As our Senior Network & Systems Engineer, Technology Operations, Pete has been the backbone of our technical infrastructure, ensuring that our global systems run smoothly, securely, and efficiently. His deep technical expertise and unwavering commitment have played a vital role in keeping our operations reliable, enabling GeoPoll to deliver high-quality data to clients and partners across the world.

Over the years, Pete’s contributions have gone far beyond systems and servers. His calm problem-solving approach, teamwork, and mentorship have inspired those around him and strengthened our entire tech team. Whether it’s resolving critical network issues or implementing cutting-edge solutions, Pete’s dedication ensures GeoPoll stays connected and operational around the clock.

We’re incredibly grateful for over a decade of innovation, reliability, and leadership. Thank you, Pete, for your hard work and for embodying the spirit of GeoPoll every day.

Here’s to many more years of success, growth, and impact together!

The post Celebrating 11 Incredible Years with Peter “Pete” Omolo at GeoPoll appeared first on GeoPoll.

The Marketing and Social Research Association (MSRA) is a professional body established in Kenya to promote and advance the quality and standards of marketing and social research. The association seeks to create a culture of research excellence and ensure that the industry adheres to ethical and professional standards.

Speaking about his focus and that of the association, especially as the industry and the world emerge from a challenging and disruptive pandemic and post-pandemic period, JP Murunga says that the onus is on everyone to seize the opportunities presented by the new, ever-evolving, and fast-paced environment. “MSRA remains committed to promoting excellence in the research industry. The new MSRA board will work collaboratively with all industry stakeholders to drive growth and development in marketing and social research in the region. We have learned from the past and are excited to embrace the ‘new’ and build a stronger, more resilient industry for the future,” says John Murunga. 

John Paul Murunga is an experienced researcher with a career spanning fifteen years. He joined GeoPoll in May 2016 and currently heads business and client development in the Eastern Africa region.

As a corporate member of MSRA, we are confident that he will help drive the association, which he served as the Vice Chair prior to his election as the Chairperson, to even greater heights.

“I am excited to lead a team of seasoned professionals who are committed to promoting excellence in the marketing and social research industry. We look forward to working together to drive growth and development in this important sector.” – JP Murunga.

GeoPoll congratulates John Paul and the rest of the new board on their appointment.

The post GeoPoll’s John Paul Murunga elected MSRA Chairman appeared first on GeoPoll.

He joins GeoPoll from RTI International, where he led multi-mode surveys and conducted research on survey methods for 12 years. He was a survey methodologist for a decade and most recently led RTI’s International Survey Research Program.

Dr. Lau has conducted surveys in more than 30 countries for clients in the international development and commercial sectors. His experience includes study design, questionnaire development and testing, sampling, data collection, data processing, and analysis. Dr. Lau has used multiple modes—mobile phone, face-to-face, and web—to study diverse topics around the world. He has conducted public opinion surveys with the general public and special populations for the U.S. State Department, USAID, and the Pew Research Center. With the U.S. CDC, he supported Ministries of Health in 10 countries to use mobile phones for disease surveillance. Dr. Lau also led a program of nationally representative surveys on technology adoption with over 200,000 respondents in 12 countries.

His scientific research focuses on improving data quality through innovative survey methods, sampling, and measurement strategies. He has published more than 20 peer-reviewed articles in journals, such as the International Journal of Public Opinion Research, Survey Research Methods, and the Journal of International Development, and recently served as an Expert Panel Member and Co-Moderator for a U.S. National Academies of Sciences panel on the quality of international survey data.

“I am delighted to join GeoPoll as the Chief Research Officer,” said Charles Lau. “GeoPoll is a global leader in mobile research: its technology platform enables scientifically valid, multi-mode surveys to support our clients’ data-driven decision making. I look forward to supporting GeoPoll’s mission and advancing to GeoPoll’s innovative data collection methodologies.”

Dr. Lau holds a PhD in Sociology and Masters in Epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles and a BA in Sociology from Brown University.

The post Introducing Dr. Charles Lau – GeoPoll’s Chief Research Officer appeared first on GeoPoll.

Liesl Semper is the Human Resources Manager at GeoPoll. In this edition of GeoPoll Staff Interviews, Liesl speaks to Frankline Kibuacha on her role, background and the trends in the Human Resources space. 

