The umbrella body of association of non-governmental organizations (Tango) has embarked on a five-day training on data collection and management for its members at its conference hall from the 20th to the 24th February, 2012.

During the training, the participants would be exposed to sampling, questionnaire design, data processing and analysis, report writing, report presentation and research methods amongst other things.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the deputy executive director and programme manager at Tango Mr. Madi Jobarteh said, NGOs are heavily involved in data collection and management but from the assessments they have made in 2011, it has shown that the capacity of non-governmental organizations is limited in the area of data collection and management. Mr. Jobarteh noted that this training is meant to build the capacity of their members.

On how they collect and manage data in the future, Jobarteh said they collect data at different levels, forms, using different tools. He said managing this data is key. "And we are moving to evidence based management and advocacy, you cannot talk about anything without reliable data.He challenged the participants to take this training seriously to be able to improve the capacity of their organisations.

Mr. Kebba K. Barrow, the programme officer networking at Tango welcomed the participants. He reiterated that data collection is very key in this world. He said for them at the level of the secretariat, they want to build the capacity of their members and partners to accomplish their objectives that are emshrined in their constitutions and the vision and mission of their members. "The expertise from the institution that is responsible for collating and producing data on all aspects of life today are going to hold this training for you". He informs.

Mr. Alieu Bahoum of GoBOS advised the participants to take the training serously. He said "we live in a world that is driven by information, we need information to better utilize for programmes", He posited.