During this time, a man named Patrick Meier was studying the potential of digital maps for crisis response. After the earthquake struck, he became involved in the relief efforts. SMS texts were sent out by aid organizations to inform affected people of safety procedures. Eventually, people in distress were encouraged to text a special number if they needed rescue. Patrick and other volunteers wadded through the influx of these messages and did their best to prioritize need. The responses allowed volunteers to map out where people were alive and trapped under rubble, as well as map out which hospitals and pharmacies had accessible supplies. Patrick used this information to create a digital crisis map of the scene that helped to save many lives.

Despite overwhelming efforts, there were hundreds of thousands of lives lost that year in Haiti, yet the learning experience was incredibly valuable for future crisis response. Throughout the rest of this post, we focus on a variety of best practices around SMS message communications following crisis and mobile communications platforms like GeoPoll.

Best Practices

Do not send redundant SMS messages

In any crisis situation, there can only be one leader. It is important to avoid amplifying chaos in an already hectic environment. Aid organizations can be most helpful if they partner with each other. Instead of multiple organizations blasting SMS texts with safety information, a united front should be established. The people in the affected area should only receive one message about each relevant piece of information.

Clearly identify sender

When sending safety information via SMS messages, be sure to identify who the information is coming from. Including a reputable organization name in the messages builds trust around the SMS communications, and encourages the distressed individuals to respect the information provided to them.

 Allow people to unsubscribe to alerts

Allow people to unsubscribe to SMS safety alerts. It is possible that not everyone within the radius of an affected area needs to see the alerts—and some will wish not to receive them. Provide opt-in or opt-out options for SMS blasts.

Set up a way for people to make complaints

Allow for responses to be sent back to the aid organization. During the Haiti earthquake aftermath, a new response number was eventually created for people to send in requests for help, demonstrating the importance of SMS alerts having two-way communications streams.

Although there will be a flood of incoming messages, the messages can be organized and prioritized as quickly as possible. Messages can provide the information needed to lead rescuers to exact locations for rescue missions with probable outcomes—which is much more effective than digging through fallen buildings for a chance at finding someone.

Incoming messages can also allow for a broader understanding of the state of distress. The scope of the crisis and geographic area affected by the disaster can be determined quickly through the data provided by two-way communication with the individuals in need.

Research literacy rates

Keep in mind the level of education in the affected area. If literacy rates are low, simple and straightforward language is very important for communicating. Avoid complex sentence structure and words. Use simple words in short clear sentences. With very low literacy rates, voice calls with recorded messages may be the most effective way to contact individuals.  GeoPoll offers multiple modes of mobile communication, including SMS, CATI and IVR voice calls.

Determine the correct language and dialect to use for messages

Depending on the location and radius of the affected area, there may be more than one language spoken. Make sure to speak with experts about the languages and dialects that are spoken by the people before sending messages.

Create crisis response plan before disasters occur

Be prepared for whatever may occur. Make sure to have a comprehensive plan in place before a disaster or crisis erupts and identify potential partners who can assist you. Sending mobile communications requires technology and connectivity with mobile network operators which can take months to build – platforms including GeoPoll have already-built platforms and partnerships which allow for the immediate deployment of mass communications.

Also, train all available future responders in advance. Prepare the individuals who may be pulled in to work on the aid effort with the preliminary plan of action—this includes training on who all of the relevant points of contact are, training on general procedure, and training on hierarchal communication structures.

Develop a rough guideline for crisis communication messages with team leaders beforehand. Every second counts in a crisis so have clearly communicated messages already drafted and ready to send with only momentary notice. If this planning phase is done well it can help your organization avoid mistakes when lives are at risk.

Plan to have people on-the-ground supplementing information that is sent via SMS

Information sent through SMS text is limited to a short character count. Realistically, SMS updates will only provide the individuals in need with vital information. Planning to dispatch aid workers to the area who have additional information can help organize some of the inevitable chaos spreading through a devastated area.

Do not distribute personal information gathered through the SMS aid process

Organizations often collect personal information during the aid or disaster recovery process including phone numbers and names. This data must be protected using secure procedures. Make sure to partner with trusted organizations like GeoPoll who have policies in place to ensure personal identifiable information is secure.

Moving forward

The use of technology in disaster response is fairly new, and society will learn more about the most effective ways to use SMS technology in crisis as time moves forward. In the meantime, inefficient practices are bound to accidentally arise out of necessity. This will provide additional insight into how to continue improving. However, it is important to always keep the fundamental principle of aid— “do no harm”—in the forefront of our minds throughout the learning process.

GeoPoll regularly conducts surveys that collect vital data and can send communications through one-way and two-way messaging via multiple mobile modes. Our database of over 240 million people in more than 60 emerging markets allows aid organizations to quickly reach targeted populations in specific areas, or GeoPoll can send messages to aid beneficiaries and other individuals when provided with phone numbers.

Contact us to learn more about how GeoPoll can help your organization help others.

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GeoPoll collected data from 247 respondents—49 percent of whom were female—across 11 of the 12 governorates in Jordan. Overall, most households have local water systems infrastructure; 81 percent of households noted that they receive water through household pipes, wells, and hand pumps. Only 17 households (6%) claimed community water sources as their primary method of sourcing water. Further, the survey participants noted that they had clean water: 86 percent stated that they had not become sick from a water source within the previous month.

