YOUR ELOM JOURNEY
Information and resources to support you using the ELOM tools. If you need additional information, please email us – users@datadrive2030.co.za
Get Started on Your ELOM Journey
*Please note that the timeframes seen below are simply our recommended timeframes…
Start here at least 3 months before planned fieldwork
Hello,
Thank you for joining us in using data to drive change for children. The Early Learning Measurement (ELOM) tools are high-quality preschool assessment tools designed for affordable use at scale. Visit the tools webpage to decide which tools are best suited for your needs.
Resources:
3 months before planned fieldwork
Cost your project
3 months before planned fieldwork
Apply to use the tools
Apply to use the ELOM tools and/or schedule a call with our team to discuss your unique needs.
Resources:
10 weeks before planned fieldwork
Sign your ELOM User Agreement
Following your application, we will send you a formal quotation and letter. If you accept these, you will sign a User Agreement with us. If you sign your user agreement and make payment 30 days before starting fieldwork you will receive a 10% discount.
At this stage, we also encourage you to consider HOW your data will be used. Setting intentions upfront can be very helpful for planning purposes, and ultimately supports data driven change. Initiate the process of obtaining consent from the study participants.
Resources:
Read: User agreement template
Read: Consent form
2 months before planned fieldwork
SET UP YOUR ONLINE PORTAL
You will receive access to the online ELOM portal which will help you plan and manage your project. Your team will be using this portal to load project information and to manage and monitor data collection. If you are a repeat user, you will also have access to information on your previous projects.
Resources:
Watch: Logging in and navigating the ELOM web portal
Watch: Adding new projects
Watch: Adding assessors and facilities
Plan and Prepare for Data Collection
2 months before planned fieldwork
Plan for data collection
Purchase or hire ELOM assessment kits (if necessary) and make sure you have suitable devices (tablets or smartphones, depending on the tools). Decide on how you will be sampling and obtain consent from participants. The resources linked here will guide you through these processes.
Resources:
2 months before planned fieldwork
Build your team
Recruit assessors based on their ELOM accreditation (only required for some tools), geographic location and language ability using the assessor database on the ELOM portal. Alternatively let us know if you’d like to train your own assessors.
Resources:
Read: How to Select and Remunerate Assessors
Read: Training to do ELOM Assessments
2 weeks before planned fieldwork
Tick off your checklists
It’s almost time to start assessments. We have helpful checklists for field work managers and assessors. Read through these and familiarise yourself with the assessment apps.
Resources:
Read: Assessor checklist
Read: Fieldwork manager checklist
Read: FAQs during assessment
2 weeks before planned fieldwork
Meet our user support team
We offer support to assessors and fieldwork managers prior to the start of assessments and during field work. We recommend a short briefing meeting before you head into the field. This will provide you with an opportunity to meet our support team, ask questions and to submit dummy assessments before data collection starts.
Manage and Monitor Data Collection
Fieldwork
Monitor data collection
Your fieldwork manager should closely monitor the data collection process. This can be done on the online ELOM portal. By checking the data several times every day, you will be able to pick up and respond to any challenges in real time. Our ELOM support team is here to assist if you get stuck.
Resources:
1 month after fieldwork ends
Receive data and reports
Once all assessments are complete, we will clean and merge the data as needed. Where appropriate, we will share the final clean dataset, codebooks, and outcome report with you. Please note, your outputs will depend on the nature of your contract.
Resources:
Sample report for a once-off / dipstick ELOM 4&5 assessment
Understand and Use Data to Drive Change
1 month after fieldwork ends
Use data to drive change
At the start of your ELOM journey, we asked you to set some intentions on how your data might be useful to you. At this stage in the process, it’s worth revisiting these. Your ELOM-generated data and report can be used to guide programme enhancements, to understand programme effects, and to inform further research. Our suite of resources offers guidance on how you may approach this.
Resources:
Read: How to Understand Effect Sizes
Read: How to Understand and Use Maturation
1 month after fieldwork ends
Support collective evidence-based decision making
If you agreed to this upfront, your data may be anonymised and merged into a large and growing common dataset. These datasets are used by researchers all over the world, to explore important research questions and inform evidence-based decision making at multiple levels.