FAQ

Kinaki is an online-based monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) tool for project design, data collection, analysis and reporting. It provides a platform for timely and meaningful project monitoring systems. Kinaki removes technological obstacles to make data collection, analysis and reporting easy and efficient; so you spend less time at the computer and more time in communities and implementing projects. Kinaki can be used for:

• Project design (you can build your problem tree and logic model directly in Kinaki, for free)
• Automated reporting on outcomes and outputs
• Shaping project activities based on your data
• Tracking project activities and results for individuals and groups
• Collecting, storing and analyzing all of the data collected over your project’s life (needs assessment, baseline, monitoring, evaluation) whether it’s quantitative or qualitative

In addition to access to Kinaki’s project design, data collection, analysis and reporting features, there is also an experienced team available to work with you to provide guidance and support along the way. The Kinaki team provides consultations about indicators, data collection methods, reports, and can also help you with the organization and analysis of your data. Check out our pricing page and download the full list of features to see what’s included in each Kinaki package.

In Kinaki, your organization can store all project data in one place. Throughout your project, you can rest assured that data being reported is accurate and coming from the right source.

You can also easily verify how results in your report are calculated. This is particularly useful for standardizing indicator calculations when you are analyzing multiple data sets throughout the project cycle.

If you feel that some features are missing or that you want to introduce new features to Kinaki, please contact our team at community@kinaki.ca. We are grateful for all suggestions that come our way!

Do you have a unique project? Is your organization’s structure different from others in terms of funding and reporting? Are you unsure how to incorporate monitoring in your operations? We understand that organizations are different and we are open to customizing functions to address the specific needs of your organization. Please contact us at community@kinaki.ca to discuss your needs and how we can help customize your experience.

We are working on new features for Kinaki that will support our users to establish more comprehensive systems of monitoring and evaluation; starting from the project’s design stage until the moment when the final report is submitted to the donor. Managing different tools and software is challenging, we want Kinaki to support you for the whole lifecycle of your project; helping to streamline your processes and keeping all of your data in one secure place.

We’ve recently introduced a number of new and exciting features:

1. Free project design features enable you to create your problem tree, logic model and indicator table directly in Kinaki. Our intuitive drag-and-drop function makes this aspect of the design process easy as you work to outline and order your outcomes and outputs. In Kinaki, your logic model and indicator table are also linked, automatically updating whenever you make a change.

2. New data collection tools. Now, you can design your survey directly in Kinaki. You can link your questions to your indicators so you know you’re asking all the questions you need. And, you can use our unique and intuitive drag-and-drop function to set the survey flow, so you’re always asking the right people the right questions. We want to offer our users the flexibility to collect data in the form they need: you can use our mobile app, online forms, or print surveys to paper.

What’s coming up:

We’re working hard to release new features for qualitative data. We want to you to be able to use Kinaki for qualitative data collection, storage, analysis and reporting, whether it be in the form of pictures or notes. Soon we’ll be able to say that truly all of your data can be collected, stored and analyzed in one place.

We are committed to making Kinaki an intuitive and user-friendly tool and strive to find innovative solutions that reflect the times and needs of our clients.

Kinaki runs in your browser so there are no limitations regarding software. Kinaki works best in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Kinaki can be used on all computers and tablets running on Android, Windows and iOS systems, with the exception of iPads.

If you’ve never used Kinaki before, we can activate a test project so you can explore the Kinaki environment.

For first-time Kinaki users, our support team will set-up your project and you will receive an email invitation to join the “new project”. (The email will contain a link to activate your account and create your password. Your email address and selected password will become your log-in credentials.)

We have a Demo Project that new users can tour and a Knowledge Hub that has comprehensive guidance and video tutorials to guide you through each step of setting up your project.

There are many data collection and analysis systems available, each of them with slightly different features and pricing options. We recommend making a comprehensive list of your needs, including the number of users needing access to the system, then conducting a comparison of features and pricing.

The most commonly used tool for data analysis is Microsoft Excel. Though Excel provides a lot of flexibility and is readily available on most people’s computers, it requires a certain level of technical capacity in order to benefit from what it offers. Data can also be mistakenly deleted or moved around when sharing Excel files with a large team which can cause a lot of frustration and have a significant impact on your results and reports to donors.

