ODK for Emergency Assessments Training Course

Duration 10 days 18 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Assessment Officers, MEAL Officers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-HR-063

Before you join: Participants should understand basic humanitarian programme terminology and have some exposure to assessments, monitoring, surveys or field data collection.

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

Emergency assessment teams need reliable field data quickly enough to inform operational decisions on targeting, programme design, market support, protection risks and resource allocation. Paper forms, poorly structured digital questionnaires and weak data controls can delay analysis, duplicate records, expose sensitive information and produce findings that decision-makers cannot trust. ODK provides a practical mobile data collection system, but its value depends on disciplined assessment design, correct form logic, tested workflows and responsible data management.

This course equips participants to design, build, deploy and manage ODK-based emergency assessment workflows. Participants translate information needs into indicators and questions; build XLSForms with skip logic, constraints, calculations, repeats and relevance conditions; configure ODK Collect and ODK Central; and apply field-ready quality assurance procedures. The course addresses rapid needs assessments, household surveys, key informant interviews, facility assessments and post-distribution monitoring, with attention to Sphere standards, MIRA principles, informed consent and data protection.

Teaching combines short technical briefings with humanitarian case work, group design tasks, mobile form configuration, simulated data collection and structured peer review. Participants progressively build an emergency assessment package from the first week, then test, improve, deploy and analyse it during the second week. They leave with a tested XLSForm, a deployment and enumerator plan, a data quality protocol, a safeguarding and consent checklist, and a concise assessment findings product suitable for operational review.

The course is suited to humanitarian staff who already contribute to assessments, monitoring, programme quality or information management and need to run dependable digital data collection under time and access constraints.

What you will be able to do

  • Define emergency assessment objectives, decision questions and minimum information requirements
  • Build XLSForms using relevant questions, constraints, calculations, repeats and choice filters
  • Configure ODK Central projects, user roles, submissions and form versions
  • Deploy ODK Collect forms on Android devices with offline collection procedures
  • Apply Sphere and MIRA principles to assessment indicators and sampling choices
  • Establish consent, safeguarding, data minimisation and secure-access controls
  • Conduct data quality checks using field monitoring, server review and cleaning rules
  • Present a complete ODK emergency assessment package for operational decision-making

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Build deployable ODK forms without relying on external developers
  • Diagnose form logic and validation failures before field deployment
  • Lead enumerator briefings using clear device and consent procedures
  • Produce defensible assessment datasets for programme decision meetings
  • Document practical evidence of emergency assessment system capability

For your organisation

  • Shorten the interval between field interviews and usable assessment findings
  • Reduce incomplete, duplicate and logically inconsistent survey submissions
  • Improve protection of respondent data through defined access and retention controls
  • Standardise emergency assessment forms across response teams and locations
  • Strengthen audit trails for targeting, programme design and donor reporting decisions

Course modules

18 modules over 10 days

Participants can define an assessment purpose, decision questions and minimum information requirements.

  • Emergency assessment triggers linked to operational decisions and response phases
  • MIRA assessment questions structured around scale, severity and priority needs
  • Decision matrix connecting findings, thresholds, actions and accountable managers
  • Primary and secondary data sources assessed for timeliness, bias and access
  • Information needs prioritised using urgency, feasibility and decision value
  • Assessment terms of reference defining scope, population, methods and outputs

Participants can translate humanitarian standards into measurable, respondent-appropriate assessment questions.

  • Sphere Handbook indicators converted into measurable household assessment questions
  • Indicator reference sheets specifying definitions, disaggregation and calculation methods
  • Question wording tested for recall periods, neutrality and local comprehension
  • Response options designed with mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive categories
  • Sensitive questions sequenced using privacy, safety and respondent burden principles
  • Disaggregation variables selected for age, sex, disability and displacement status

Participants can select proportionate assessment methods and document sampling assumptions.

  • Rapid needs assessment methods matched to access, time and evidence needs
  • Key informant interview guides structured around triangulable operational observations
  • Household survey populations, sampling frames and inclusion criteria defined
  • Purposive sampling limitations documented for rapid qualitative assessment findings
  • Cluster sampling concepts applied to geographically dispersed affected populations
  • Sample size assumptions recorded with confidence, precision and design effects

Participants can plan an ODK project architecture suited to an emergency assessment.

  • ODK Collect, ODK Central and XLSForm roles within collection workflows
  • Project structure organised by response, assessment round and implementing team
  • Form versioning rules established before amendments reach field devices
  • User roles separated for form management, submission review and data export
  • Offline collection workflow planned for connectivity constraints and delayed synchronisation
  • Device allocation register linking enumerators, identifiers and handover records

Participants can create a valid basic XLSForm for an emergency assessment.

  • Survey, choices and settings worksheets structured using XLSForm conventions
  • Question types selected for text, integer, decimal, select and geopoint data
  • Name fields created with stable machine-readable identifiers and naming rules
  • Required responses applied only where missing data prevents valid interpretation
  • Labels drafted for enumerators, respondents and multilingual form display
  • Form settings configured with title, identifier, version and submission metadata

Participants can build conditional, validated forms that prevent common field errors.

  • Relevant expressions display questions only when preceding answers require them
  • Constraint expressions block impossible ages, quantities, dates and coordinates
  • Required messages explain correction actions using clear enumerator language
  • Calculate fields generate derived values, flags and scoring variables
  • Choice filters restrict lists using prior selections and linked datasets
  • Default values capture interview date, device metadata and enumerator identifiers

Participants can model households, facilities and repeated observations using structured form components.

