Learning and Adapting during COVID-19: Data for Cross-National Decision-Making

Description

As governments, international donors, researchers, and implementers continue to face challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, having up-to-date data is critical for decision-making. Face-to-face surveys are largely not feasible now, so phone surveys have emerged as a powerful tool to collect data quickly and cost-effectively across multiple countries. These surveys can help us understand people’s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward COVID-19, as well as the effect the pandemic is having on employment, education, health, and migration.
 
While phone surveys are feasible, cost-effective, and fast, they also have their own set of challenges related to sampling, coverage, questionnaire design, data collection, and representativeness.
 
An exemplary panel of researchers and experts from different development and humanitarian organizations will share emerging best practices for cross-national COVID-19 phone surveys. Each speaker will share specific case studies and discuss challenges, successes, and future applications of phone surveys for COVID-19 and beyond.
 
Speakers:
Roxana Elliot, VP of Marketing and Content, GeoPoll
Steve Glazerman, Chief Research & Methodology Officer, Innovations for Poverty Action
Abigail Greenleaf, Associate Research Scientist, ICAP Columbia University
Kristen Himelein, Senior Economist / Statistician, World Bank
Shane Khan, Survey Specialist, UNICEF
 
Moderator:
Charles Lau, Research Survey Methodologist, RTI International