This project follows a mixed method approach to monitoring project activities and evaluating the project's overall impact. We want to ensure that we are able to gain statistical insights into the usefulness of the chatbot, but also to understand the user experience in order to improve the tool. In addition to this, the process of content maintenance and updates will be directed by the user experience, as well as the best practices we form. To ensure consistent feedback, we will form a group of users that will use the chatbot and provide consistent feedback at scheduled project intervals. Overall project goal: Diabetes education: in the right format, and the right language, at the right health literacy level, to the right person, exactly when they need it. 1) Understanding the user: - Baseline survey for user feedback group to build a reference point for measuring change. This will be carried out through engagements during the feedback drive during the project’s pilot phase. - Data will be collected at six month intervals, using a mixed method approach. Quantitative data will be continuously collected through the platform’s back-end and analysed every six months to monitor progress - this will include: i) How many people are using the chatbot? ii) Number of recurring users iii) Number of complete/incomplete journeys iv) Number of one time users Qualitative data will be continuously collected through the platform’s back-end and analysed every six months to monitor progress - this will be collected from the platform’s open ended feedback channel, as well as from the feedback sent to the email address provided within the chatbot - Every six months, data will be collated through scheduled feedback engagements with recurring user groups and analysed with a mixed method approach. This will build on the baseline survey to help us understand specific elements of the chatbot such as the effectiveness of the content in terms of self-management, empowerment of the user to confidently make decisions, gaps in the knowledge base and understanding why a user does or does not return to the tool. 2) Refining the tool: - Every six months, data will be collated through scheduled feedback engagements with recurring user groups and the platform feedback channels, and analysed with a mixed method approach. Quantitative and qualitative data will be continuously collected through scheduled feedback engagements (surveys, open-ended questionnaires) and the platform’s back-end, and analysed every six months to monitor progress - this will include usage statistics and recurring, complete and incomplete journeys. - Every six months, the team will document learnings, updates and analysed data in a project report. This will function as a reporting tool, as well as a report of learnings that support decision making in the project journey, available to funders, partners and stakeholders, and beneficiaries. This will include a team report on: i) Analysis of the data collected to assess progress towards project goals ii) Findings in the context of project objectives and external factors iii) Successes for the reporting period iv) Challenges for the reporting period v) Learnings for the reporting period vi) Next steps for the project implementation Over and above the overall project goal monitoring, the following monitoring and evaluation for specific objectives will occur: - Objective 1: Centralise reliable basic diabetes information in a widely accessible format for South Africans. Every six months, the following data will be collated through scheduled feedback engagements with recurring user groups and analysed qualitatively and quantitatively: i) Has the right information been centralised? ii) Are there any content gaps? iii) What do we need more information on? iv) Does content resonate with groups - and how to inform and improve from here (What are the reasons that users do not return to the tool? What are the reasons that users do return to the tool?) This will be achieved using a survey that includes a rating scale, as well as prompts for more detailed responses. - Objective 2: Empower the existing South African diabetes community through easy-to-understand answers to all their diabetes questions. Every six months, the following qualitative data will be collated through scheduled feedback engagements with recurring user groups and analysed: i) Do people feel empowered by a centralised source of basic diabetes information? ii) What elements help them feel informed? iii) How has this tool empowered them? - Objective 3: Make it simpler for undiagnosed South Africans with diabetes to find reliable, easy-to-understand information about diabetes. i) Collate how many people are accessing the Healthy Lifestyle sections (food, exercise, mental health) of the chatbot. ii) See if there is any transition from these sections to the purely Diabetes sections of the chatbot. iii) Track how many new users are coming to the chatbot – this speaks to it becoming a useful tool for South Africans to find reliable information about diabetes. - Objective 4: Work with the National Department of Health to use the Sweet Life Chatbot as a national diabetes education programme. Every 6 months, a progress report will be generated to assess whether the chatbot is effective. As part of the issue, a gap identified is the lack of a national diabetes education programme. We can monitor the progress of achieving this objective through including in the biannual report: i) The number of meetings held with the National Department of Health (quantitative). ii) Feedback on developments within meetings with the National Department of Health (qualitative). iii) Future planning with the National Department of Health to integrate the chatbot as a tool to support integrated health care (qualitative).