Real-time Data is important for several reasons. Here are a few:

• Agility in a Dynamic Environment: In a rapidly changing marketplace, businesses need to monitor and respond to shifts in consumer preferences, market trends, and emerging opportunities. Real-time data enables brands and companies to identify and adapt to these changes quickly, giving them a competitive edge. With up-to-the-minute insights, businesses can make informed decisions, adjust strategies, and capitalize on emerging trends before their competitors.
• Effective Crisis Management: When a crisis strikes, such as a natural disaster or disease outbreak, real-time data becomes indispensable for effective response and resource allocation. Immediate access to data allows organizations to assess the situation in real-time, identify affected areas, and deploy resources where they are most needed. It enables humanitarian aid organizations, government agencies, and other stakeholders to coordinate relief efforts efficiently and make data-driven decisions that save lives.
• Rapid Course Correction: Real-time data empowers organizations to monitor the impact of their initiatives and campaigns continously. By collecting and analyzing data as it is generated, organizations can identify potential issues or bottlenecks early on and make necessary adjustments promptly. This iterative approach helps optimize outcomes, minimize risks, and ensure that resources are utilized effectively.
• Enhancing Customer Experiences: Customer preferences and expectations can change rapidly. Real-time data allows organizations to understand customer sentiments, preferences, and behaviors as they evolve. By monitoring real-time feedback, businesses can tailor their products, services, and experiences to meet customers’ changing needs, improve satisfaction, and drive long-term loyalty.

How Real-time Data Enables Timely Decision-Making and Considerations

Real-time data plays a pivotal role in enabling timely decision-making by providing decision-makers with up-to-the-minute insights and information. It empowers decision-makers with immediate visibility into emerging trends, market shifts, customer preferences, and operational performance.

By accessing real-time data, decision-makers can quickly identify opportunities, spot potential issues, and make informed choices based on the most current information available. Real-time data acts as a compass, guiding decision-makers towards timely and strategic actions, resulting in more effective outcomes and maximizing the organization’s potential for success.

There are a few factors to put in mind as you embark on your real-time data journey.

• Robust Data Collection Infrastructure: Leveraging advanced technologies, organizations like GeoPoll have developed robust data collection infrastructures that enable real-time insights. Through mobile surveys, SMS questionnaires, and interactive voice response (IVR) systems, they engage with respondents directly, collecting data rapidly and efficiently.
• Agile Data Analysis and Visualization: Real-time data is only valuable if it can be processed and analyzed promptly. Consider developing user-friendly dashboards and analytics tools that enable stakeholders to access and interpret data in near real-time. These tools facilitate quick decision-making by transforming raw data into actionable insights through visualizations, trends analysis, and predictive models.
• Monitoring and Predicting Trends: Real-time data allows organizations to monitor market trends, customer sentiments, and competitive landscapes as they unfold. By analyzing data in real time, organizations can detect emerging patterns, identify shifts in consumer behavior, and make informed predictions about future trends. This proactive approach enables businesses to stay ahead of the curve and seize opportunities promptly.

Use cases: Timely Decision-Making with GeoPoll

GeoPoll’s versatile platform and real-time data capabilities have enabled organizations in various sectors to unlock the power of timely insights. By harnessing the power of mobile surveys and leveraging advanced analytics tools, GeoPoll empowers businesses, governments, and humanitarian organizations to make informed choices, respond to challenges promptly, and seize opportunities in an ever-changing landscape. Here are some use cases:

• Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response: During times of crisis, such as natural disasters, disease outbreaks, or humanitarian emergencies, GeoPoll plays a crucial role in supporting organizations and governments with real-time data collection and analysis. By reaching affected populations via mobile surveys, GeoPoll enables timely and accurate assessment of needs, monitors the impact of relief efforts, and facilitates targeted resource allocation. Real-time insights by GeoPoll in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Mozambique enabled decision-makers to respond swiftly, providing aid where it is most needed and optimizing crisis management.
• Market and Consumer Trackers: GeoPoll has empowered businesses and brands to gain real-time insights into consumer preferences, behaviors, and market trends across diverse geographies. By conducting tracker surveys, organizations can monitor brand perception, assess product demand, and refine marketing strategies promptly. With our robust analytics tools, decision-makers can visualize and analyze data in real-time, facilitating agile decision-making and competitive advantage.
• Event feedback: During events, GeoPoll deploys surveys via QR Codes, short links, SMS and/or email to capture valuable insights and measure attendee satisfaction in real time. This feedback empowers event planners to make on-the-spot improvements, identify areas of success, and address any concerns promptly.
• Customer Experience: Using GeoPoll’s mobile surveying platform, companies can easily track customer experience on a regular basis, collecting data via trigger polls on product packaging or in-store to capture feedback while it’s hot. For example, GeoPoll worked with PSI to place trigger surveys in HIV self-test packages to collect real-time confidential data on usage.
• Public Health Surveillance and Monitoring: GeoPoll’s data collection capabilities have been instrumental in public health initiatives, enabling organizations and governments to monitor disease outbreaks such as ebola and coronavirus, vaccination campaigns, and healthcare service delivery. By gathering timely data on symptoms, treatment availability, and public awareness, decision-makers can identify hotspots, track the spread of diseases, and deploy resources effectively. Real-time insights allow public health agencies to make informed decisions, adapt response strategies, and mitigate risks promptly.
• Conflict zones – GeoPoll’s services have proven invaluable in collecting real-time data during times of conflict, allowing organizations to gather critical insights in challenging and high-risk environments. By leveraging mobile surveys and remote data collection methods, GeoPoll enables data collection even in conflict-affected areas, providing decision-makers with timely information to inform their strategies and response efforts. In the Northern Ethiopia conflict and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, GeoPoll’s deployment of remote data collection with real-time insights has enabled organizations to monitor the situation on the ground, assess the needs of affected populations, and ensure that aid and resources are directed to the most vulnerable areas.

