RapidSMS is a free and open-source framework that leverages basic short message service (SMS) mobile phone technology to collect data, coordinate logistics and enhance communication, quickly, accurately and at low cost. This highly flexible system can be customized for the specialized needs of governments, multilateral and non-government organizations, and development practitioners – transforming the way data is collected and utilized.

Traditional data collection methods often struggle to capture timely, reliable data and display and distribute it effectively. Data is seldom shared between organizations and rarely made public, so that field workers and beneficiaries cannot access this critical information or receive feedback. Created by programmers in the field for project implementation, RapidSMS establishes a vibrant two-way flow of communication that empowers stakeholders with a dynamic tool for advanced data collection, analysis and communication that is fast, efficient and accurate. The RapidSMS framework ensures that the system is practical and simple enough to meet real world needs while providing instant and widespread access. RapidSMS is compatible with even the most basic mobile phones, leveraging existing infrastructure to turn mobile phones into innovative community reporting and information management tools.

Open Source

The open source nature of the underlying RapidSMS code allows partners to build their own tools and design

customized solutions. The RapidSMS Web interface allows multiple users around the world to access the system to view incoming data, export new data sets and send text messages to other users. Further, RapidSMS is free to download, use and modify. We advocate a collaborative environment and support for other platforms to ensure interoperability.

Speed

Conventional monitoring and tracking systems generate delayed, static snapshots of the past. With RapidSMS, a continuous stream of live data offers unique opportunities to react in real time to changes on the ground. Advances in mobile technologies also create a more collaborative communication process, giving communities a greater voice and more participatory role in their development.

Scalability

The RapidSMS framework is scalable on two levels –  horizontally and vertically. Horizontal scalability is the capacity of an application to be easily replicated outwards. RapidSMS offers the unique capability of merging different real-time data sets, such as child malnutrition surveillance and ready-to-use therapeutic food supplies. Multiple types of data are collected through the same RapidSMS platform, allowing for dynamic and instantaneous monitoring and analysis of complex environments.

Vertical scalability, often much harder to achieve, indicates the ability of an application to effectively handle increasing workloads. If a product cannot meet the demands of a growing population of users, it will be limited in its application and performance can critically decrease. RapidSMS jointly handles vast amounts of data and users, ensuring that projects implemented at the local level can be easily redeployed at the regional and national levels .

Success

RapidSMS has transformed the way data can be collected and utilized. RapidSMS projects have enabled field workers to register medical patients from far-flung communities, record and track the nutrition data of children, and increase the efficiency of food distribution monitoring in famine situations. Other successes include emergency response, tracking campaign supplies and promoting maternal and neoanatal health.

At the field level, RapidSMS impacts include:

• Increased data quality

• Reduced data transmission times compared to paper-based systems

• Improved communication between national government stakeholders and field workers

• Enhanced system monitoring

• Eliminated costs from manual data entry

• Real-time data availability across all levels for cohesive monitoring, coordination and intervention

• Greater transparency of supply chain data

• Community empowerment through low-cost, real-time access to information