FK: Can you briefly describe your role at GeoPoll and your main responsibilities, Liesl?

Liesl: I’m the HR manager. I’m responsible for policy writing and implementation; for recruitment and onboarding; professional development – finding and making learning opportunities available and performance management.

Tell me about your background before you came to GeoPoll – what space did you work in?

Before GeoPoll I worked at a mid-sized nonprofit as the HR & Benefits manager. Prior to that, I spent several years as the primary caregiver to an ailing parent. Before that, I worked in consulting and at the World Bank in DC.

How long have you been at GeoPoll and what drew you to join the team?

I’ve been here just over a year. What drew me? I like start-up HR which is to say creating an HR presence in an organization that has either never had one or hasn’t had one in a while. There’s a freedom there to create HR that is very attractive to me.

How is GeoPoll and the research industry different from the other industries you have worked in?

Obviously, every industry is different. In my last job, I was working with attorneys fighting for voting rights and campaign finance reform in the United States; here, I’m working with project managers and researchers.

The two industries are miles apart and yet there are similarities the greatest of which is that PEOPLE run these businesses, and PEOPLE have the same basic needs wherever they are: to be valued and respected. My job, as I see it, is to honor those things and to honor those in ways that ensure the overall financial and cultural health of the organization.

What changes have you seen in GeoPoll since you joined?

Well, I’d like to believe that we’re doing a lot better in the area of “clear and concise feedback” since that has been a focus we have been having since I started in this role.  Beyond that, I think we’re more focused on our company goals (ROCKs) and accountabilities and that’s having an impact on our success.

As the HR Manager, what excites you most about your work at GeoPoll?

Effecting change that impacts overall organizational growth. Some of the things I’m trying to do require tough behavior and mindset change. And while most of what we do in HR isn’t immediately apparent, one year in I think we can look back and see where we’ve been and how far we’ve already come.

What are you excited about in terms of where GeoPoll will go in the future?

I love what we’re talking about currently – our BHAG – Big Hairy Audacious Goal. It’s a funny acronym for a serious thing. If we want to achieve audacious things, and we do, HR has to be ready to act in support. We can’t wait until the audacious has been accomplished to act, we have to act to give power to those goals. So for example, we’re doing a lot of professional development work, identifying and purchasing courses for employees, because individual growth is vital to the overall organization’s growth. We’re working with a couple of managers on identifying skills gaps (and then finding the learning to fill those gaps) because again, individual learning and growth drive organization growth.

I foresee a strong match towards a skilled team that’s achieving the audacious – together!

I believe there has been huge changes in HR/People over the last few years. Where have you observed the biggest change and what is the future of human resource and personnel management?

The pandemic has shifted HR professionals’ focus entirely. We’ve got two big things in front of us in my honest opinion: retention and wellness.

2021 was the year of the Great Resignation. A lot of folks just couldn’t keep doing what they’d been doing before and a lot of organizations weren’t nimble enough to pivot to remote work. We were well positioned on the remote work front but we had to figure out (and we are still figuring out) how to build, retain, and in some cases, restore, connections with folk we no longer saw. So that’s thing one. The thing two is wellness. Now that we’re coming out of lockdown and able to return to a changed world, we too are changed.

How does the organization help people manage their stress levels which in many cases have skyrocketed because we have been too close to both work and home for 2 years?

Do you have a favorite project or experience at GeoPoll you’d like to share?

Successfully creating the GeoPoll Bulletin Board was a bit of a surprise. It is our on social network where we share what’s happening, lessons we have learned and passing news. I didn’t come in with that plan, it sort of unfolded organically over time. I love how engaged the team is.

What’s a fact about yourself that people may not know right away?

That I wanted to be a professional singer and that I still have hopes of writing a best-selling novel. ?

I suppose you sing outside of work…

Oh yes, Liesl does some singing, and writing.

Look forward to seeing your hits and reading your book! So, what does it take to succeed in HR?

That really depends on who you want to be as an HR professional (and to be honest, I think this is the case with ALL professions). I know who I want to be and I hope that the work I do speaks for itself and is a reflection of what I believe about the practice of HR and its role in organizations.

