The Minister of Planning and Economic Development, H.E. Kenyeh Barlay, has received Dr. Jeeveeta Soobarah Agnihotri, an international consultant from the Community Systems Foundation, who is supporting the development of Sierra Leone’s Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2024–2030 Digital Results Tracking Dashboard. The meeting followed a successful five-day technical design workshop held from 22 to 26 July 2025 at the Atlantic Hotel in Freetown.
The workshop, officially opened by MoPED’s Deputy Minister Rev. Dr. Jonathan Titus-Williams, brought together key stakeholders from government, Statistics Sierra Leone, NaMEA, MoCTI, and other MDAs. It was organized with the technical support of UNICEF, whose representative, Dr. Robert Ndamobissi, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to the dashboard’s success.
During the week, participants collaboratively refined the national Results Framework by identifying indicator gaps and clarifying targets across sectors, including education, gender, infrastructure, and governance. There were also strategic conversations on integrating macroeconomic indicators in partnership with the Ministry of Finance.
Minister Barlay described the dashboard initiative as a shift away from fragmented, siloed systems toward an integrated national platform for real-time data monitoring and reporting. She emphasized the platform’s potential to ease manual reporting burdens and improve transparency, noting that the current reporting process has been labor-intensive. The new system is expected to allow citizens and policymakers to track development progress easily and in real time.
A key outcome of the workshop was the recommendation that the Government of Sierra Leone host and manage the dashboard. However, recognizing existing infrastructure limitations, UNICEF offered a transitional cloud-hosting solution under a government-owned domain, ensuring accessibility while local systems are upgraded. The Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation (MoCTI) is expected to support this transition, particularly with internet and energy infrastructure.
Participants also supported an annual technical maintenance and user-support plan to keep the system functional and updated. Dr. Agnihotri noted that like any tech platform, periodic updates are essential, and the team will remain available to assist with system changes during key milestones, such as the MTNDP mid-term review in 2027 or if indicators are revised at the request of national leadership.
The system is being designed with flexibility in mind to accommodate future government transitions and evolving development priorities. Training for national technical teams will also be provided to ensure local ownership and sustainability.
The platform is scheduled to go live by November 2025. Minister Barlay expressed satisfaction with the progress and commended all participants for their active engagement. She highlighted the collaborative spirit of the workshop and reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to delivering a functional and inclusive tool that strengthens development planning and accountability in Sierra Leone.