Despite these gains, there are still opportunities to strength water accessibility and quality of water access. Four out of every 10 respondents noted that they did not have enough water to meet their daily needs. Thirty-two percent cited it was due to a broken water source and 19 percent identified cost while others identified drought and distance as key issues. Of those 40 percent who did not have enough water to meet their daily needs, participants identified how they coped with reduced water consumption: 30 percent stated they bathed less frequently and 23 percent said they washed their food less.

Underpinning accessibility and quality issues, GeoPoll sought to understand perceptions about management and responsibility for water provision. More than half of respondents—51 percent—noted that the Government of Jordan has the most responsibility for ensuring clean water in the household. Respondents were also asked who provided their water. An overwhelming majority—61 percent—stated the government, followed by the private sector with 28 percent. However, when asked who they contact to fix their water issues, only 13 percent identified the government. On a more positive note, 51 percent of those surveyed noted that issues were fixed within one day.

The dynamics of the water sector are complex and citizen perceptions are a vital component to understanding these issues. GeoPoll’s SMS assessment in Jordan provides a rapid insight into these evolving concerns.

About GeoPoll Straw Polls

GeoPoll is the world’s largest real-time mobile survey platform, reaching a growing network of more than 320 million users in 30 countries worldwide on a deeply granular level and at unprecedented scale. Through a multimodal platform powered by text, voice and web-based communications, GeoPoll enables organizations to gather quick, accurate and in-depth insights on everything from consumer preferences to social and development concerns.

GeoPoll leverages its platform to engage mobile users through ad hoc “straw polls” that provide insights into real-time sentiments of current events. This GeoPoll rapid survey was conducted in June 2017 among 247 Jordanians using GeoPoll’s SMS platform. The survey has a 95 percent confidence level with a +/- 6.4 margin of error.

Straw Poll Specs

• Country surveyed: Jordan
• Language: Jordanian Arabic
• Mode: SMS
• Questionnaire length: 16 questions
• Sampling frame and approach: men and women, over 15 years old, drawn from GeoPoll’s user database based on SMS recruitment
• Total sample size: 247 respondents
• Fieldwork duration: 2 weeks

(image source: wordsinthebucket.com)

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In August of 2014, as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was spreading, the WFP once again partnered with GeoPoll to conduct food security surveys in Ebola-affected countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. Ebola is likely to have long-term effects on food security, and mobile surveys allow WFP to quickly collect vital data on food prices, wages, and more.SolutionWFP and GeoPoll will send mobile surveys in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea over three months: September, October, and November 2014, to gather common indicators of food security, plus data on food prices and wages. GeoPoll and the WFP have worked together to adapt the reduced Coping Strategies Index (rCSI) for the mobile phone, and in previous studies have found no significant difference in rCSI results collected through mobile surveys vs. face-to-face surveys.ResultsThe first round of data released is from Sierra Leone, and indicates that food security in the Ebola-epicenters of Kailahun and Kenema has declined since the outbreak began. People living in these areas are using “severe” food coping strategies more frequently than those in the surrounding areas, meaning they are restricting meal size and buying less expensive foods than they normally would. The Sierra Leone surveys, conducted by text message, also found that casual wages in the east of Sierra Leone have dropped, likely contributing to the poor food security situation.

Food prices in the east of Sierra Leone are not showing major differences from prices in other regions of Sierra Leone, however WFP will continue to monitor price trends as surveys continue.Key Points

• WFP And GeoPoll Adapted Key Food Security Surveys For The Mobile Phone.
• Currently Monitoring Food Security, Food Prices, And Wages In Ebola-Affected Areas In Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea.
• Initial Results Found That Ebola-Epicenters In Sierra Leone Are Worse Off In Terms Of Food Security Than Surrounding Areas.

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The UN used a variety of means to conduct surveys for MyWorld 2015. Most surveys were conducted the old fashioned way – with face-to-face interviews, a method that, in developing world countries, is slow, inefficient and inconsistent. And sure enough, by mid-July, with a September release date looming, the UN realized that it was running out of time to collect the remaining votes they needed. Over the course of the previous year, the UN and all of its partners had only collected 870,000 surveys; they were 130,000 short of their goal. They needed a solution quickly.

We are honored that the UN entrusted us with this project.

We leveraged the power of mobile surveys to quickly achieve reliable and accurate responses. After a quick ramp-up, we launched GeoPoll surveys in 15 countries and got 130,000 votes in about 20 days. This helped the UN achieve its objective and equaled approximately 13 percent of the UN’s total survey goal of 1 million voices.
Gathering ideas, perspectives and priorities from 1 million people is a serious undertaking. We are proud and energized to have played a critical role in such an important program, and to demonstrate the value of mobile surveys in the developing world.

We were able to reach people who cannot be reached at the same scale any other way. In countries like Ghana, Madagascar and Tanzania, many people don’t have Internet access, and it would take a massive, long-term effort to get a large number of meaningful responses from them through face-to-face surveys.

Perhaps the most exciting part of projects like this is finding out why people choose to respond. We heard things like: “Because I think I’ll make my country a better place,” or “Because someone asked.” For many people in the developing world, responding to a survey is a way to be heard – perhaps for the first time. It shows us something we’ve known for a while: there’s a vast number of people who simply aren’t being asked what they want.

We are proud to help the UN pioneer the way information is gathered. We believe that reaching people via mobile has the potential to change how organizations interact with entire countries and populations, and that has the potential to change the world.

The post Working with the United Nations to Give the Globe a Voice appeared first on GeoPoll.