These are only a few examples of GeoPoll’s work delivering high-quality, fast insights in a variety of use cases. From market research and humanitarian aid to public health monitoring and conflict tracking, GeoPoll’s solutions empower decision-makers to take prompt and informed action.

Contact us today and discover how real-time data can revolutionize your organization’s decision-making process.

The post Real-time Data for Real-time Action appeared first on GeoPoll.

In this article, we outline the various areas, from our experience, that remote surveying and data collection enhances the efforts of international development organizations, governments, local NGOs, and other partners. Click on the headings to learn more about our work, use cases, and methodologies.

Data for Humanitarian Aid and Relief

When Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique, it was difficult for aid groups to know immediate needs and areas they needed to focus on. During various Ebola outbreaks and West and Central Africa, it was also impossible to access affected areas due to lockdowns and the disease’s contagious nature. In both cases, and many more incidences of natural disaster, conflict, and disease when affected populations are cut off from the rest of the world, GeoPoll has deployed our unique remote data collection and messaging capabilities to collect on the ground data that helped aid organizations, governments and rescuers act decisively to save lives and property.  

Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning

Donors, NGOs, and governments often need to assess the effectiveness of their programs and interventions and communicate their successes. Using remote mobile surveys, such organizations can measure project processes, demonstrate community attitudes and perceptions over time, and track the outcomes of project interventions more effectively on the ground for better and timely decision-making.

Food Security and Agricultural Production

In many of the emerging markets, food security is usually a significant concern. Over the years, GeoPoll has worked with tens of development organizations to remotely track multiple types of food security data such as food prices, market operability status, crop harvest data, and frequency of meal consumption, both for emergency assessments, ongoing monitoring, and one-off analyses of specific areas or populations.

Health & Nutrition Data

Using remote on-the-ground data, organizations can monitor and improve health systems. For example, when COVID-19 struck in 2020, health and humanitarian organizations worked with GeoPoll to understand the impact on health and health systems in emerging nations. We have also helped gather sensitive health information that would have been difficult with face-to-face research.

Democracy & Governance

GeoPoll’s mobile research and engagement platform allows governments and democracy groups to reach citizens in remote areas or conflict zones quickly and safely. Organizations can administer remote surveys and educational messages to extremely specific target populations, giving them the ability to assess situations and act upon the most up-to-date information quickly. This can be useful in monitoring government services, assessing the political climate, promoting transparency such as by tracking corruption incidence, monitoring security situations, and more.

Financial Inclusion

One of the most integral steps to developing financial inclusion frameworks is gathering realities and the opinions of banked and unbanked populations. That way, organizations can track financial inclusion rates, evaluate access to financial services, research financing gaps, and track growing trends such as usage of mobile money, mobile loan usage, and more. Over time, GeoPoll has perfected its remote mobile surveying capabilities to enable financial stakeholders to gather ongoing data to measure trends or gather one-off data from specific populations on their financial needs.

Energy, Climate & Environment

Climate Change is one of the hottest topics of the Century. As the globe brainstorms ways to combat the climate and environmental degradation, it is crucial to understand the changes happening in all areas, even the remotest, how that affects essential aspects such as food security and resilience, and grassroots opinions on the course of action.

Education & Employment

In tracking education and employment changes and improvements over time, remote surveying helps gather direct feedback on education and employment from communities, teachers, students, and parents on key service delivery indicators, including absenteeism, textbook availability, student-teacher ratios, and school infrastructure. It also helps understand specific perceptions, behaviors, and knowledge to design campaigns that improve educational outcomes and obtain ongoing feedback on program interventions. Governments, the private sector and development organizations can also gather data on education levels and employment and link private sector, academic institutions, and job seekers.

GeoPoll’s International Development Research Work

GeoPoll regularly conducts international development research for United Nations agencies, NGOs, governments, humanitarian groups, and other stakeholders in the development and relief sectors. We help collect ongoing tracking data or one-time project-based data collection fast and affordably owing to our unique technology, robust database and direct integrations with mobile network operators that enable us to reach any population worldwide.

Learn more about GeoPoll’s international development and humanitarian work.