The post HR: A People Chat with Liesl Semper appeared first on GeoPoll.

Frankline: To start us off, please tell me about your background before you came to GeoPoll.

Ricardo Lopes: Before Joining GeoPoll, I was in the media industry both at agency and publisher. I was involved in strategy development, which gave me a firm grasp of using multiple data sources to make informed planning decisions on spending, targeting, channel selection, and managing cross-country teams and global clients.

What drew you to join GeoPoll? 

Emerging markets pose a challenge when it comes to acquiring actionable data that businesses desperately need, not to mention expensive and time-consuming. So, when I heard about GeoPoll, its integration with telco customer bases, and the technology it had built to incorporate mobile-based data gathering methods for market research purposes at a scale, I was very interested.

After joining the team is when I realized that was just the tip of the iceberg. I was intrigued by the vast array of clients our products and services are positioned to, all powered by mobile.

How long ago was that, and what changes have you observed since joining GeoPoll?

I have been in GeoPoll for four years – I joined as a Business Development Manager in 2019.

The one key defining factor of GeoPoll’s culture is adaptability, a trait we inherited from our earlier startup days. I have seen this company react to client needs, adapt to changing environmental factors, and accommodate an explosion of growth in a fast, decisive manner. Being a rapidly growing company with growing skills and talents, I am excited about observing my colleagues and learning from them in this ever-changing company.

Can you briefly describe your role at GeoPoll and your main responsibilities? 

I manage the Southern African Region both from a client and team perspective. We work collectively as a unit to develop client relationships, implement projects, and ensure the region’s overall success.

As a Regional Director, what excites you most about your work at GeoPoll? 

The clients. They come from various sectors and countries, which makes for exciting work. Not many people get to start their day talking to a community-based radio station in Mozambique and end their day discussing a project with a mining consortium in London. No day is the same, which can be challenging at times but provides me the constant change needed to stay motivated in my role.

With the wide array of clients comes the diverse research challenges to be addressed. It is exciting having a birds-eye view on feedback gained from such a wide-ranging respondent profile. Often, I watch or read the news about an obscure product or demographic and say, “I have done research on that.”

Where do you think Market Research in Africa is headed in the next five years?

Difficult question, our focus is always on research applications that are born out of new technology. Take, for instance, the predicted surge in popularity of voice assistants allowing the capture of 125 words per minute in a conversation. The potential is that new research channels are likely to open up and enable researchers to gain more insights quicker than currently done, with more in-depth and rich qualitative answers.

A good gauge of where things are heading is looking towards what the global clients are asking for. When all the buzzwords are removed, they are all asking for the same thing – in moment or agile research. The power of this feedback being close to the decision-making process is attractive to insights managers but poses a challenge to market researchers. We must focus on cutting down on research times to short bursts of focused research for speed and flexibility of research experiences. It is not only in the fieldwork process but in the auxiliary services such as design and analysis. AI will play a massive role in this regard, although I believe it is still a bit early to automate the research process fully.

All in all, I believe it will be more of the same. We will see our CAWI capabilities increase with the rise of mobile internet penetration on the continent.

What has surprised you about GeoPoll and the projects we work on?

The speed at which we can deploy and field projects always leaves me a bit surprised. I am further impressed by the vast array of data collection solutions we have at our disposal in case of challenges during project implementation.

Do you have a favorite project or experience at GeoPoll you would like to share?

During my onboarding in Nairobi, a colleague invited me to tag along for a series of qualitative focus groups run for Colgate in Kajiado, where we were interviewing members of a Maasai tribe. Halfway through the day, we were lagging due to the large distance needed to walk between locations, and our international clients were starting to take strain under the harsh conditions. As an experienced motorcycle rider, I rented a bike from someone in the community and proceeded to transport clients, moderators, and GeoPoll staff between interviewing locations. This not only made our clients happy but gave me a unique opportunity to experience the landscape from a perspective not many tourists can have.

I became somewhat of a celebrity mzungu among the locals and was welcomed into a village. All of this culminated in a marriage proposal from a local girl whose family offered me ten cows as a dowry. This is how I got my earlier nickname in the company “10 COWS”. A top experience not only at my time at GeoPoll but in my entire life.

