NGO's turning to Mobile to gather research data
More and more NGO's are realising the importance of Mobile and are embracing the new technologies that this platform allows.
One recent notable development is the African Development Bank partnering up with Mobile Accord for the processing of mobile-based surveys throughout Africa using GeoPoll.
GeoPoll is an open mobile polling platform to conduct surveys through the mobile phone and is deployed across Africa and Central Asia. The service gives organizations access to GeoPoll’s proprietary user database which allows organizations to survey millions of people targeted by location and demographics. It allows close to real time surveying allowing data to be gathered in days rather than months.
An recent AFDB GeoPoll survey was carried out to ask Tunisian youth for their views on employment, entrepreneurship, and on the country’s progress since the Arab Spring.
"The project will be the first time that the concerns, hopes and aspirations of African youth will be heard on such a large scale"
From our general perspective the proliferation of mobile devices and smart phones will change the way NGO's and organisations engage with their stakeholder communities in developing countries. The design of websites targeting these communities need to consider the mobile needs at a much earlier stage, as predictions are that mobile devices will become the primary mechanism for accessing the internet in developing countries.
You can see our work with other NGO's over the years here.
Further reading:
Mobile Accord:
www.mobileaccord.com