The post How Remote Surveys Enhance International Development & Aid appeared first on GeoPoll.

Watch the launches on the Brand Africa YouTube Channel.

Now in its 11th year, Brand Africa 100 is a consumer-led survey that seeks to establish brand preferences across Africa. GeoPoll facilitated Brand Africa’s data collection through mobile-based surveys conducted in 28 countries covering all economic regions in Africa, making it the most comprehensive survey on brands in Africa.

In this article, we will highlight some of the rankings. You can access the full report in African Business Magazine here.

Methodology

This research, which yielded more than 80,000 brand mentions and over 2,000 unique brands, was a collaborative effort with GeoPoll collecting the data and Kantar and Brand Leadership providing the analysis and insights.

Data was collected independently using Geopoll’s mobile survey platform, drawing a sample of more than 10,000 respondents from our own database of 250+ million respondents and other recruitment channels during the first quarter of 2021.

With the final coded data, Kantar calculated a score for each brand and created an index that took into account the sample and population sizes of each country, weighted on the gender and population of the countries covered. The brands were analyzed to ensure there were no duplications and no generic categories rather than trading brand mentions.

Most Admired Brands in Africa Overall

This year’s ranking has proven the resilience of established brands with little change at the top of our rankings, despite a tumultuous year and despite extending the survey to a larger sample of respondents. Given the coronavirus pandemic’s omnipresence, Brand Africa sought to determine its impact on the brands’ balance of power and status in the rankings. There was little change among our survey of Africa’s Most Admired Brands as US sportswear brand Nike retained its top spot. Samsung was third for the third consecutive year and Coca-Cola maintained its 4th spot.

Brands Responding to COVID-19

In 2021, due to the pandemic, a new question was added to the survey to identify the brands that Africans perceive to be the most helpful during the ongoing pandemic.

Unsurprisingly, given its global role and media presence during the pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) emerged top in the list of brands perceived to have been the most helpful during the pandemic. Governmental agencies, international bodies, and NGOs represented 20% of the brands named by respondents – organizations like WHO and Unicef, the Africa Centers for Disease Control, and USAID – while private sector companies represented 80%. South Africa’s MTN, which donated 7m Covid-19 vaccine doses to nine African countries, is the leading private sector brand at the second position in a private sector list where all multinational mobile operators in Africa made the list of the Top 25. Leading pharmaceutical groups, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, also made the list.

Most Admired African Brands

­­As usual, this year we asked respondents to name their most admired African brand. The resulting list shows a 28% change from last year, with several upstart local brands muscling their way into the Top 25. Dangote, MTN, DStv and other giants dominated the list again. The top newcomer, muscling in at position 10, is Bathu, a relatively new South African shoe brand that was formed less than five years ago.

Most Admired Financial Brands

The financial services sector was again dominated by African brands, particularly from South Africa (7), Nigeria (6), and Kenya (3), who made up over 75% of the Top 25 brands. The sector was marked by adaptation to the digital era, acquisitions, and support for customers during the pandemic’s tough economic conditions. GT Bank held on to the top spot for the second year in a row after another strong financial performance and restructuring to attract digital customers. The biggest change came from Kenya’s Equity Bank which moved up 6 places following expansion in East and Central Africa.

Most Admired Media Brands

The media category continues to reflect a bias towards non-African media which represent more than 75% of the most admired media in Africa. With coronavirus limiting entertainment options beyond the home, digital businesses including streaming services such as Netflix thrived. The rise of National Geographic (new entrant into the top list) and the maintenance of mainstay news brands such as BBC, CNN, and Al Jazeera, which are all accessible through South Africa’s DStv platform, propelled DStv to leapfrog BBC as the #1 media brand in Africa.

Africa’s story and perceptions continue to be shaped outside its borders because all other media brands in the top ten of the media category are non-African (apart from DSTV).

Conduct Mobile Surveys in Africa

Brand Africa has been using GeoPoll’s research platform for data collection since 2015 due to the high penetration, convenience and effectiveness of mobile across Africa. Conducting interviews via mobile ensures a wider reach and expediency in conducting research across the continent than would be possible with face-to-face interviews. To learn more about GeoPoll’s coverage and capabilities in Africa, please contact us.

The post Brand Africa 100 – The Top Brands in Africa appeared first on GeoPoll.

The experienced panel for this webinar consisted of Christine Mueni (Business Development Lead, East Africa), Scott Lansell (VP, International Development & Relief), and King Beach (Director of Solutions). Roxana Elliott (VP, Marketing) moderated the webinar. Panelists presented on the different mobile modes and then answered several questions from the audience in this interactive session.

Here is the webinar recording, in case you missed it:

Key Takeaways from the webinar

1. There are several benefits to conducting research via mobile phone.

Mobile surveys’ reach is wider than ever with the growing mobile penetration around the globe. With mobile, there are several modes to choose from, the targeting can be hyperlocal, and most importantly, data can be collected remotely. Remote research saves time and money and transcends barriers such as poor infrastructure and field inaccessibility such as during a natural calamity, war, or disease outbreaks such as Ebola and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

2. The choice of the survey mode is as important as the project itself

There are several mobile research modes, which the panel went through in detail, and each method has its pros and cons, depending on the goal of the research project. Several factors determine the choice of the best mode to use, such as the target audience, the type of survey questions, length of the survey, and data connectivity availability. Short, concise surveys, for example, work well for SMS, but longer surveys incorporating pictures will work with mobile web or app. If the target audience is illiterate or the surveys are long, phone interviews via CATI may be best.

