In this post, I consider the recent history of digital data collection technology as an example of MERL technology maturation – and as an example, more broadly, of the importance of market structure in shaping the evolution of a technology.
MERL Tech UK 2018 Lightning Talk Dobility is excited to be speaking at the upcoming MERL Tech UK event in London, March 19th and 20th. Here is a snapshot…
MERL TECH UK 2018 PANEL DISCUSSION Dobility is excited to be speaking at the upcoming MERL Tech UK event in London, March 19th and 20th. Here is a snapshot of…
Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing my colleague, Vikas Arora, who has over a decade of experience in the public health sector. Prior to joining Dobility India, he worked in the pharmaceutical industry, taught public health courses at university, and managed mHealth projects in rural areas. I asked Vikas about his work and the opportunities he see to further engage public health researchers in India.
MERL Tech UK was a small, intimate gathering by conference standards (just under 100 attendees), but jam-packed full of passion, accumulated wisdom, and practical knowledge. It's clear that technology is playing an increasingly useful role in helping us with monitoring, evaluation, accountability, research, and learning -- but it's also clear that there's plenty of room for improvement. As a technology provider, I walked away with both more inspiration and more clarity for the road ahead. Some highlights...
Dobility founder and CEO Dr. Christopher Robert discusses the role of business in social impact, what it means to stay "lean" as a social enterprise, and the opportunities afforded by digital data collection on The Impact Podcast with Innov8social's Neetal Parekh.
The true front line for data quality – the place where the battle for data accuracy is often won or lost – is the point of original data collection. This is the reason why we have been focusing our SurveyCTO efforts on how to help our users collect higher-quality data, and the reason why we’re painfully aware of the so many ways that we and our users could do better.
Join SurveyCTO founder and CEO Chris Robert and other member of the SurveyCTO team for a presentation on digital data collection for development, monitoring and evaluation, and social impact hosted by Tech@Fletcher.
“Big data” seems to get all of the news and enthusiasm these days, but there is a quiet revolution in small data that is sweeping the world, sector by sector, organization by organization, department by department. Fueling this revolution everywhere is a new-found value in humility, iteration, and learning...
There is a critical difference between data and quality data. In this new era of #2030NOW, we must push for more than numbers that fill spreadsheets; we must push for good, quality data that reflects the needs of all members of society—young and old. We need data that covers conflict-ridden areas, refugee camps, and remote, disconnected areas. Read how inclusive, high-quality data will be key to achieving the new Global Goals...
People have been talking about human-centered design for years, and there is always much enthusiasm for how the core principles might apply in the development context. In this blog post, I try to bring things down to earth, discussing ways that project and in-country teams might use SurveyCTO to put good design principles into practice.
Thoughts on the structure of the technology-for-development marketplace, donor incentives, and the role for private-sector technology providers...