Mobile Data Collection for Monitoring and Evaluation Training Course

Duration 10 days 16 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Monitoring and Evaluation Officers, M&E Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-ME-080

Before you join: Participants should understand basic monitoring concepts, including indicators, targets, data sources and disaggregation.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Monitoring and evaluation teams often depend on paper forms, emailed spreadsheets and delayed data cleaning before they can assess programme progress. This creates late reporting, weak audit trails, inconsistent indicator definitions and limited visibility of fieldwork quality. Mobile data collection can shorten the route from interview to decision, but only when forms, field procedures, quality checks and data management arrangements are designed together.

This course teaches participants to design, build, test and manage mobile data collection systems for monitoring, evaluations, needs assessments and beneficiary feedback. Using SurveyCTO and XLSForm, participants translate indicator frameworks into structured digital questionnaires, apply relevance logic and constraints, configure repeat groups, calculate fields, manage cases and publish field-ready forms. The course also covers sampling implementation, enumerator workflows, consent, data protection, paradata, quality assurance dashboards and export-ready datasets.

Teaching combines short technical briefings with guided configuration, humanitarian and development cases, peer review and troubleshooting simulations. Participants progressively build a mobile monitoring form and its supporting fieldwork materials, beginning in the first week and improving them through testing, quality review and revision. They leave with a tested SurveyCTO form package, data collection protocol, quality-control plan, enumerator guidance and a practical deployment plan that can be adapted for their own programme.

The course suits M&E staff, programme teams, researchers and data managers who already work with indicators, surveys or routine monitoring and need practical control over digital field data collection. It is appropriate for teams working in development, humanitarian response, public health, education, livelihoods, protection, cash assistance and social programmes.

What you will be able to do

  • Design mobile questionnaires from indicator reference sheets and data requirements
  • Build XLSForms using question types, relevance logic, constraints and calculations
  • Configure SurveyCTO forms, cases, user roles and field deployment settings
  • Apply informed-consent, safeguarding and data-protection controls to digital interviews
  • Test forms using structured test cases and documented defect logs
  • Implement fieldwork workflows for enumerators, supervisors and data managers
  • Analyse paradata and quality flags to identify unreliable submissions
  • Produce a deployable mobile data collection package for an M&E use case

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Build field-ready SurveyCTO forms without depending on external developers
  • Identify form logic and validation errors before costly field deployment
  • Manage enumerator submissions through defined review and correction workflows
  • Create auditable datasets with clear identifiers, timestamps and quality flags
  • Present credible recommendations on mobile data collection design to programme teams

For your organisation

  • Reduce transcription delays and prevent avoidable paper-to-spreadsheet errors
  • Improve indicator consistency through controlled question wording and validation rules
  • Detect suspicious, incomplete or late submissions during active fieldwork
  • Strengthen consent records, access control and protection of respondent information
  • Create reusable form templates and documented procedures for future monitoring rounds

Course modules

16 modules over 10 days

Participants can define a suitable mobile data collection architecture for an M&E activity.

  • Mobile collection workflow from indicator definition through reporting and archival
  • SurveyCTO server, web forms, Android collection and data export roles
  • Routine monitoring, baseline surveys and rapid assessments compared
  • Data lifecycle mapping from respondent interaction to approved dataset
  • Offline collection constraints, device access and synchronisation planning
  • Requirements matrix linking indicators, respondents, questions and reporting outputs

Participants can translate an indicator framework into a structured digital questionnaire specification.

  • Indicator reference sheets converted into measurable questionnaire variables
  • Unit of analysis, respondent eligibility and recall periods specified
  • Question wording aligned with construct definitions and response options
  • Disaggregation variables for sex, age, disability and location
  • Skip patterns derived from respondent pathways and programme conditions
  • Questionnaire specification table documenting variable names and data types

Participants can build ethical and proportionate protections into mobile data collection plans.

  • Informed consent scripts covering purpose, voluntariness, risks and withdrawal
  • Data minimisation applied to personally identifiable information collection
  • Protection-sensitive questions sequenced to reduce respondent distress
  • Child safeguarding and referral protocols for disclosure risks
  • Role-based access controls matched to fieldwork responsibilities
  • Data retention schedules and secure deletion procedures documented

Participants can create a valid XLSForm with appropriate question types and metadata.