>> Learn about GeoPoll’s Mobile research modes.

3. During COVID-19, mobile research may be the only option

In the past, GeoPoll has gathered data remotely in otherwise inaccessible areas. For example, when Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique, GeoPoll’s on-the-ground data helped international and relief organizations focus relief efforts. During the coronavirus pandemic, face-to-face interviews have been deemed impractical. Yet beyond regular data needs, organizations need to understand how the pandemic has impacted communities and markets, making remote research imperative. This has led to the rise in remote research methods.

4. CATI is a good substitute for face to face surveys

Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing involves trained enumerators calling respondents, asking them survey questions, and recording the answers on an application. It is similar to face to face interviews in that it allows for probing for quality responses, response reinforcement and accommodates longer questionnaires. However, it has some limitations and challenges, including CATI reaching only mobile phone-owning populations, and requiring remote monitoring of enumerators. There are also cultural and socioeconomic nuances that must be considered when conducting CATI calls, such as respondents in certain areas responding better to female interviewers. Now that face to face interviews are not as applicable as in normal times, GeoPoll transitioned to remote call centers and is running over 80,000 CATI interviews every month.

Learn more about CATI research here.

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The presentation deck is available for free download here. If you have questions about mobile research or the modes presented in the webinar, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The post RECAP: Takeaways from the Mobile Research FAQs Webinar appeared first on GeoPoll.

mPharma – A mHealth tool for Africans

mPharma is a startup electronic pharmaceutical platform developed for African countries that is available on desktop and mobile. Healthcare providers, pharmacies, and insurance companies use the mPharma platform to source prescription drugs at a more reasonable cost than any other drug sources, and no payments are required up-front. This model is aimed to alleviate financial barriers that are inhibiting Africans from accessing life-saving healthcare treatments.

mPharma also has a free mobile application for healthcare-seeking patients. This app, which is called Mutti, allows patients to pay for medications using mobile money, with only a small amount of money required upfront. The rest of the cost can be paid back incrementally on a flexible timeline.

In a time when medical resources are limited due to a pandemic, mPharma’s platform for healthcare providers and patients is incredibly important. Accessibility of medication for the treatment of non-coronavirus related health issues is integral to keeping valuable space available in hospitals for patients that need emergency care.

Well Beyond – An educational mobile app for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

Well Beyond, short for “well beyond water”, is a free mobile application that emerged as an educational tool in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The mobile application provides people living in with practical knowledge and hygiene recommendations for staying protected from the coronavirus. The app is unique because the hygiene recommendations are specifically designed for people with minimal resources available and the app’s content explains how to use available resources as effectively as possible.

To reach people that don’t own smartphones, Well Beyond partners with NGOs. These partnerships allow Well Beyond to train the NGO staff on-the-ground in vulnerable communities on how to best educate residents on how to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The trainings are optimized for the specific region the NGO staff are working in and take into consideration what resources residents have access to, which informs action plans the NGO staff can recommend to the vulnerable communities.

Contact Tracing Apps—Go.Data by the World Health Organization

The World Health Organization worked with the Global Outbreak Response Network, as well as other partners, to develop a mobile application called Go.Data. Although a contact tracing app, Go.Data is not the same Bluetooth-to-Bluetooth tracker that is popular in advanced economies. The Go.Data app actually facilities public health workers, called Contact Tracers, who battle the spread of highly infectious viruses on-the-ground in outbreak hot spots.

Contact Tracers in this context work in LMICs going door-to-door screening for symptoms, collecting data, and tracking down anyone who may have been exposed in order to curb the spread. Until Go.Data, Contact Tracers used pen and paper for every aspect of the job, which was time-consuming. Go.Data speeds up the process significantly, which is of paramount importance during outbreaks of highly contagious diseases.

The app has already proven quite effective. Go.Data was released in September of 2019 and was used in managing the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and has been used successfully in the Maldives combatting the spread of Coronavirus.

GeoPoll’s Mobile Research Platform

GeoPoll’s  mobile research platform is also fighting against coronavirus in emerging markets. Our unique survey research methodology utilizes mobile phones for remote data collection, which is the quickest and safest way for development and humanitarian aid organizations to conduct research during this crisis. Since the pandemic began, our platform has conducted 2,409,077  interviews across 88 countries and the resulting data has informed countless decisions. To learn more about how GeoPoll’s data collection platform can be a resource for your organization, contact us today.

The post Mobile Technologies Aiding in the Fight Against COVID-19 in Emerging Markets appeared first on GeoPoll.

Can you give our readers a bit of an explanation about you and your background?