Kinaki is much less complicated to use. Calculations can be saved, reports automatically updated and data stored safely. We strive to keep Kinaki simple and easy-to-use, so it does not have all of the functions of a comprehensive statistical software. Thus far, most of our users do not have a need for these features. If you want to see new features added to Kinaki, we want to hear from you. Please contact us!

Kinaki provides a simple user interface that allows basic data analysis without knowledge of complicated statistical software. Kinaki will calculate average values, percentages, counts or sums, depending on the data type.

Your indicators are being tracked as soon as you create a report and specify the calculations for your indicators. With each data upload, you can add new columns to your report to compare and track the progress of each indicator.

Report structure depends solely on the needs of your organization. Most of our users structure their report in-line with their project’s logical framework or performance measurement framework so that it is to identify the indicators that measure the project’s results. If needed, someone on the Kinaki team can help you create a structure for your report. 

We are working on the integration of qualitative data into Kinaki. You can look forward to trying some new features very soon! We’re working on features that will allow you to store and analyze pictures and notes from focus groups and interviews. Get the latest news about these developments, and answers to any other questions about data storage, by emailing our team at community@kinaki.ca

Yes, you can! There are two options:

1. You can export data to Microsoft Excel and then upload it to Kinaki, or;
2. We can create a customized API solution.

Contact us (community@kinaki.ca) to discuss which option will be best.

We recognize that the data you store in Kinaki is important and may be sensitive. Security is a top concern.

Kinaki takes the following security measures to ensure your data is safe:

(i) Secure communication with the server (all communication is encrypted).
(ii) Data is regularly backed-up and backups are encrypted.
(iii) Each access is logged in and protected.
(iv) The platform itself runs on protected and encrypted servers.

Each organization has its own profile and can grant different levels of access based on the users’ needs (e.g. field staff, management, donor).  

The range of functions accessible to each user can be customized by granting ‘admin’ or ‘member’ rights to particular users, depending on the level of access required.

Multiple data sets can be uploaded to a project in Kinaki. Users must have the access level of a ‘project admin’ to upload data to your project. Someone from the Kinaki team will assist you in your first upload to Kinaki to show you how to organize your data into logical thematic groups. All data in Microsoft Excel or CSV formats can be uploaded directly to Kinaki. Data can also be uploaded through Kinaki’s online forms (common for qualitative data from focus groups, for example).

You can export reports, or any chart, table or graph, created in Kinaki in PDF or Microsoft Excel format.

If you want to download your project’s data set, Kinaki allows different levels of access to the original data sets. Project ‘members’ can download data and results for selected combinations of questions anytime, while ‘project administrators’ can download the full data set directly into Microsoft Excel.

Yes, you can add notes to reports. This feature allows users to provide context and deeper analysis to the numbers in their reports. When you export or print your report, you may choose to make the notes visible or hide them depending on the needs of your audience.

The data will be fully accessible for 30 days after the project expiration date. After the 30-day period, data will be archived, allowing access to reports only. Any archived project may be re-activated in the future, following the renewal of your project’s contract with Kinaki.

You may pay in CAD, EUR or US dollars. You can pay by bank transfer or by making an online payment. Please visit our pricing page.

The payment schedule can be negotiated. Please contact us to determine the conditions for your payment.

A common approach is to include the cost of Kinaki in a project’s budget. Many organizations have included this cost in their project’s budget, in the M&E section, and then submitted it to their donor for approval.

In our experience, many donors now expect to see a monitoring and evaluation software included in project budgets and are familiar with the cost of using these tools. If you are in the midst of designing a project or developing a proposal, we are happy to advise and help with integrating the cost of Kinaki into your project budget. Please contact us for assistance.

We are committed to making Kinaki an accessible tool for organizations of all sizes. A 15% discount is provided on standard package pricing for NGOs – with additional discounts available for small NGOs (up to 5 employees) and for NGOs based in developing countries. Please contact us to discuss a customized quote if the standard pricing is beyond your budget.

If you are interested in trying out Kinaki for 30 days, feel free to contact us!

Visit our pricing page and download the full list of features to see what is included in Kinaki’s pricing for each pricing package.

The pricing packages outlined on our pricing page details the number of projects included in each package. The “Project” and “Unlimited” package include unlimited number of users.

Often, in this case, a simple flash player is missing and needs to be installed in your browser so you can view the video. Search for the flash player online, you should be able to download and install it for free.

Data needs to be uploaded into Kinaki in Microsoft Excel or CSV format. You can export the data you collected with the mobile app into either of these formats.