What is a fact about yourself that people may not know right away? 

I am very transparent, so it does not take long to find out what I am about. Quick unknown fact, I paid my way through university playing Poker.

What do you like to do outside of work? 

South Africa has fantastic nightlife. However, COVID-19 and being a new dad has changed that for me. I enjoy the outdoors, and growing up in a surfing mad family, I take surf trips down to the coast as often as I can. Living inland, I enjoy downhill mountain biking and hunting.

Finally, what does it take to succeed in your line of work?

Being competitive is paramount to success in my role. It is essential to be driven and have the proverbial thick skin in business development. If I had to look at GeoPoll specifically, it is important to be “change fit” and be willing to redesign old paradigms and ways of working drastically and often even if you do not agree with them. This has taught me to trust our leaders, which always results in a learning experience, good or bad.

The post Ricardo Lopes on the Future of Research appeared first on GeoPoll.

Interview with King Beach

Tell me about your background before you came to GeoPoll and what space you worked in 

I started in survey research and social science research as an undergrad at Michigan State. My degree was in the natural science with an emphasis on research and scientific methods – I also worked with the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research to learn about survey research, designing surveys, managing call centers, and improving performance. I engaged on a lot of social norms surveys and health surveys, and I worked up from a interviewer to manager through undergrad, and then continued to work with that group before joining GeoPoll.

What drew you to GeoPoll and made you join the team? How long have you been at GeoPoll?  

It sounded exciting – I found the position through AAPOR and it sounded like a good opportunity to get involved with new research methods. GeoPoll was also offering the opportunity to do multi-faceted components of the research, seeing the research lifecycle from questionnaire design to analysis. There are not a lot of organizations who let you do all of that. It was startup mentality and there was an interest in doing exploratory research that hasn’t been done before by testing and seeing what does and doesn’t work in market research.

Thinking about my roles within the company, oh boy! I came on as a research assistant and was mostly focused on survey operations and day to day project management. That evolved to managing teams related to the influx of SMS work that we had at the time, and growing survey operations from a team of 1-2 to a team of 15. Recently my work has transitioned over to CATI as clients are more interested in our ability to collect data through CATI. I now work on a wide variety of things surrounding our operations, from design of our mobile applications to client communications.

Can you briefly describe your current role at GeoPoll and main responsibilities?  

The Solutions Team oversees our call center and in-person work in over 60 countries. We onboard, train, and provide standardized quality control with the local teams we work with for our CATI and CAPI surveys. This means meeting the teams, doing trainings, and making sure different groups can meet our standards for quality and oversight.

Within 2020 the big change has been transitioning from face-to-face to virtual training. In 2019 we had a large network of team members who could travel to countries to do work and face-to-face training, we had about 6 people (on the Solutions Team) on the road at any one time. We’ve reinvented that to do that virtually all over video meeting while still implementing the standards we had while in person. It has led to some challenges in communication but for the most part we’ve been successful in migrating to virtual oversight.

What is the biggest challenge in overseeing so many call centers in different regions?

We’ve learned along the way that we need to have local partners in market who are on the ground to help co-design surveys, assist with trainings, provide feedback on questionnaires, and more. Gathering local context and constructive feedback through virtual meetings is crucial and we’ve bridged that gap by finding the right people in the right positions. Another thing is scaling given how much growth we’ve had in the past year – we’ve increased our CATI work 5-6x in the past year.

For call centers, oversight is challenging as we’ve seen when teams have gone remote in countries where working remote is not very common, there have been teething issues with staff who are not used to working at home. We are working in countries where people don’t work remotely so there has been a lot of growth that our teams have taken on to maintain their staff of interviewers remotely – in Burkina Faso our call center manager was going house to house on a scooter to check on interviewers to make sure they had everything they needed!

You mentioned the growth we’ve seen in CATI over the past year, largely due to restrictions around in-person research. Can you speak to that and if you think clients will stay with CATI now that they’ve tried it out?

It’s interesting as GeoPoll has been on the front of this for so long and you see these big shifts with how data is collected over time. On the consumer research side, I think the industry will stick with CATI work if they are still getting data they expect with the quality they expect at a cheaper price point. The advantage with CATI is that you can still do both quantitative and qualitative research and provide the same level of oversight as with CAPI. On the international development side, I do think more work will remain with CATI but very targeted projects may move back to CAPI.

