Dioptra is a Django/Python web application with separate instances for each organization that uses it, which employs a data pipeline to input financial information from each organization’s accounting systems to serve as the basis for cost-efficiency analysis. Step-by-step instructional videos on using the Dioptra tool are available, which show more of the functionality of the tool through real world examples.
Analysis Methodology
Dioptra approximates an ingredients-based approach to costing, but instead of relying on analysts to develop an ingredients list “from scratch” it uses existing accounting information from the awards which funded the activities being studied. Dioptra pulls in data on all of the ingredients funded by a particular award or awards, but then asks programmatic staff to narrow down to those ingredients specifically used for the activity being analyzed.
Ingredients-Based Approach
Dioptra automatically uses the organization’s available financial transaction data (see Data Connections below) for an analysis. By automating data collection, the time needed to conduct a cost analysis can be reduced from several days to a few hours, minimizing the extra burden on field staff’s daily work.
Automatic Pull of Expense Data
Dioptra uses cost-efficiency metrics that are commonly agreed-upon in sectoral forums for over 20 activities to ensure comparability of results. For each activity, standard output measures are built in to Dioptra to enable the calculation of these common metrics.
Standardized Output Metrics
This is important to achieve rigorous, consistent analysis and to transparently demonstrate what costs are included. Dioptra includes the cost categories of shared and indirect costs to show the “fully loaded” costs of implementing an activity and avoid artificial differences between the apparent cost-efficiencies due to differences in funding shared and indirect costs.
Common Set of Cost Categories
Since it is not possible to easily observe how much individual shared cost items contribute to the activity being analyzed compared to other activities in the same project, Dioptra helps to calculate a suggested percentage that can be easily applied to shared costs, based on the Grand Bargain Cash workstream’s shared cost allocation method.
Easy Allocation of Shared Costs
Upon completion of an analysis, Dioptra displays the results alongside available data points from other similar programs to facilitate comparison and understand what features are likely to drive differences in the cost-efficiency if programs are implemented differently or in different places.
Facilitating Results Comparisons
Software Architecture
Dioptra is hosted in Amazon Web Services (AWS). Each organization that adopts Dioptra will be given an independent instance of the application to enforce data privacy and separation between organizations. NGOs also have the option to host their instance in an AWS account owned by their organization.
hosting
Instances of Dioptra may be configured to use one of two available authentication mechanisms: (1) a native login where credentials are created and stored within the tool itself, or (2) enterprise single sign-on (SSO) via OneLogin, Okta, or Microsoft Azure Active Directory.
user Authentication
Each Dioptra instance has a transaction data store for that organizations’ financial transaction data, hosted in the Dioptra network. Dioptra implements a data pipeline allowing NGOs to upload data into the transaction data store, by placing a CSV file in either an AWS S3 bucket or through an SFTP server. The creation of the CSV file is entirely in the hands of the NGO using Dioptra, giving maximum control over what data is shared into the application. For more details on the hosting, data transportation, and security features of Dioptra, please see the full software documentation.
