Seattle Visit Leads to Training and Capacity Building

A team from Pratham India visited the Seattle chapter in March to share the latest developments from their work in the field. Team members included head of content and training, Usha Rane; content developer and program head, Meera Tendolkar; and co-lead of the Monitoring, Measurement and Evaluation (MME) unit, Varun Limaye.

Addressing an audience of Pratham supporters, the trio spoke about their personal experiences and the daily challenges they encounter. They also provided program updates, sharing details about new Pratham partnerships with local and state governments as well as the Lakhon Mein Ek campaign, which mobilized more than 350,000 volunteers to raise awareness and educate communities about the poor standards of learning.

While in Seattle, Varun also met with a member of the Tableau Service Corps, a volunteer network of experts who help non-profits do more with their data. The meeting led to a series of remote Webex trainings on the Tableau software conducted for Pratham’s MME unit.

In an effort to help people understand data, Tableau combines disparate data sources, spots patterns, and creates complex visualizations. Varun is excited about the possibilities to come out of this innovative exchange. The three-year-old MME unit measures data to ensure the effectiveness of Pratham’s programs. Varun anticipates the new software will solve some current data issues and will be a tremendous aid in understanding and communicating the vast amounts of data collected by Pratham.