Using mobile data collection to monitor early childhood development in South Africa. Mobile data collection provides reliable, accurate, timely data while saving time and money compared to paper surveys. A pilot project collected data from 340 early childhood sites using Android tablets and Open Data Kit software. This provided standard indicators, integrated data like photos and locations, and helped decision making. Challenges included ensuring devices and internet access, but officials were enthusiastic about the method's potential to improve transparency and early childhood development outcomes.

1. Going Digital:
Using technology to monitor
ECD in South Africa
26 October 2017
SAMEA Conference 2017

2. 01 02 03 04
Further
reading
How it works What we’ve
learned
05
Background Why use
mobile data
collection?

3. In 2012, 5.9 billion active
mobile connections globally
(Naef et al, 2014)
Forecast for 2017, 7.6 billion
mobile connections globally

4. Data Collection
past VS now

5. Data Collection Evolution
1086
Great survey in
England
1937
Unemployment
survey US census
Late 1980s
PDAs & “pocket
computers”
Mid 1990s
Teleform
2007
Rise of smartphones
Future??

6. Use mobile data collection as alternative
to paper surveys

7. What is mobile
data collection?
Targeted gathering of structured information using
mobile phones, tablets or other devices using a
software application

8. Where we’ve used mobile
data collection

9. Government of South Africa
National Development
Plan 2030
“The goal is to have universal access to
quality early childhood development with
a strong nutrition and educational focus.”
The NDP also emphasizes the need to invest in training early
childhood development practitioners.

10. Other national
policy documents
 Children’s Act No. 38 of 2005
 National Plan of Action for Children in South Africa: 2012–2017
 South African National Curriculum Framework for Children from
Birth to Four
 Curriculum Assessment Policy for Grades R–12 (CAPS): Grade R-3
 National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy
 Policy on Minimum Requirements for Programmes Leading to
Qualifications in Higher Education for Practitioners and Educators
in Early Childhood Care and Education

11.  No data on number of registered/funded ECD centres and
programmes
 No data on how many children access ECD services
 No data on quality of ECD services
Current Challenges
No administrative data system for ECD similar
to those used by health and education

12. Why national ECD
Monitoring System?
When we have scarce resources, we need data to
ensure coverage AND appropriate resource targeting

13. Clear need to
invest
in ECD and M&E System

14. Khulisa is assisting the South African Department of
Basic Education and UNICEF to develop a national ECD
M&E System

15. Rationale
 Standardise ECD indicators across provinces
 Target implementation for DBE and DSD
 Make district and provincial reporting easier
 Integrate M&E data into existing frameworks
and policies

16. Why mobile
data collection?

17. Provides high quality data
reliability
accuracy timeliness
validity integrity
security/
confidentiality

18. How can mobile
data collection
help?

19. Using mobile devices makes
managing data collection easier

20. Data is submitted in real time
to a central online database
Managers can see:
 Pace of data collection
 Coverage
 What data is being submitted
 Location
Allows for real time data quality assurance

21. Makes entering and
aggregating data easier

22. Leads to cleaner data as responses can have
pre-determined limits (e.g. only enter a number)
and automated skip patterns
(e.g. only ask the next question if response was yes)

23. Ability to collect and integrate new
types of data

24.  Access data faster with less effort
 Reduce cost (minimal printing; no data entry costs)
 No need for double entry of forms
 Data aggregated automatically
Save time and money

25. A 2011 World Bank study found that mobile data
collection reduced the average interview cost by
approximately 70%
Schuster & Brito, in Satterlee et. al 2015

26.  Make data more user friendly
 Create demand for data
Data visualisation

27. How it
works

28. Software Options

29. Software Options

30. Our approach
Use Open Data Kit (ODK) on Android tablets/smart phones
to collect information
Spend one hour in each school or ECD centre

31. Open Data Kit
ODK is a free and open-source set of
tools which help researchers author,
field, and manage mobile data
collection
It allows data collection using mobile
devices and data submission to an
online server, even without an
Internet connection or mobile carrier
service at the time of data collection

32. Process
Data collectors pull forms
from cloud repository
called ODK Aggregate
Use ODK Build to convert
paper questionnaires to
e-forms or e-surveys
Install ODK Collect on
phones or tablets for
data collectors

33. Consider
No need for internet connection during data
collection, but will need internet to upload form
Mobile data collection works well for quantitative
data, but not as well for qualitative data
ODK only works on Android devices, so need to
consider if method is fit for your purposes

34. Our experience

35. 20 ECD
20 Schools
20 ECD
20 Schools
10 ECD
21 Schools
20 ECD
21 Schools
15 ECD
18 Schools
20 ECD
20 Schools
20 ECD
16 Schools
20 ECD
19 Schools
20 ECD
20 Schools
Tool Pilot
340 sites

36. Trained government ECD officials

37. Overwhelming excitement
around potential of using
mobile data collection

38. Example:
Can use photos taken through ODK to
validate data entered
GPS coordinates can assist to
create an ECD centre database

39. February 2013
February 2017

40. Benefit
Get standard routine data faster linked to
images, GIS and crucial indicators
With routine data, the DBE and provinces can
make better decisions and allocate resources
more effectively

41. Lessons Learned
While overall enthusiasm, success requires:
Mobile devices that meet requirements
Access to internet (data or Wi-Fi)
Build capacity of ECD officials to collect data

42. What now?
Getting officials and others
to play around with ODK
and provide feedback

43. Goal
Government receives
and manages ECD
M&E data
Government and
stakeholders use data
for decision making
This results in
improved ECD
implementation
Overall, there is
improved transparency
and accountability

44. Further reading
• http://www.betterevaluation.org/en/evaluation-options/mobile_data_collection
• https://opendatakit.org/
• Latif Jameel A. (2013). Mobile-Based Technology for Monitoring and Evaluation. Poverty
Action Lab, Institute for Financial Management and Research, Regional Centers for
Learning on Evaluation and Results, Fieldata, Innovations for Poverty Action. Available
from: https://www.theclearinitiative.org/resources/mobile-based-technology-for-
monitoring-and-evaluation
• Satterlee, E., McCullough, L., Dawson, M. and Cheung, K. (2015). Paper-to-mobile data
collection: a manual. Available from:
https://www.fhi360.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/Paper_to_Mobile_Data_Collec
tion_Manual_1.0.pdf

45. Want to try it out?
Visit us at our Data Café!
11:30 – 13:00pm Friday
27 October 2017
Tau Meeting Room, Hilton Sandton

46. Thank You!
Questions?Leticia Taimo
+27 11 447 6464
ltaimo@khulisa.com
26 Seventh Avenue,
Parktown North,
Johannesburg
www.khulisa.com