What I’ve heard from our colleagues is that the CATI work and the quality of data we have provided is an eye opener for the industry which has led to more work with many clients. When they run the first couple projects with us they might be testing between modes, and they are pleased with the quality we provide so continue on.

What are you excited about in terms of where GeoPoll will go in the future?  

What I’m most excited about is that we’ve found a way to be on the forefront of new research. We are able to offer clients a variety of ways to work with us and provide different forms of data. We’ve also found a way to adapt and expand what we do here at an unprecedented pace in terms of growth. A year ago we may have ran CATI in 20 markets and now we’re in 60. Being able to continue to expand to meet client’s needs is always interesting, whether that’s through new markets, approaches, or project design.

What’s a fact about yourself that people may not know right away?

I think you know most of these but I love art, cars, hiking and the outdoors. Street art is a fun one, and in most of the new offices we’ve opened I’ve done a mural for the office. I think I’ve done art in Africa in 5-6 different countries in our offices and even working with local art communities. It builds comradery with the rest of the team when I go out and share some personal art.

The post King Beach on Remotely Managing 60+ Call Centers appeared first on GeoPoll.

Lucy Wanyee Interview

Frankline: What were you doing before joining GeoPoll, and what drew you to join the team? 

Lucy Wanyee: My educational background is in mathematical and statistical risk management. Before joining GeoPoll, I worked for an NGO and my main tasks revolved around desk and field research to help finalize the organization’s end products. Before joining the NGO, I was in the banking industry. For people who know me, I am very good with money management. ????

I had previously worked at a research company where we sent teams to the field with paper questionnaires. You know how research is conducted traditionally. Then I heard about GeoPoll and how the company was remotely conducting research. I was interested in being part of a company that could collect the data needed in a shorter time at the comfort of one’s desk!

How long have you been at GeoPoll? How has the company grown since you joined? 

I do not think about this a lot, but in just the blink of an eye, six years have gone by! GeoPoll is an ever-evolving company, and with the dynamism, so many new things happen as we cater to the different needs of diverse types of clients.

Overall, there have been significant, incremental changes and innovations that the company has made in data collection methodologies that assure quality, especially in hard-to-reach areas. I am happy to be part of the team at GeoPoll that designs and implements these changes – we seem to find solutions for any challenge! Also, I was among the first few employees in Kenya, and I have seen the team grow tremendously over time.

Can you briefly describe your role at GeoPoll and your primary responsibilities?  

As an Operations Manager, I oversee the daily operations of the in-house GeoPoll Audience Measurement (GAM) product and some of the other On-Demand projects (custom research projects for clients). My main tasks involve ensuring the client objectives are met by overseeing that proper quality checks of surveys are done before they are run.

Due to COVID-19 and the ensuing market changes, I have also been playing a hybrid role that involves project implementation of CATI and CAPI projects in various markets. This role involves training the local teams that implement the projects in the different markets and coordinating with internal and external teams to ensure that things are flowing seamlessly for the end goal to be met.

As Operations Manager, what excites you most about your work at GeoPoll?  

Every single day has a lesson attached to it. From the various projects we run to the systems we use. The most exciting thing for me is to see the actual representation of “no one cloth fits all.” People all over the world are interested in different things. One client’s needs are incredibly different from the other, and just watching that unfold in implementation wows me every single time.

It is an adventure for me, the number of gears that move together to achieve diverse needs, and I get elated every time we deliver the client’s data.

What do the various sections you manage do? 

I work directly with different teams that do different things. We ensure that surveys are quality checked before moving into the field, release surveys into the field, and monitor their performance. We also play a big part in monitoring the costs we spend on running surveys and helping test the performance of any new markets we launch in.

Most recently, we have also played a big part in local team training and project implementation for various multi-national projects.

What are you excited about in terms of where GeoPoll will go in the future?  

Apart from the enthusiasm of seeing data collection modes and technologies evolve, I am excited about the type of clients and projects coming our way that keep the job exciting. Sometimes I think a particular feature we release is perfect until I see it develop and morph into a very different capability that I would not have imagined at the start. I am eager to see what the next years bring.

