Join SurveyCTO at the ICT4Eval International Conference in Rome

SurveyCTO has been selected to participate in the Information and Communication Technologies for Evaluation (ICT4Eval) International Conference in Rome on June 6-7. Hosted by the Independent Office of Evaluation of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the conference will focus on innovative approaches to development evaluation.

Continue ReadingJoin SurveyCTO at the ICT4Eval International Conference in Rome

Studying infectious disease, hospitals, and umbilical cord care in Zambia

Boston University's Center for Global Health and Development (CGHD) is a multidisciplinary research center that focuses on global health and social development challenges. Several of their studies use SurveyCTO, and we recently connected with Dr. Davidson Hamer about his implementation research on infectious disease, particularly as it impacts mothers and children.

Continue ReadingStudying infectious disease, hospitals, and umbilical cord care in Zambia

5 Ways to Improve Your Data Security (Today!) for Digital Data Collection

Close your eyes and imagine you’re being interviewed about your sexual behaviors, your finances, and your health conditions – and then asked the same questions about each member of your family. The person speaking with you has taken photos of you, your children, and your home, and they captured your GPS coordinates within one meter of accuracy. You’ve trusted a stranger with incredibly personal and easily identifiable information. But what steps are they taking to keep your data secure and your family safe?

Continue Reading5 Ways to Improve Your Data Security (Today!) for Digital Data Collection

New MIT / J-PAL / edX course on randomized evaluations

Learn how to design randomized evaluations and implement them in the field to measure the impact of social programs in this new course run by MIT, edX, and Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). "Designing and Running Randomized Evaluations" is part of MIT's "Data, Economics, and Development Policy MicroMasters" program.

Continue ReadingNew MIT / J-PAL / edX course on randomized evaluations

Our latest release: More features in the Data Explorer

Our latest release includes more features in the Data Explorer and some minor updates that will make our users' lives just a little easier. You can read more in the release notes, watch a short video overview, and try the features yourself by logging in and updating to 2.21 today.

Continue ReadingOur latest release: More features in the Data Explorer

The Data Explorer is here!

We are beyond excited to share the new Data Explorer exclusively with SurveyCTO users. Not only that, it's FREE and INCLUDED with every subscription tier... at least for now. The Data Explorer enables you to view encrypted data in the browser with your own 2048-bit encryption keys, visualize data in an integrated system that detects the data types of their fields and how they should be labeled, and catch data-quality issues from the first day of data-collection.

Continue ReadingThe Data Explorer is here!

Press Release: SurveyCTO launches new ‘Data Explorer’

Dobility today announced the launch of the SurveyCTO “Data Explorer,” a first-of-its-kind tool for visualizing encrypted data from the convenience of a web browser. Available exclusively to SurveyCTO users, the Data Explorer reaffirms Dobility’s commitment to translating research best practices into easy-to-use features.

Continue ReadingPress Release: SurveyCTO launches new ‘Data Explorer’

Population Council: WhatsApp, early marriage, and real-time data

The Population Council conducts research to address critical health and development issues around the world. We recently connected with Andrea J. Melnikas about the Council's work in empowering and improving the lives of adolescent girls through her research on child marriage. She is using tools like WhatsApp and Google Sheets for real-time monitoring and collaboration in India, Malawi, Mali, and Niger to determine approaches to delay early marriage.

Continue ReadingPopulation Council: WhatsApp, early marriage, and real-time data

Lessons from scaling up enumerator hiring with Laterite

Laterite is a data, research, and technical advisory firm based in Rwanda and Ethiopia - and uses SurveyCTO for everything from short M&E questionnaires to long, complex impact evaluations in education, health, agriculture, governance, and other sectors. Recently, they started using SurveyCTO in innovative ways to streamline and scale up their enumerator hiring and management processes.

Continue ReadingLessons from scaling up enumerator hiring with Laterite

The government shut down the internet. Can I still use SurveyCTO?

The SurveyCTO team occasionally fields questions about how to keep projects running smoothly, even when, for example, the government shuts down the internet. Most recently, we've been hearing from users in Ethiopia who are struggling to manage government restrictions on accessing the internet.

Continue ReadingThe government shut down the internet. Can I still use SurveyCTO?

Dashboards, integrations, and automations: Connecting with OpenFn

We recently caught up with Taylor Downs, founder of OpenFn and co-founder of Vera Solutions, to learn more about how he's helping international organizations harness data for social impact, his recommendations for creating dashboards, and some of the cool automations available to SurveyCTO users.

Continue ReadingDashboards, integrations, and automations: Connecting with OpenFn

Hacking Google Sheets for real-time dashboards (9 tricks)

Google Sheets can be a powerful tool for real-time monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning. But how can you optimize your setup to work with data that is streaming in from survey forms or other integrations? How can you turn Google Sheets from a tool designed for static data into one that gracefully handles dynamic, real-time data?

Continue ReadingHacking Google Sheets for real-time dashboards (9 tricks)

Features news: HTML, tables, and GPS enhancements

Welcome to SurveyCTO 2.12! Our latest release focuses on bread-and-butter issues central to many projects: how to format questions in the clearest, most effective way; how to help users better understand and navigate groups of repeated questions; and how to most effectively capture GPS positions.

Continue ReadingFeatures news: HTML, tables, and GPS enhancements

Social impact through data with Outline India

Nishmeet Singh is a Senior Research Analyst with Outline India, a research firm focused on impact at the grassroots level through data-driven decision-making. With two degrees in economics and experience working on projects with Save the Children, Girl Rising, Water Aid, and IMPAQ International, we were eager to learn more about his role at Outline India, his advice for other researchers, and his recent research on forced child labor in the mica mining areas of Jharkhand.

Continue ReadingSocial impact through data with Outline India