Yes, of course. So, my background is in research and global health — that is what I studied in school. Since grad school, I have been focused on the monitoring aspect in the monitoring and evaluation world — specifically for projects in Southern and Eastern Africa. Overall though, I am passionate about leveraging mobile technologies for rigorous data collection in low- and middle-income countries, and about reaching people, and reaching them quickly, that we may otherwise not reach in door-to-door surveys.

As someone that has been involved in mHealth for years now, how would you define mHealth as a term?

The way I think about mHealth is really about leveraging mobile technologies to improve health and increase health-seeking behaviors. mHealth is really just where mobile technology and global health intersect. mHealth efforts may include data collection for monitoring or research purpose, but also, for example, the development of mobile applications for healthcare providers that guide patient care. I’ve worked extensively with both mobile data collection, but also mobile tools that help frontline workers deliver care. mHealth is a big world and many initiatives or programs that take advantage of mobile technology would also fall into the mHealth category in my eyes.

So, considering your definition of mHealth, how do you see mHealth’s role in supporting the response to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Good question. So, the coronavirus pandemic is a great example of why mobile research methods are a powerful tool for development and crisis management. As the pandemic has continued over the past six months there have been countless issues in which mobile research could have been, and was, used to aid in the response. Back in March and April, for example, misinformation on the virus was prominent; when it was neither feasible nor safe to send enumerators door to door, mobile research was used to investigate questions like, what are people hearing about COVID-19? What do people believe is the best way to keep themselves safe during the pandemic? Do people need more education before they will quarantine? Are people quarantining enough now? Etc.

It is essential for program managers handling crisis response to have actionable data that can answer these types of questions for them to course-correct their approaches and implement the most effective initiatives possible. Managers need data to inform decision making.

I absolutely agree. GeoPoll actually collected data in sub-Saharan Africa during that time and we were able to answer similar questions to those you listed. A lot of development professionals used the data we gathered to inform their initiatives actually! We released it for free on our website and the Humanitarian Data Exchange.

Yes, GeoPoll does a great job collecting rigorous data via remote and mobile modes. That is actually how I found out about GeoPoll in the first place. When I was working at Johns Hopkins, my team hired GeoPoll to conduct a mHealth survey for us. I think it was in 2014? It was during an Ebola outbreak in Liberia, but our work with GeoPoll went really smoothly.

I enjoyed working with GeoPoll staff and the data came back cleaned, coded, and ready for analysis in just a few days—which was amazing. Having that data back within a few days was essential for us to be able to guide our colleagues on-the-ground in Liberia on what needed to be adjusted about our approach for providing aid during the crisis.

Wow, I didn’t realize you were once a client of ours! If you don’t mind me asking, what influenced your team’s decision to hire us rather than another research provider?

Well, GeoPoll was the only mobile research provider with rigorous methodology I could find that provided a way a timely way to achieve responses from a sample that was proportionate to the national statistics for age, sex, and location. This meant that GeoPoll could produce a sample that would reflect the mobile-owning population, which is incredibly important for getting an accurate view on what is happening on the ground.

As a researcher, the rigor of methodology is paramount, always, but the speed in which the data could be returned was also important because the Ebola outbreak was a rapidly evolving situation and time was of the essence.

Yes, methodology is very important, but the speed of data output is as well in this line of work. So, would you say your experience as a GeoPoll client influenced your decision to join our team a few months ago?

Yes, it did. I have been interested in GeoPoll since I worked with the team years ago. Mainly because the experience made me believe in GeoPoll’s research process and I knew from personal experience how valuable the research GeoPoll collects is to initiatives throughout the world. When the role I am in now opened, I thought it could be a really great fit – mixing my background in global health, monitoring, and mHealth with GeoPoll’s commitment to quality survey research.

The post mHealth Perspectives from an Expert: Amanda Berman Interview Highlights appeared first on GeoPoll.

Organizations such as the World Bank and the World Food Programme have been ahead of the curve, testing how different mobile methodologies compare to traditional F2F methods, or providing respondents recruited in-person with mobile phones for follow up studies. Others have used remote methodologies when in-person data collection was inadvisable, such as during the 2014-2015 West African Ebola outbreak, but have primarily relied on in-person methodologies where possible.

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues it is clear that for researchers, coronavirus may represent a tipping point in the adoption of remote research methods. Even with precautions in place, face-to-face interactions put both interviewers and respondents at higher risk of contracting a devastating virus, and yet there is a pressing need for data on both COVID-19 itself and the impact it will have across countries and sectors. The question has become not if researchers will need to transition to remote-based methodologies, but how we as a research community can make the most of this unanticipated shift to remote data collection.

Mobile-Based Research in Emerging Regions: Where We are Now

When GeoPoll began offering surveys via 2-way SMS in 2012, we encountered obstacles surrounding not only the buildout of our platform, but also a resistance to the idea that reliable, valid research could be conducted through remote surveys administered through mobile phones. Entering the industry as a mobile technology company, we did not recognize all the nuances and biases of gathering data through methodologies which had not yet been tested at scale.