Another thing is how the team is growing. As needs keep evolving, the company keeps growing, and I get to work with many different types of professionals. I am keen on seeing how the team will grow in various roles within the company.

What is a fact about yourself that people may not know right away? 

Not many people know that I am very shy. But I have learned that you do not have to be bold to play the part, just jump into the deep end from time to time.

No way! What do you like to do outside of work? 

You may have seen me mobilize people in the company to give for community causes. I enjoy visiting and spending time with the less fortunate in society and giving back to the community. Other times, I am either cooking or traveling.

The post Lucy Wanyee on adapting research to evolving needs appeared first on GeoPoll.

Scott Lansell Interview

Roxana Elliott: Thanks for speaking with me! Can you start by telling me about your background before you came to GeoPoll?

Scott Lansell: My first exposure to International Development was at USAID, where I worked in several functions culminating as a desk officer for several east European countries in the early 1990s after the Berlin wall fell. During that time I was first exposed to USAID’s mission and its operational processes along with its many implementing partners in its role leading the US’s development assistance programs across the globe. After USAID, I joined the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) where I focused on portfolio and regional management within the democracy and governance sector with focus on elections administration internationally. I then joined World Learning, focusing on civil society, governance, higher education, and workforce development, where I also led the NGO’s donor diversification team including the launch of World Learning Europe.

What drew you to GeoPoll and what are your current responsibilities?

It was clear from my prior work that being able to regularly monitor and report on the impact of the interventions underway in the international development space was crucial to long term sustainability and documentation of development impact. GeoPoll brought an innovative approach and capacity offering mobile survey research and data collection to international development implementers and donors. It brings the 21^st century into development and monitoring project success which demonstrates a way that the international community should utilize.

In addition to leading GeoPoll’s business development efforts to engage new clients and maintain our existing clients, I also oversee the program management teams that implement our international development projects – this dual role is important as it is important to understand both the business development and implementation sides ensuring that what we are offer is feasible, cost effective, and meets the objectives and expectations of each of our clients.

Why do you think research solutions such as GeoPoll’s are so important in the international development sector?

The key to a successful development project is being able to show the impact of the work and track how the intervention is received, localized and transferred to local ownership. In traditional sectors this can be dependent on deploying staff in person to gather and monitor implementation.  The challenge with this approach to impact monitoring and assessment is there can be bias, or difficulties in accessing remote efforts due to security, health crises, and logistics.  Too often the most vulnerable populations may be under-represented due to these and other limiting factors.

GeoPoll brings a capacity to undertake data collection using both high-tech and low-tech means. While we are data collection company, we’re not dependent on internet access or people who have high-end mobile devices. We can reach people from all backgrounds to have a better understanding of what those populations are feeling about interventions. We offer various approaches or modes to engage different populations – for example, when you’re reaching out to a fisherman in a village a low-tech approach is useful. Clients that come to us in the international development and relief sector are focused on the broadest populations, those who are most disenfranchised and most difficult to access. Mobile has the ability to help transcend these barriers. 

What has surprised you about GeoPoll and the projects we work on?

The speed at which we can create and deliver a solution has always impressed me.  While timelines in the development sectors can be significant, GeoPoll can respond to clients’ needs, design and offer viable solutions, and then move to implement solutions in a matter of days.  I’ve been a part of project design that offered raw data in only one week after the initial conversation with the client – this is unheard of when using more traditional approaches.

Where do you think GeoPoll will go in the future?

There is constant interest in expanding the services we offer to meet our clients’ needs.  We are constantly looking to offer new and innovative approaches and platforms. Being able to use both traditional and higher-tech solutions in conjunction with each other is unique as we are trying to meet a quickly expanding demand for technological solutions without losing traditional approaches and access to the lower socio-economic populations we serve.  We aren’t only focused on offering the latest new mobile application because the populations we often need to speak to don’t always have access to the latest technology.

How has GeoPoll adapted its solutions to COVID in the past year?

