Why local action needs good information

A youth group wants to help their neighbourhood. They decide to build a new water point. They raise money, find a builder and dig. Six months later, the water point is finished — and barely used.

Why? They didn't know that most families already had a nearby tap. What people really needed was a solution to the flooding that made the road impassable every rainy season.

Good intentions aren't enough. Local action needs good information: What's the real problem? How big is it? Who is affected? What already exists? What will work?

Why does local action need good information — and how can communities collect and use it?

The "invisible" problem

In many African communities, official data is limited, outdated or missing. A 2014 report for the UN, "A World That Counts," warned of a "data revolution" needed because many people and places are "invisible" in statistics.

Examples:

• Informal settlements missing from official maps.
• Waste, flooding and pollution not measured.
• Local businesses not counted.
• Young people's opinions rarely surveyed.

When a problem is invisible in data, it's easier for decision-makers to ignore it — and harder for communities to get support.

Map Kibera, launched in 2009, turned a "blank spot" on the map of Nairobi into one of the city's most detailed areas, using local young mappers and OpenStreetMap. (Map Kibera Trust) Information made the invisible visible.

Why good information helps

Data shows what matters most to people — not what outsiders assume.

• Choosing the right problem

Knowing details (where, when, who) helps design solutions that fit.

• Designing the right solution

Officials, donors and neighbours are more persuaded by evidence than by opinions. "Our drain floods" is weak. "Our drain flooded 14 times this rainy season, affecting 63 houses" is strong.

• Convincing others

Data before and after shows whether your action worked. See How to measure whether an initiative helped.

• Measuring progress

Sharing data openly builds transparency and accountability.

• Building trust

Joke break: A youth leader told the mayor, "Our road is very, very bad." The mayor said, "All roads are bad." The next week she came back with 40 photos, a map and the number of moto accidents in a month. The mayor said, "Okay, this road is very, very bad." Data: 1. Politics: 0.

Types of information communities can collect

How many people use a road? How many households have rubbish collection? How many children are out of school?

• Counting

Where are the water points, drains, rubbish piles, street lights, clinics and schools? Tools like OpenStreetMap, Google My Maps or even hand-drawn maps work.

• Mapping

Ask people about their needs, experiences and ideas. Tools: paper questionnaires, Google Forms, KoboToolbox (free and used widely in humanitarian work).

• Surveys

Visual evidence with dates and locations.

• Photos and videos

Rainfall, water quality, air quality, noise, temperature. Low-cost sensors are making this easier.

• Measuring

Interviews and testimonies give the human side of numbers.

• Stories

Example: air quality sensors in African cities

Air pollution is a major health risk, but many African cities had few or no air quality monitors. Projects like AirQo in Kampala, Uganda — developed at Makerere University — installed low-cost sensors across the city and made data publicly available.

With data, citizens, journalists and officials can see pollution hotspots, compare times of day and push for action. The data turned an invisible problem into a visible one. See What a healthy city needs beyond hospitals.

"Without data, you're just another person with an opinion." — attributed to W. Edwards Deming

Example: community mapping

Community mapping projects across Africa train residents to map their own areas:

• Map Kibera (Nairobi).
• Ramani Huria in Dar es Salaam, where students and residents mapped flood-prone areas to help plan drainage.
• Youth mapping projects in West African cities, including OpenStreetMap communities in Benin, Togo and elsewhere.

Maps help communities plan, advocate and respond to emergencies. See What happens when a neighbourhood solves its own problem.

How to collect good information (simply)

Step 1: Ask a clear question "How many households on our street have regular rubbish collection?"

Step 2: Decide what to collect Household address, subscription (yes/no), reasons if no.

Step 3: Choose a method Door-to-door survey with a paper form or phone.

Step 4: Train your team Make sure everyone asks questions the same way, politely.

Step 5: Collect ethically Explain the purpose, ask permission, protect personal information, don't pressure people.