  • Survey, choices and settings worksheets structured for XLSForm
  • Text, integer, decimal, date and select question types
  • Required responses, appearance settings and user-facing help text
  • Unique variable names using readable, consistent naming conventions
  • Choice lists coded with stable values and clear labels
  • Metadata fields for device, user, timestamp and submission identifiers

Participants can control questionnaire flow and validate responses using XLSForm logic.

  • Relevant expressions controlling conditional questions and respondent pathways
  • Constraint expressions preventing invalid values and inconsistent answers
  • Constraint messages written for enumerator correction during interviews
  • Calculate fields deriving ages, totals, scores and classifications
  • Boolean operators and comparison logic used in expressions
  • Field-list groups improving interview flow on mobile screens

Participants can configure repeat groups and identifiers for household and follow-up data.

  • Repeat groups capturing household members, services and distribution items
  • Roster questions establishing repeat counts from prior answers
  • Parent-child data structures for households and individual respondents
  • Unique identifiers designed for baseline, follow-up and panel tracking
  • Case management records prepared for assigned follow-up interviews
  • Duplicate prevention rules using identifiers and submission review

Participants can publish and configure forms in SurveyCTO for controlled field use.

  • XLSForm upload, validation messages and version management procedures
  • Form settings for encryption, submission editing and draft handling
  • SurveyCTO Collect configuration for authenticated Android data collection
  • Web form settings for remote or self-administered responses
  • Server folders organising forms, datasets and project assets
  • User roles assigned to enumerators, supervisors and administrators

Participants can improve questionnaire usability for enumerators and diverse respondent groups.

  • Cognitive interviewing checks for ambiguous wording and recall difficulty
  • Enumerator instructions separated from respondent-facing question text
  • Plain-language principles applied to sensitive and technical questions
  • Multilingual XLSForms using language columns and translated choices
  • Back-translation review for meaning, tone and response equivalence
  • Screen flow, labels and hints reviewed on target devices

Participants can test mobile forms systematically and document corrective actions.

  • Test cases covering valid, invalid, boundary and missing responses
  • Happy-path and exception-path testing for skip logic
  • Device testing across screen sizes, offline conditions and Android versions
  • Defect logs recording steps, expected results and actual results
  • Regression testing after form revisions and version updates
  • User acceptance criteria agreed before field deployment approval

Participants can prepare field-ready samples and manage respondent assignment through cases.

  • Sampling frame fields prepared for location, respondent and contact details
  • Random selection procedures documented before enumerator assignment
  • SurveyCTO cases imported with unique identifiers and assignment metadata
  • Case statuses tracking pending, completed, refused and unreachable interviews
  • Replacement rules controlled to protect sample integrity
  • Daily sample reconciliation between assigned cases and completed submissions

Participants can establish practical procedures for consistent, accountable mobile fieldwork.

  • Enumerator briefing agenda covering protocol, consent and device handling
  • Standard operating procedures for daily synchronisation and charging
  • Supervisor review queues prioritising incomplete and high-risk submissions
  • Call-back protocols for correction, verification and respondent safety
  • Field incident logs recording refusals, complaints and technical failures
  • Communication trees defining escalation routes during data collection

Participants can use paradata and quality flags to monitor active fieldwork.

  • Paradata fields including duration, timestamps, location and device identifiers
  • Interview-duration outliers screened using expected completion ranges
  • GPS accuracy and location checks matched to operational requirements
  • Enumerator-level completion, refusal and correction rates compared
  • High-risk response patterns flagged for supervisor verification
  • Quality dashboard specifications linking flags to follow-up actions

Participants can implement a controlled process for reviewing and correcting submissions.

  • Submission review rules distinguishing errors, queries and acceptable exceptions
  • Correction requests documented with clear evidence and deadlines
  • Supervisor approvals recorded before records enter analysis datasets
  • Audit trails retained for edits, decisions and version changes
  • Duplicate records identified through keys, timestamps and respondent attributes
  • Data cleaning logs separating automated checks from manual decisions

Participants can export well-structured mobile data for M&E analysis and reporting.