It became clear very early in 2020 that COVID-19 was becoming this generation’s largest challenge. GeoPoll’s leadership quickly determined we needed to make sure that donors and implementers could quickly access public perceptions on the pandemic and do so without putting people’s lives at risk. Beginning in March of 2020, we conducted several studies on COVID-19 and were able to collect data in multiple waves to show what mobile can bring when data must be collected remotely. We also very quickly redesigned our training and monitoring structure to ensure the safety of our call center operators, so that we can continue to offer the same quality of service to clients even when people are working remotely.

What’s a fact about yourself that people may not know right away?

I’ve always been a consumer of world history and have a tendency to look at situations and ask myself ‘Where have I seen this before and what can I learn from it?’ I also enjoy cartography – I see maps as art and have an appreciation for diversity of cultures which began very early after living overseas as a child.  I enjoy following international affairs from the perspective of not just an American but also looking at how we as a global community can and will play key roles on the international stage. No matter what I’m doing, I’m trying to play a small role in working to support global efforts to help develop self-sufficiency and make the world a better place regardless of nationality, region or culture.

The post Scott Lansell on Data Collection for International Development appeared first on GeoPoll.

Roxana Elliott Interview

Frankline: Tell me about your background before you came to GeoPoll.

Roxana: I have always worked in marketing and communications with an international focus – my first job after university was with Al Jazeera English’s communications team during the Arab Spring. It was an intense time as Al Jazeera was in the spotlight more than they had been before. I have always had an affinity for media, writing, and international events, probably because I come from a family of journalists – I feel like it’s in my blood!

After Al Jazeera, I went to grad school for communications and technology, which led me to join GeoPoll initially at the beginning of 2014.

You mentioned initially. Does that mean you left and came back to GeoPoll?

Yes (laughs). When I first joined GeoPoll, the company was still relatively young. I was the only communications person and worked on everything from the blog to design to social media, and the website. After a couple of years, I left to try out an even more technology-oriented company, but I missed the range of impactful work that GeoPoll does, so when that job didn’t work out I tried freelancing for a bit and then eventually I came back to GeoPoll to lead and grow our marketing efforts.

What is the role of marketing at GeoPoll, and how does it compare with the other places you have worked in?

Marketing at GeoPoll is unique because we are a research company and can produce a lot of our own content, such as the reports that we run on topics from the viewership of the Africa Cup of Nations to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Marketing is one of the smaller teams at GeoPoll but an essential part of the company, significantly impacting how it is perceived.

We are like a news company producing original content on essential global and local topics that, many times, influence crucial discussions in the media and among decision-makers. We also work in several sectors, which, for marketing, means many different audiences to address. It’s a challenge that I love.

You have been part of many exciting marketing research projects. Is there one that stands out for you?

We have done several interesting studies in the past, but it’s hard not to say the COVID-19 studies in 2020 were some of the most monumental. It’s been so vital and exciting to reliably inform the world on the impact of the pandemic in Africa. One that stands out for me is the Economic Impact of Coronavirus in Africa that we released in July 2020. We found that many people were negatively impacted financially by the restrictions governments were putting in place to fight the pandemic, and had fascinating insights on informal workers and how they are being impacted even more than others by the pandemic.

I can feel from your tone that you are very passionate about what you do and what GeoPoll does. What do you think is the outlook for GeoPoll’s near future?

Our goal is to keep growing, delivering quality services for our clients, and expanding the sectors and countries we work in. I am excited about the technology innovation that our team keeps developing, such as the new App that we recently released.

As has been the norm in the years that I have been at GeoPoll, I see the company continuing to shape how research is done, particularly in the emerging regions.

How do you think the Marketing function within GeoPoll and the research industry is going to change?

Marketing within research, just like with other sectors, has been evolving. Recently, content marketing has become an important part of marketing strategy. That’s why we have been focused on releasing in-depth research reports and high-quality blogs, guides, and other useful information that people can access for free.

GeoPoll is now doing more webinars than before. Has COVID-19 changed event marketing in the long-term?

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, marketing has had to change tact – where we previously had conferences and trade shows, we have been having webinars and virtual meetings. We have seen a lot of value in webinars – apart from being easier to set up, they have been very interactive – sometimes even more than when we presented papers at conferences. With the pandemic, marketers and audiences are now seeing the value of virtual marketing and networking events, so I think they will remain popular even when in-person events come back.

What do you like doing out of work?