Step 6: Clean and check Look for mistakes, missing answers, duplicates.

Step 7: Analyse Count, calculate percentages, make simple charts.

Step 8: Share back Show results to the community first, then to decision-makers.

Common mistakes

• Asking leading questions ("Don't you agree the road is terrible?").
• Surveying only friends.
• Collecting too much data you won't use.
• Not protecting privacy (sharing names and phone numbers publicly).
• Collecting data and never sharing results.
• Presenting estimates as exact facts.

Also be careful when using data from others. Check where it comes from. See A practical way to check a claim about Africa.

Ethics: information about people belongs to people

When collecting information:

• Get consent.
• Explain why you're collecting it and how it will be used.
• Keep personal data private and secure.
• Don't collect sensitive information unless necessary.
• Share results in a way that doesn't expose individuals.
• Follow national data protection laws (Benin has a personal data protection authority, the APDP).

Using information to win support

Turn data into action:

• One-page summary: the problem, key numbers, a photo, a map and a clear request.
• Community meeting: present results, discuss solutions.
• Letters to officials: include evidence. See How young people can join local decisions.
• Media: local radio and social media love clear data and good stories.
• Funders: show evidence of need and a plan to measure results.

Information and trust in health and crisis

During health crises and emergencies, good information saves lives: where cases are, where resources are needed, which rumours are spreading. Community-based information systems — like community health workers reporting cases — are essential. See How community health workers reach families and What makes health information easy to trust?.

An illustrative story: the flood data

In an illustrative neighbourhood of Cotonou (illustrative), residents complained for years about flooding. Nothing changed. Then a group of university students decided to collect information.

For one rainy season, they recorded every flood: date, depth (using a marked stick), duration and houses affected. They mapped blocked drains and photographed dumped rubbish. They surveyed 120 households about losses.

Their report showed that most floods started at two blocked drains near a market. They presented it to the neighbourhood, the market association and the commune. The commune cleared the drains and the market association organised weekly clean-ups. The next rainy season, floods were shorter and fewer.

The students didn't build anything. They built information — and information moved the people who could act.

Turning numbers into pictures

Numbers become powerful when people can see them. Simple ways to present data:

• Bar charts to compare (e.g., subscribed vs. not subscribed households).
• Maps with coloured dots for problems (red for rubbish piles, blue for water points).
• Before-and-after photos from the same spot.
• One big number on a poster: "63 houses flooded this season."
• Short videos combining a number, a photo and a voice.

Free tools like Google Sheets, Canva and Datawrapper make charts easy. Keep them simple: one chart, one message. Explain what the numbers mean in plain words — and in local languages when possible. See The role of local languages in health communication.

Keeping information up to date

Information gets old. A map made three years ago may miss new houses, closed water points or new roads. Plan to update:

• Repeat key counts once or twice a year.
• Let community members report changes (WhatsApp number, suggestion box).
• Date every map and report clearly.
• Share updates so decisions use the latest information.

Joke break: A committee proudly presented a neighbourhood map to the mayor. The mayor pointed at a spot and said, "There's a bakery here now." The youngest member checked: the map was made before the bakery owner was born. They updated it the following month.

Know before you act

Good information won't solve problems by itself. But it points action in the right direction, convinces people to help and shows whether you're succeeding. In communities where official data is missing, citizens collecting their own information is a powerful form of action.

Before your next project, ask: What do we really know? What do we need to find out?

Keep reading: How to turn a conversation into a project, How to measure whether an initiative helped, and our Africa & Action section.

Questions

Why is data important for community projects?

It helps choose the right problem, design effective solutions, convince decision-makers and measure progress.

How can a community collect data cheaply?

Through counting, mapping, simple surveys (paper, Google Forms, KoboToolbox), photos, low-cost sensors and interviews.

What is community mapping?

Residents mapping their own area — roads, services, hazards — often using free tools like OpenStreetMap.