US-based firm Synergy International has been awarded a tender worth US$3 807 892.00 to deliver Integrated Electronic Case Management System to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). News of the tender was made in the Government Gazette for Friday the 19th of February 2021.
Synergy International
The company is based out of Washington DC and it provides web-based software for international development agencies, governments, NGOs and the private sector. Synergy International‘s clients include the Asia Development Bank, the German Development Corporation, Inter-America Development Bank, and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
On top of the Case Management System (CMS) Synergy International also offers:
- Synergy Indicata: M&E Software – An online monitoring and evaluation tool that captures performance and result in data to measure the efficiency effectiveness, impact and sustainability of the implemented projects/programs.
- Development Assistance Database (DAD) – An aid information management software for aid information collection, tracking, analysis and planning, which the company claims is used in more than 35 countries.
- Social Protection Information System (SPIS) – A web-based software for managing social protection and social safety net programs.
- Public Investment Management (PIM) Suite – A web-based software designed to support the management of public investments program (PIP) life-cycle, including submission, screening and approval of project proposals, allocation and execution of the capital budget.
- Post-Disaster Management Suite – A web-based software platform for planning, tracking and coordinating post-disaster recovery and reconstruction activities.
- State Budgeting System (SBS) – A public finance software solution that assists country governments to collect, analyze, and report key data for budget planning and execution.
- Education management information system (EMIS) – an education data collection, analysis and reporting toolset targeted at the needs of education ministries, educational institutions, and policy-makers.
The Intergrated Case Management System
The JSC is set to get a system from Synergy that will allow it to manage the entire case lifecycle from initial filing through to the end. Synergy’s system allows the justice system to stay in step with the times and record management, improve case processing and expand citizen access to justice.
The key feature of the system are:
- Automated Workflow Processing, which allows administrators to set the state a case must pass through from filing to closure.
- Role-based Access, which gives each department varying permission in a case’s life cycle.
- E-filing and Online Case Data Entry streamlines case filing for administrative staff because it supports electronic filing for public users and lawyers.
- Calendar and Task Management which manages daily schedules, meetings, dockets and appointments.
- API Gateway and Integration allows for the seamless connection between police, prison and corrections, courts and prosecutors.
- Artificial Intelligence for case allocation, harnesses the power of AI to give cases to users based on the individual’s caseload, case subject and the weight of the case. (There are more features to the CMS and you can find them in the fact sheet for the system in the link here)
Thoughts…
The Synergy International CSM, on first impressions, looks like a comprehensive product and meets what the JSC was looking for when it went in search of a system back in January 2020. It will surely help the JSC automate a number of things that may have been left to people to do.
It’ll be interesting to see it’s effects whenever the system comes into service.
7 comments
Will that be the end of unwarranted detentions of opposition and civic society members? Or they’ll just override it?
Given the opportunity to develop this system, i would hire 3 good business analyst, 7 good software engineers..we will complete this system in 6 months. Zim has local talent for these kind of systems
Your team is missing a Marketer. Build the team, build the product and market it. Its a long game.
I agree.
While you may be right, there are pros and cons to either building or buying. One of the biggest pros for buying would be getting a well tested systems with minimum bugs. On the other hand, if you choose to build, there would be a lot of bugs initially. I doubt your team would be able to build this system in 6 months. Firstly, you need to build domain knowledge, then you have to find a suitable architecture, then build and test.
What I suggest is teams in Zim build such systems beforehand and compete in the tenders with solid working systems. As far as I know, no one has a working solution locally. If they were to outsource development to a local company or build a team, I think it would have taken them time to complete this project. As local devs, we now have to build an alternative solution and present it to gvt and challenge government to switch to our solutions. I’m sure they would be keen on reducing licensing costs.
You can’t say 6 months when you don’t know the scope of the project. The project amount must tell you the project is complicated and 6 months will not be enough to develop this.
Data lifecycle management describes the processes, policies, and procedures of managing data throughout its entire life—from the first entry into your system (data capture) all the way through its retirement (data deletion). All data has a lifecycle, and data lifecycle management ensures that your data function is proactive in managing each step of that journey.