency and accountability of government financial functions and program performance.

The ministries interested in the next generation DAD deployment who participated in the Amman workshop included the Ministries of Education (MoEd), Electricity (MoEl), Health (MoH), and Municipalities and Public Works (MoMPW). Also participating was the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation and UNDP Iraq country team members.

Pakistan Earthquake Relief & Reconstruction

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In response to the October 8, 2005 earthquake in the Kashmir region of Pakistan, Synergy was contracted by UNDP to produce a Core Development Assistance Database (DAD) for the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) of the Ministry of Finance in Pakistan to facilitate aid management, coordination, transparency and accountability in the wake of the donor response to the Pakistan earthquake.

After successful implementations of the DAD in four of the Tsunami affected countries, Synergy was called upon again to rapidly produce and deploy the software needed to track billions of dollars in funding. An initial needs assessment mission was conducted in November, 2005. A contract with UNDP was signed on January 30, 2006. Since this time, a pilot DAD was launched and on-site taining has begun.