We overcame questions surrounding the representativeness and quality of data collected through mobile by implementing strict quality control systems and running research experiments that expanded our knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of various mobile modes. One study we conducted found that select-all-that-apply style questions have a lower number of responses in SMS than forced-choice questions, while another found that drop-off rates increase for SMS questionnaires as they get longer.

Studies by other organizations have examined response and completion rates, and the sample skew of various modes. Research on mobile samples has found that mobile phone owners tend to be more educated than general populations, and that the population reached varies depending on the mode uses. Studies have also looked at how to improve SMS opt-in rates, finding that higher incentives don’t lead to higher response rates, but that sending reminders can improve the participation of older and less educated respondents. The World Food Programme has shown that mobile surveys can accurately demonstrate food security trends at a lower cost than face-to-face interviews, and The World Bank has conducted various studies during health crisis or conflict which demonstrate the usefulness of mobile surveys especially during rapid-response situations.

The Future of Mobile-Based Research in Emerging Region

Although mobile-based research in countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America has increased in the past few years, it has often supplemented in-person research. For fully-mobile studies such as those being conducted during COVID-19, Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing, live voice calls conducted from a call center or remotely, has emerged as a favored mode as it allows for longer interviews than SMS, is interviewer-administered, and can reach illiterate populations.

While limited research is available that directly compares results from CATI studies to face-to-face research, studies have found CATI to have higher response rates than other mobile modes, and that CATI is better at reaching older populations than SMS or IVR, an automated voice-call method. During COVID-19, CATI is being used by multiple academic and governmental groups who are looking to balance the need for remote data collection with research requirements. GeoPoll itself has seen a huge increase in demand for CATI surveys, resulting in the completion of nearly 100,000 CATI interviews in the month of July alone.

In research, there is often a fear of the unknown, but the benefits of remote data collection – namely the relative speed, wide reach, and relatively low cost – often outweigh the methodological challenges. During a time when in-person research is impossible, researchers have the ability to test these methods at scale so they can be used not only during times of crisis, but incorporated as part of a viable research approach in all projects. Research is ever-evolving, and at a moment when many are being forced to experiment with new methods, we have the opportunity to document learnings that will benefit the industry even after the pandemic has subsided.

The post COVID-19: A Tipping Point for Remote Research appeared first on GeoPoll.

Although the spread of diseases, like Ebola, have emphasized the need for the development of long-term global WASH solutions in the past, the coronavirus pandemic has created unprecedented urgency for solutions to be created now. Sometimes though, urgency brings a challenge that can drive the most meaningful innovation. In today’s post, we will highlight a few examples of how the pandemic drove innovative solutions to bring WASH resources to vulnerable populations.

Pedal Operated Handwashing Machines

A 9-year-old boy in Western Kenya was inspired during the coronavirus pandemic to create a simple machine to assist in safe hygiene practices. The machine adapts a simple container-based handwashing station to be foot-pedal operated for dispensing soap and water. The invention allows users to wash their hands without ever touching any of the station’s surfaces with their hands, which allows for the minimal transmission of germs and encourages frequent hand washing.

Thatched Roof Sanitation and Hygiene Huts in Rural Nigeria

An educational program lead by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) was quickly followed by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic for Mr. Sesugh Iorkyoor, a man living in rural Nigeria where access to WASH is minimal. Empowered by the education he received from WSSCC, Mr. Iorkyoor decided to build a sanitary latrine for his family to use; then, as the coronavirus spread, he added a hygiene station to the outside of the latrine to protect himself and his family from illnesses. The facility is a single-person, cylindrical structure with a thatch roof and clay walls that house a latrine inside and a handwashing station on the outside. Since Iorkyoor constructed his first sanitation and hygiene hut, he has been able to convince other members of the community to follow suit.

Increasing Access to Handwashing in a Pandemic: Safe Hands Kenya

Safe Hands Kenya (SHK) was created in response to the need to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Kenya. Founded by Dalberg and KOKO Networks, Safe Hands Kenya is made up of over 30 local, private companies and social enterprises that have banded together to disseminate sanitation resources in Kenya.

Participant organizations have paused profit-seeking and shifted focus solely to distributing soap, handwashing stations, and masks at no cost to the consumer. Beyond this, SHK is disinfecting public spaces and educating Kenyans on the importance of each person doing their part to curb the spread of the virus through frequent handwashing and wearing masks. The educational campaign is being promoted through the hashtag #TibaNiSisi, which means “We are the Cure” in Swahili. The campaign is focused on empowering Kenyans to understand that their actions can protect them and their loved ones from COVID-19. The organization has prioritized working first in areas of Kenya with the most vulnerable populations, like the densely populated urban centers comprised of mostly low income, informal workers.

WASH Sector Innovations During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Creating solutions to complex problems under intense pressure, like that of the coronavirus, can be daunting but also can lead to meaningful and long-lasting progress. The important work that we discussed in this post provides just a few examples of how humans around the world are coming together during the coronavirus pandemic to increase access to hygiene resources for vulnerable populations. Additionally, without a timeline on when a vaccine will be available, there is still valuable time left for more innovative solutions to be created.

