GARC Data Platform: How can we help you to eliminate rabies in your community?
For effective rabies surveillance and response, you need relevant and timely data. Real-time surveillance tools are changing how we detect outbreaks, track programmatic progress, and target interventions. By gathering and analyzing data from outbreaks, the GARC Data Platform enables stakeholders to make informed decisions, engage with donors in a more meaningful way, and ultimately save lives. It has been designed for any user, ranging from small NGOs to academic institutions to national governments and international partners.
At GARC we often get asked about our Data Platform and in this newsletter, we will answer the most frequently asked questions.
How can the GARC Data Platform help me and my organization?
The GARC Data Platform enables you to track, record and visualize your data all from one mobile phone application. This includes:
- Vaccination and sterilization data,
- Rabies case data,
- Biting animal quarantine data,
- Rabies exposure data, and
- Awareness and education campaign data.
How can we get access to the GARC Data Platform?
If you want to gain an advantage in how you capture, analyze, and visualize real-time rabies data collected at the community level, please send an e-mail to support@rabiesalliance.org. As soon as possible, we assign a GARC team member to contact you for an hour virtual demonstration of how the GARC Data Platform works and what you can expect when using it. During the demonstration you can discuss your specific needs with our team.
For you to be able to use the GARC Data Platform the most effectively, we need to tailor it to your specific needs. That is why after the demonstration, we will ask you to share some information to enable us to set up the system catered to your organization, the regions you will be working in, and the surveillance tools you would like to use.
Once the GARC Data Platform is set up for you, we will give you a virtual training session, ensuring that you and your team get the most out of using the Platform.
Can anyone else access our data?
No. As the owners of the data, you and your team will have unique user details to access the GARC Data Platform. If someone does not have those details, they cannot access your data.
You have many tools on the Platform, but we do not need all of them?
All our tools have been designed in such a way that you can start using one tool (for example, the Vaccination and Sterilization Tracker (VST)) and then easily add more tools as you need while making progress towards eliminating rabies in your community.
What benefits do we gain from using the GARC Data Platform?
Your data will be visualized automatically through various maps and graphs. This automatic visualization provides an instant overview of your progress and enables you to coordinate outbreak response initiatives as rabies cases are recorded, allowing for timely intervention. Another benefit is your ability to download the data for donor reports and reporting your activities to authorities. Additionally, you can also download the maps and graphs and use them for social media posts, highlighting the impact you have in the communities you serve.
Besides the data-driven benefits of using the Platform, are there any additional benefits to being an active user?
As an active user, you will always have access to GARC’s technical support, be it to add more localities to your campaign, add users, or add more tools. Being an active user of the GARC Data Platform also allows you to showcase your work on our social media pages as a Featured GARC Data Platform User!
How much will the GARC Data Platform cost us?
The Data Platform is offered to users at no cost. As such, using the Platform and all the tools will come at no cost to you.
The GARC Data Platform is used in 35 countries, and more than 80 governments and organizations worldwide are already using the GARC tools. To read more on how other users are already benefitting from the GARC Data Platform, click here.