It is vital that the 5Ws tool is understandable, intuitive, and practical for the partners to use; this will lead to availability of reliable and regular data. In other words, it is important to avoid reporting fatigue from partners by minimising the time it takes to provide the data; this can be achieved through a well set-up 5Ws. 

In order to ensure consistency and integration both among and within country responses, a 5Ws template has been developed by gFSC (webinar here) and includes key mandatory columns (marked with an *), which refer to the core information that is necessary both for country level reporting but also for data sharing at the global level (see section 9. Global Initiatives: 5W mapping for global IM products). The 5Ws template is adaptable to the specific context (but mandatory columns are required). 

See 5Ws country example from FSC Ukraine. 

The most common format for collecting the 5Ws remains excel, however, online data collection platforms such as kobo forms, and online google forms are also used, as are online systems such as Report Hub and Activity Info. Which system is in place depends upon several factors, such as the maturity of the response. Initially it is likely that the 5Ws will be excel or kobo-based, while for more established and/ or protracted crises online systems such as Report Hub or Activity Info may be established. Internet connectivity and partner capacity will also influence which 5Ws system is adopted: areas lacking internet connectivity are more likely to use excel and/or offline approaches. Regardless of the system in place, the purpose of the 5Ws remains consistent: to understand and monitor who is doing what where, when and with how much/ many. For detailed guidance on 5Ws systems see  (FSC 5W Management, chapter 1.4 Different ways of collecting the data).