At GeoPoll, we strongly believe in utilizing our resources and know-how as data collection experts to assist in times of humanitarian crisis. For this reason, we have publicly released results from various studies conducted during the coronavirus crisis to facilitate organizations in their humanitarian work. Our studies include results on handwashing frequency, quarantining behavior, concern surrounding the virus, and even how the crisis has affected finances for people in sub-Saharan Africa. Please contact us if you have any questions about the studies or capabilities for future projects.

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In such a crisis, the challenges that response and relief teams face cannot be overstated. Accessing the victims and assessing immediate needs is critical, but this can be an arduous task when areas are difficult to reach, as was the case with Mozambique when Cyclone Idai – and Cyclone Kenneth soon afterward – landed to great destruction.

After Cyclone Idai, data was required to help guide the humanitarian response. But, with challenges accessing affected areas, there was a need for a way to gather data both quickly and remotely. Leveraging our existing respondent database in Mozambique and mobile survey platform, GeoPoll deployed a series of remote SMS-based surveys to the regions hardest hit by the Cyclone in Mozambique. Data gathered included information on infrastructure damages, food security, and the aid needed most by the communities.

Due to the fast nature of SMS surveys, we were able to pass on this invaluable on-the-ground information to humanitarian organizations in real-time, enabling them to offer the humanitarian and health assistance needed.

Collecting Data During Disease Outbreaks

The Mozambique case is just one example of how data can be collected immediately and remotely following various humanitarian crises. Another use case is during infectious disease outbreaks when it is not safe or feasible for workers to collect data in-person.

During various outbreaks of Ebola between 2014 and 2019, GeoPoll conducted several SMS and CATI surveys in the worst-hit parts of Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and the DRC to measure its impacts on the livelihoods of people and indicators such as food insecurity.

Currently, GeoPoll is running a series of research surveys to assess the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This freely available data is helping policymakers, international development organizations and brands make better decisions to reduce the spread and effect of the virus.

Data on Conflicts and Violent Extremism

Conflict is another humanitarian issue affecting many regions of the world from time to time. During a conflict, on-the-ground data is imperative for humanitarian aid groups and governments looking to measure the severity of the crisis and aid those in need. For instance, in April 2018, GeoPoll deployed our remote mobile data collection tool to collect vital information on food insecurity, levels of displacement, relief needs, and individual opinions from respondents in the war-ridden Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The data collected helped focus humanitarian aid efforts on protecting civilians from the side effects of war.

Data for humanitarian development and relief

Research points out the realities of broader populations. In times where it is otherwise impossible to get information from people on the ground, remote data collection can play a pivotal role in capturing the sentiment and realities in hard-to-reach areas. Over the years, GeoPoll has developed unique remote research systems, a large respondent database, and the experience to be able to assist essential humanitarian interventions through the provision of fast, reliable information in any circumstance.

We have worked with several international development groups and governments on a myriad of topics, including humanitarian aid, education and employment, monitoring and evaluation, food security, health, combatting violent extremism, governance, resilience, energy and climate, and financial inclusion among others. For more information and capabilities, please contact us here.

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Despite mobile-based methodologies being the safest and most effective way to gather data during a crisis such as COVID-19, there are still unknown factors when using mobile to collect data. Who can be reached, what modes are best suited to each project, and how questionnaires should be designed are just a few of the questions that come up when organizations are looking to transition projects from face-to-face methodologies to mobile surveys.

While formal research on the usage of mobile surveys is sparse, below is an overview of the research available and anecdotal evidence from GeoPoll’s 8+ years conducting remote survey work in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

What can mobile phone surveys be used for?

Mobile surveys have been used as a tool by reputable organizations including the World Bank, The United Nations World Food Programme, Unilever, GIZ, and Insight2Impact for several years. There is some debate over if mobile surveys can yet be used to fully replace face-to-face studies, however, there is agreement that mobile surveys excel at collecting rapid data during crises. USAID, FHI360, Keystone Accountability, and others have utilized remote methodologies to identify vulnerable populations and shifting trends during crises including the 2014-2015 West Africa Ebola outbreak. Organizations such as the World Food Programme have spearheaded the usage of mobile surveys in multiple regions to gather food security data, finding that mobile was able to correctly identify trends and seasonal shifts in food security.

Additionally, there is evidence that mobile is better at gathering data on sensitive questions than in-person modes. Research GeoPoll conducted with Kantar TNS found that SMS respondents were more likely to indicate that they felt unsafe in their homes and that they have gone without food than respondents from the compared face-to-face survey.

Who can be reached with remote mobile surveys?

The mobile methodologies that are feasible during COVID-19 (CATI, SMS, IVR, and mobile web or mobile application) require respondents to have access to a mobile phone through which they will answer survey questions. While some studies, such as the World Bank’s Listening To Africa project, provide mobile phones to respondents through initial face-to-face outreach, at present organizations can only reach respondents through mobile phones they already have. This reduces the sampling frame of any given study to those with access to mobile devices, but mobile penetration in Africa and other regions is increasing each year; a 2017 study by Pew research found over 80% of the population in 6 African countries had access to some sort of mobile phone.

