Solarized ranger post
RioThePhotographer
Infrastructural development
IT infrustructure - Server
RioThePhotographer
Installations such as electricity provision, servers and computers are necessary to rollout such technological solutions. In the current project, 35 ranger outposts were equipped with solar chargers and inverters to keep the mobile phones charged; a server and air conditioner were purchased and installed at a central server room; and two computers were purchased to support data processing and configuration of mobile devices. Further, the servers and computers were configured to facilitate creation of SMART databases (desktop and connect) and enable the rollout of data collection using SMART Mobile, submission through the server, processing at the desktop and sharing over SMART Connect.
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Existing infrastructure - Establishment of infrastructure related to the project was complementary to existing installments such as, server room where the server was installed and usable buildings in ranger outposts for solar powering
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Internal capacity - The organization had capacity in information technology (IT) and electricity to undertake installation without contracting external party
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Take inventory and analyze gaps at the planning stage - To avoid gaps in equipment and facilities, it is necessary to have a complete list while designing the project. In the current study, additional costs were incurred to acquire electricity inverters which were not included in the original plan for solar power provision in ranger posts.
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Internal capacity - Where possible, organizations can continuously enhance their capacity to absorb technological innovations. This reduces costs of installation and maintenance while ensuring sustainable management of adopted technologies.
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Piloting before actual implementation - Most technological solutions will evolve based on gaps identified in the course of implementation. It is therefore important to conduct a trial to identify such gaps in time for appropriate action. In this project, internet coverage was found to be inadequate and a decision was made to use the GSM network by providing data bundles through SIM cards in the mobile phones.