Are IVR surveys right for Somalia?

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As the mVAM pilot project enters its final quarter, the team is focusing on finalizing all planned activities, and documenting learning that will allow us to scale up with a strong evidence base.

This month’s highlights include some hands-on work with the team in Somalia, and the launch of a comprehensive review of our activities.

The Somalia IVR coming along

A key question we have is whether interactive voice response (IVR) surveys are user friendly enough to be used in Somalia with the vulnerable groups that WFP works with. The major issue to resolve was to make sure that the IVR system Verboice in our Galkayo field office was fully operational. Although we had been able to place some IVR calls, the system required dedicated attention to be fully operational in mid-January. Marie and Lucia headed to Galkayo to meet with the team for a troubleshooting mission...

Bugs in the system were ironed out thanks to late night remote support from Gustavo at INSTEDD, and we were soon able to get our first complete IVR surveys using a Somali language questionnaire. The team in Galkayo was trained on how to place the calls and are following a plan to scale up IVR calls in February. Meanwhile, we will continue collecting food security data through calls placed by our operators, a modality that has worked well to date.

During the visit, key discussions took place regarding appropriate incentive rates.

In both DR Congo and Somalia, respondents receive a token of appreciation from WFP in order to promote participation in surveys. The amount we provide –USD 0.50 per call – is equivalent to 5 minutes of airtime. While our respondents in DR Congo seem thrilled to receive this amount of airtime, the question of increasing the incentive has come up in Somalia, where it is perceived as too small.

There seem to be three schools of thought in the team. Some believe the incentive should increase in Somalia. Others think that increasing call attempts and better sensitizing respondents should be sufficient to ensure good response to our surveys. Others still question the principle of providing an incentive to people who might already receive food assistance from WFP.

In coming months, we will be making sure respondents are called more often and that the messages they receive tell them about the importance of their participation. We will then consider working with a larger incentive in the future should response rates not improve.

Launching the mVAM review

A critical milestone of the project is capturing and sharing learning.

The review of the mVAM pilot project in Somalia and DRC is now ongong in order to proceed with scale-up both strategically and responsibly. Professor Nathan Morrow, who teaches at Tulane University’s Payson Center, is leading the review. Nathan has written extensively about technology in the humanitarian world, including a review of Ushaidi’s contribution to the 2010 earthquake response in Haiti.

In January, Nathan traveled to Goma, DRC, to meet with WFP staff, key stakeholders, and beneficiaries residing in the Mugunga 3 IDP camp to hear how the pilot was going and to document their questions and concerns. He will also be chatting with staff in Somalia and the three-EVD affected countries to learn how they view the project.

The review will include documenting the demonstrated potential of mVAM at a larger level; noting areas of improvement that can ameliorate our technology; and will explore how mVAM’s technology fits within the larger humanitarian sector’s work. Results will be available in the spring.