Studies have found that the mobile population overrepresents those who are more educated, male, and younger age groups in many countries, but it’s still possible to target those who are older or less educated – it simply may require a larger sample base to draw from to find these respondents. GeoPoll has often targeted very specific groups, from farmers of certain crops to mothers of young children, and is able to do so through careful sampling methods and screening questions. We can also create samples which are nationally representative by key demographics through a stratified random sampling approach and use of quotas to reach the desired sample size within each demographic group.

Finally, GeoPoll uses mobile-friendly Living Standard Measures questions to calculate the LSM or SEC group of respondents. GeoPoll’s recent studies on coronavirus and other studies have included respondents from the lowest SEC groups, who typically do not have running water or electricity in their homes. Certain modes may be better for targeting certain groups; CATI has been found to be better at reaching older age groups, while IVR may reach those less educated.

Who you will target also depends on the sample source; GeoPoll has access to mobile subscriber databases in over 60 countries which we can draw from, or we can gather sample through an enhanced Random Digit Dialing (RDD) process, or recruitment through online, radio, or TV advertisements. GeoPoll can also send surveys to provided lists of contacts for those looking to reach a pre-recruited group.

What mobile survey mode should I use?

Current available modes from GeoPoll include:

• SMS: Surveys conducted via a 2-way SMS chat
• CATI: Voice calls placed by trained interviewers working remotely during COVID-19
• IVR: Automated voice calls with a recording
• Mobile web: A mobile web link that is sent via SMS or another mode and opens a basic web browser
• Mobile application: Mobile applications which administer surveys with those with access to smartphones.

The ideal mode for conducting research will depend on a variety of factors, including questionnaire length, budget, and target respondent groups. It has been found that CATI and IVR are generally more expensive than SMS, however, cost varies widely by mode and is also dependent on countries studied, screening criteria, number of questions, and other factors. In order to get a true estimate of cost, you should contact a research firm such as GeoPoll who can provide price quotes by mode for your specific project. 

How should I design questionnaires for mobile?

As many remote mobile methodologies are self-administered (with the exception of CATI) and have other limitations such as character limits, questionnaires for mobile must keep the mode of survey research in mind. For example, while one study found that individual question length didn’t affect response rates, studies GeoPoll and others have done have found that longer SMS studies have lower completion rates. Additional studies have demonstrated that certain question types may work better in certain modes; for example, a GeoPoll study found that SMS select-all-that-apply questions yield fewer answers than forced-choice questions.

What other factors should I consider when conducting mobile research?

Other factors to consider when embarking on a mobile research project include:

• Incentives: Findings are mixed on the use of incentives; A study in Ghana and Tanzania found small incentives increased completion rates, but that higher incentives had similar effects to lower amounts, and other studies have found lesser effects. Some surveys may also cost respondents airtime; GeoPoll and other services often use zero-rated shortcodes to send messages so that they can be received and replied to even when respondents do not have airtime.
• Language: Many countries speak multiple languages, and surveys should be offered in more than one language – for SMS, services such as GeoPoll offer multi-language surveys, and for CATI, research providers should have multiple interviewers with different language skills. GeoPoll’s call centers are staffed with interviewers who often speak up to 6 languages, depending on the country.
• Local Context: It has also been found that the local context is important. For example, dialects and wording intent can vary throughout regions, which is why GeoPoll always uses local interviewers to conduct voice calls and makes multiple checks on other survey types before sending them out. GeoPoll has also found that in countries such as Nigeria, female interviewers have higher response rates.
• Speed: The speed at which you are looking to collect data will have an impact on the mode you choose. SMS and mobile web surveys can be sent to tens of thousands of respondents at once, while the speed at which CATI interviews are conducted depends on the number of interviewers hired. GeoPoll has also found that IVR response rates can be very low, which can slow down data collection.
• Cost: Your budget for conducting research will be a factor in determining mode, sample size, and other aspects of data collection. While there is a tendency to think lower-cost equals lower-quality, this is not always the case; For many projects, SMS and mobile web surveys are a good option for gathering quality data at lower costs than CATI.
• Data Output: Data can often be delivered in multiple formats – some research organizations will provide raw data in Excel or SPSS, and others may do data analysis for you. GeoPoll has a full-service research team who do data cleanup and analysis and can provide raw data, create reports, and build custom dashboards.

Conducting Mobile Surveys during COVID-19

Although there is still much research to be done on mobile surveys, coronavirus provides researchers an opportunity to test new methodologies that will be referred back to for many years to come. While mobile may not yet reach every person on the globe, it will within the coming decades, and so we must continue to test different methodologies in order to better understand the nuances of mobile data collection.

When conducting mobile research, we recommend using a firm like GeoPoll that has years of experience in the nuances of remote mobile methodologies. To request a quote from GeoPoll for mobile-based research, please contact us here.

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