  • SurveyCTO exports configured for Excel, CSV and statistical software
  • Wide and long dataset structures selected for analysis needs
  • Codebooks documenting variables, labels, values and missing-data rules
  • Repeat-group exports linked through parent keys and unique identifiers
  • De-identification procedures applied before sharing analysis datasets
  • Dataset release checklist confirming completeness, quality and access permissions

Participants can plan how a mobile collection system will support recurring M&E reporting.

  • Reporting calendar aligned with collection windows, review and publication deadlines
  • Indicator calculation rules documented alongside source variables
  • Data flow diagrams connecting SurveyCTO exports and reporting files
  • Form governance process controlling change requests and version approval
  • Template libraries maintained for recurring monitoring instruments
  • Business continuity arrangements covering devices, accounts and data backups

Participants can build, review and present a complete deployable mobile data collection package for an M&E use case.

  • Indicator requirements converted into a final questionnaire specification
  • SurveyCTO form built with logic, constraints, repeats and metadata
  • Consent, protection and access-control measures documented for deployment
  • Structured test evidence and resolved defect log presented
  • Fieldwork protocol covering samples, roles, reviews and escalation
  • Quality-control dashboard specification linked to paradata and response checks
  • Peer review findings incorporated into final deployment plan

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. XLSForm questionnaire template
  2. SurveyCTO deployment configuration checklist
  3. Mobile form test-case and defect-log template
  4. Enumerator fieldwork standard operating procedure
  5. Paradata quality-control dashboard specification
  6. M&E mobile data collection deployment plan

Who should attend

  • Monitoring and Evaluation Officers — need reliable digital evidence for indicator reporting
  • M&E Managers — oversee data quality, fieldwork controls and reporting timetables
  • Programme Managers — require timely monitoring data for implementation decisions
  • Research Officers — build structured questionnaires for surveys and evaluations
  • Data Managers — administer submissions, exports, access permissions and datasets
  • Humanitarian Assessment Staff — collect rapid, traceable field data under operational constraints

Skills and tools covered

XLSForm designSurveyCTO configurationFieldwork quality controlMobile survey testingParadata analysisData protection planning

Tools and standards

SurveyCTO, SurveyCTO Collect, XLSForm, ODK

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings followed by guided form building, case-based design decisions, small-group reviews and troubleshooting simulations. Participants work with realistic monitoring scenarios such as beneficiary follow-up, post-distribution monitoring and service-quality assessment. They test forms on Android devices, inspect submitted records, diagnose quality issues and revise their configurations. Facilitated application planning links each technical feature to participants’ own indicators, respondent groups, field constraints and reporting requirements.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic monitoring concepts, including indicators, targets, data sources and disaggregation. Experience using spreadsheets for data entry, cleaning or reporting is expected, along with confidence using a laptop and Android smartphone. Prior involvement in surveys, routine monitoring, assessments or field supervision is useful. Participants do not need programming experience, advanced statistics, database administration or prior SurveyCTO use. The course explains XLSForm syntax and mobile form configuration from first principles, but it moves quickly into building and testing working forms.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand basic indicators, questionnaires and spreadsheet data. You do not need coding, advanced statistics or previous SurveyCTO experience.

Bring a laptop with spreadsheet software and, where possible, an Android smartphone for testing forms. A draft questionnaire, indicator matrix or current monitoring tool is useful but not required.

It is designed for M&E officers, programme staff, researchers, assessment teams and data managers who need to collect field data digitally. It is especially relevant where teams manage routine monitoring, surveys or beneficiary feedback.

This course focuses on turning M&E requirements into a functioning mobile data collection system. It covers form configuration, testing, deployment, field controls and data-quality review rather than indicator theory or statistical evaluation methods alone.

Participants build a form package and supporting procedures that can be adapted to an active programme or planned assessment. The templates support future monitoring rounds, enumerator onboarding and quality reviews.

The first week establishes questionnaire design, XLSForm construction, SurveyCTO configuration and testing. The second week focuses on field operations, data quality, exports, reporting arrangements and a final capstone presentation.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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