OECS Member States Embrace Survey Solutions Technology for Modernising Household Survey Data Collection
The World Bank partnered with the OECS Commission to deliver training on computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) Survey Solutions technology. Funded by the Bank, the training took the form of a weeklong regional workshop from 26 to 30 September 2016, in Grenada. The workshop was the first such undertaking aimed at equipping Member States with the knowledge and practical skills to conduct household surveys with the Survey Solutions technology. Given its nature, the workshop targeted survey administrators and planners from national statistics offices in the OECS Member States that are involved in planning household surveys, developing the questionnaire and survey protocol, coordinating the interaction of the field personnel and performing quality control operations. Information technology personnel who support the data collection team were also in attendance.
The workshop which was facilitated by staff of the World Bank’s Survey Solutions development team forms part of the broader commitment of the Bank to strengthen statistical capacity in the OECS Member States. It introduced an integrated approach to household surveys processes, including the collection, processing and dissemination of statistics.
The training sessions offered a mix of theoretical work, lectures and discussions as well as hands-on group and individual exercises and a simulated data collection activity. Participants were introduced to a variety of tools that constitute the Survey Solutions Suite and learnt about the functions, features and uses of each tool. A segment of the workshop was dedicated to the process of developing questionnaires using the Designer Tool.
Survey Solutions CAPI technology was developed by the World Bank to facilitate the conduct of complex surveys by using tablet devices. Compared to the traditional paper-based approach, the technology brings a number of efficiencies to data collection including improving data quality, speeding up data availability and reducing costs of data collection and processing. Consequently, it has been recommended for use by most OECS Member States for automating and simplifying data collection. With support from the World Bank, Survey Solutions technology has been used by the Central Statistics Office of Saint Lucia for several household surveys, including the 2016 Survey of Living Conditions and Household Budget Survey (SLC-HBS). The technology will be used by the Central Statistics Office of Grenada for conducting their 2016 Labour Force Survey.