I live and work in Colorado, and I am lucky to have beautiful nature and mountains surrounding me. So I do a lot of hiking with my husband and my dog, and it’s been great having fun outdoors safely when we have not been able to travel recently, which is the other thing I love doing. I grew up traveling a lot, and I enjoy taking long flights and exploring new places and cultures. I also love cooking!

I also enjoy the great marketing campaigns you cook for us! Tell me, what does it take to be successful in your line of work? 

As a marketer, I believe you want to be passionate about the product or company you are marketing. To bring out the message in the best way, you have to be enthusiastic about it.

You must be on your toes all the time to learn what’s happening in the market, trends in marketing, and what your audience is talking about. Be ready to react to events and jump effectively into ongoing conversations, especially at a company like GeoPoll, where a lot of our work follows current events.

Lastly, marketing is a broad practice, so it helps a lot to be part of a team with members who are great at aspects that you are not perfect at.

The post Roxana Elliott on Leveraging Marketing in the Research Industry appeared first on GeoPoll.

Wycliffe Litabalia Interview

Frankline Kibuacha: Let us start from the beginning, what were you doing before you came to GeoPoll?

Wycliffe Litabalia: Before GeoPoll I was working as a project coordinator at KenCall, an outsourcing call center company. For the many projects I worked on there, I was tasked with making sure that every aspect of a project, from understanding the scope of work to execution moved seamlessly.

What drew you to GeoPoll and made you join the team?

I didn’t see it coming! GeoPoll had just set up base in Kenya and I was invited by my former boss to a presentation on how GeoPoll works. I could see the impact and the massive changes GeoPoll was making in the research industry through new, unique data collection methodologies. I was so intrigued by the processes laid out, the speed, and the technology that all I wanted from that point on was to be part of the revolution I had just seen. The rest is history.

That sounds like a very long time ago…

Well, time really flies, I am almost clocking 7 years here. I was amongst the first few employees at GeoPoll!

How has the company grown since you joined?

For a start, we were only about 5 employees in Nairobi at the beginning and now we are close to 70, and numerous other offices in other countries have since been established. I have seen tremendous growth, not just with the numbers all round but also advancements in how research has been conducted. I have seen GeoPoll improve the world and the research industry with the many research projects we have completed, and the efficient mobile data collection system we have developed over the years,

Tell me about your role and responsibilities as Operations Manager at GeoPoll. What excites you most about your work at GeoPoll? 

I oversee the GeoPoll survey operations team and its day to day activities, including quality assurance, setting budgets, tracking our costs and the overall project performance, researching and proposing new system developments to promote efficiency, measuring and improving team performance, among many others.

Mine is a diverse role and this is what keeps me going. We encounter new challenges every day, where we must critically think for solutions, gather ideas, and deliberate on various project requirements to make sure the end result is a success for the client. That keeps my mind busy and whatever keeps my mind busy excites me.

New things every day. Do you get a lot of surprises, then?

Operations within a research firm as dynamic as GeoPoll is full of surprises – you need to be ready for challenging projects. Those don’t surprise me as much as the flexibility and the team’s ability to collect data in countries I have never thought of. The speed and teamwork that goes in to make things happen in GeoPoll is something that will always remain a wonder. No challenge is too big for this team.

What are you excited about in terms of where GeoPoll will go in the future?

I have been here for more than 6 years now and I can tell you it is not only the future that excites me but also the “now”. The company has made major strides and we have a great team that lightens up the “now” for the future. With the speed of innovation, we live in the future every day.

How about the research industry? Where would you say it is headed in the next five years?

I think there is still a lot of room for technological advancement in the research world. As the world keeps evolving, in my view, I think there are still new methodologies and tools of data collections that we are yet to come up with that will be more engaging and that would match up to the evolution – as we have discovered with mobile research.

What’s a fact about yourself that people may not know right away?

I am the same person publicly and personally, at home and at work. Thankfully, my workplace lets me be me.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I love listening to music and traveling from time to time to explore new places.

Finally, what does it take to succeed in your line of work?

In my line of work, it takes teamwork, effective communication, hard work, and responsibility whether in times of success or failure, and most importantly, leadership.

The post Wycliffe Litabalia on what it takes to run great research surveys appeared first on GeoPoll.