Mapping with Mobiles: Lessons Learnt From the Use of Smartphones for Fast Humanitarian Surveys in Zimbabwe

This 12-page report documents the experience of a survey using smartphones as a data collection tool, piloted in Zimbabwe by the Humanitarian Information Facilitation Centre (HIFC). Published by HIFC and International Media Support, the survey was carried out firstly to test the tool itself and ascertain the feasibility of the open-source Nokia Data Gathering (NDG) software in an environment that is both technically challenging and politically sensitive. It was also carried out to assess the population's use of various sources of information in order to help humanitarian organisations and government agencies to improve their communication strategies. According to the report, questionnaires on smartphones can replace traditional paper forms and transmit answers directly from the field to a centrally placed server for immediate analysis.

Over and above the technical training, a one-day course was given to the monitors on entry strategies in volatile areas and advice on the appropriate terms and expressions when it was necessary to translate the questions into local languages. It became clear that a two-day course would have been more appropriate, as it would offer the monitors a chance to digest the inputs overnight and test the questionnaires on each other before leaving for the field. The extra day can also be utilised to test the connections, software, and coding of the questionnaires one last time before deployment.

One of the lessons learnt from HIFC’s first pilot with the NDG tool was that qualitative questions with open answers are problematic as they are time consuming to punch into the smartphones. Choosing between predetermined answers is more feasible. The loading of the questionnaires onto the smartphones proved more difficult than expected because of network glitches. Problems were also encountered in the programming when it proved difficult to handle sections with more than 10 questions in each. The report states that it is imperative to test compatibility and connectivity in the entire chain of the survey well in advance.

After just three weeks of preparations, 30 monitors were deployed across Zimbabwe with six days to carry out 100 interviews each. They were backed by HIFC staff who did a number of fieldtrips to support the exercise. It quickly became clear that the allocated time of 15-20 minutes per interview in order to reach the daily target was too short. An average of 35 minutes was more realistic in order to both establish contact with the interviewees (which was particularly demanding in politically sensitive areas) and to handle the smartphones. The total initial target of 3600 interviews was reduced to 3000 as a consequence.

According to the report, a total of 2,508 questionnaires were received out of the revised target of 3000. Approximately 1.800 of these were sent electronically over the mobile network, either immediately after they were finalised or transmitted at a later stage when the monitor had data connectivity; this figure could have been improved by better planning as evidenced by an earlier and smaller study by HIFC that produced more completed questionnaires than anticipated. The remainder of the submissions were extracted from the memory cards. A range of problems – most of them related to political tension and suspicion over data collection – meant that the number of rural interviews was lower than planned. Approximately 25% of respondents were rural as opposed to 75% urban.

One of the challenges noted was a significant dilemma in giving people equipment they cannot afford themselves and expect them to hand it back safely afterwards. Another challenge was the general suspicion and unwillingness of people to be interviewed without a financial reward. One monitor was briefly detained by the police who questioned the use of a mobile phone to collect data.

The report identifies the following key lessons learned:

• Humanitarian surveys on smartphones have been received with both excitement and scepticism among organisations in Zimbabwe who recognise the huge potential benefits but also harbour concerns over poor connectivity in remote areas. The phones are however able to store completed questionnaires for later transmission. This is evidenced by the fact that 1,800 questionnaires were eventually transmitted over the mobile network while 700 were extracted from memory cards.
• The smartphones demand a large capital investment unless the employees of the organisation involved already have their own or have access to a pool such as HIFC,s. The actual surveys are however fast and cost-effective alternatives to traditional paper based ones.
• In the Zimbabwean political context any gathering of information is treated with suspicion, particularly in rural areas where some respondents refused to be interviewed using the tool. A majority of respondents nevertheless appreciated what advanced mobile phones can do and were receptive to new methods.
• Following HIFC,s pilot surveys, a number of humanitarian organisations have shown interest in the technology; some have borrowed HIFC's pool of smartphones. These include FAO and World Vision who use the tool to collect field data on the rearing of small stock. This will help the organisations make informed decisions about funding. HIFC was also commissioned to conduct a study using the smartphones to investigate climate change effects on vulnerable populations.

The report concludes that while there were some technical and personnel challenges, the overall results of the pilot were encouraging. Most of the volunteers involved managed to overcome the logistical problems and were able to carry out interviews and transmit the completed questionnaires after just one day of training. The pilot study has created significant interest among humanitarian organisations in Zimbabwe who are either borrowing HIFC’s pool of smartphones or buying their own to carry out various humanitarian surveys.