  • Begin group sections organise modules for consent, demographics and sector needs
  • Field-list groups reduce scrolling during short, structured interview sequences
  • Repeat groups capture household members, sites, distributions and observations
  • Repeat counts set expected roster entries while retaining enumerator flexibility
  • Indexed repeat values reference previous members and linked responses
  • Household roster design separates respondent details from individual-level indicators

Participants can prepare multilingual, usable forms for diverse field teams and respondents.

  • Language columns support translated labels, hints and required messages
  • Translation workflow preserves technical terms, local meanings and response equivalence
  • Appearance settings improve selection, date entry and structured response capture
  • Hints distinguish interviewer instructions from questions read to respondents
  • Question order reduces cognitive burden and avoids unnecessary respondent repetition
  • Accessibility checks consider literacy, scripts, devices and assisted interviewing

Participants can incorporate informed consent and data protection controls into digital assessments.

  • Informed consent scripts state purpose, voluntary participation and withdrawal options
  • Data minimisation removes identifiers not required for stated assessment decisions
  • Protection risk questions screened for referral pathways and enumerator safety
  • Child safeguarding procedures define assent, consent and interview boundaries
  • Role-based access limits respondent data to authorised assessment personnel
  • Retention schedules specify deletion, archiving and controlled data sharing

Participants can configure ODK Central and release controlled form versions to field teams.

  • ODK Central projects created with clear response and assessment naming conventions
  • App users configured with managed credentials and submission permissions
  • Web users assigned project roles according to operational responsibilities
  • XLSForms uploaded, published and version-checked before field release
  • Form attachments managed for media, choice lists and reference materials
  • Submission settings reviewed for encryption, metadata and repeat submissions

Participants can prepare Android devices and enumerators for controlled offline data collection.

  • ODK Collect server settings configured using project-specific QR codes
  • Blank forms downloaded and verified against approved published versions
  • Device settings checked for battery, storage, time and location permissions
  • Enumerator protocols cover introductions, consent, skips and submission timing
  • Field troubleshooting guide addresses login, synchronisation and form-download failures
  • Daily device handover procedures document custody, charging and incident reporting

Participants can test forms systematically and document release decisions before deployment.

  • Desk testing traces every path, relevance condition and validation rule
  • Boundary-value testing checks minimum, maximum and invalid numeric entries
  • Scenario test scripts cover eligible, ineligible and sensitive respondent pathways
  • Pilot submissions reviewed for duration, missingness and enumerator interpretation
  • Bug log records severity, owner, correction and retest status
  • Release checklist confirms approved language, version and server configuration

Participants can manage field collection through measurable quality controls and escalation procedures.

  • Enumerator workload plans set daily targets, routes and supervisor ratios
  • Field monitoring checklist reviews consent, interviewing conduct and device use
  • Paradata flags identify short interviews, unusual times and repeated locations
  • Daily review routines identify missing forms, duplicates and implausible patterns
  • Supervisor feedback loops correct errors before teams return to sampled areas
  • Incident escalation procedures address security, safeguarding and data-loss events

Participants can review submissions, clean common errors and prepare usable analysis files.

  • ODK Central submission table filters records by status, enumerator and date
  • Review states distinguish received, reviewed, corrected and approved submissions
  • Duplicate detection compares household identifiers, timestamps and location information
  • Cleaning rules document missing values, outliers and correction authority
  • CSV exports prepared with repeat tables and stable variable names
  • Data dictionary links variables, labels, codes and indicator calculations

Participants can turn cleaned ODK data into defensible findings and operational implications.

  • Descriptive analysis produces counts, proportions and disaggregated indicator tables
  • Cross-tabulations compare needs by location, sex, age and displacement status
  • Data quality notes distinguish observed findings from collection limitations
  • Triangulation compares household data, key informants and secondary sources
  • Severity interpretation links indicators to pre-agreed operational thresholds
  • Findings statements separate evidence, inference, limitation and recommended action

Participants can collect and manage location data appropriate to assessment objectives and protection risks.

  • Geopoint questions configured with accuracy checks and enumerator guidance
  • Location capture risks assessed for protection, access and respondent confidentiality
  • Administrative boundary codes included for aggregation and reporting consistency
  • GPS accuracy thresholds reviewed before accepting location-dependent submissions
  • Spatial data aggregation reduces exposure of sensitive household locations
  • Map-ready exports prepared with coordinates, identifiers and controlled attributes

Participants can prepare decision-focused assessment outputs and hand over managed ODK projects.

  • Assessment report structure presents methods, findings, limitations and recommendations
  • Operational briefing slides prioritise decisions, thresholds and responsible actions
  • Data sharing protocol defines recipients, purpose, restrictions and approval routes
  • Project handover checklist transfers forms, accounts, datasets and documentation
  • Lessons learned review captures form changes and fieldwork process improvements
  • Assessment archive records final versions, metadata and retention decisions

Participants can build, review and present a complete ODK emergency assessment package for a response scenario.

  • Response scenario translated into decisions, indicators, methods and assessment scope
  • Complete XLSForm built with consent, logic, repeats and validation controls
  • ODK Central project configured with roles, forms and deployment settings
  • Enumerator plan specifies devices, briefing, supervision and daily quality checks
  • Data management plan addresses access, cleaning, exports, retention and sharing
  • Assessment findings product presented with limitations, thresholds and recommended actions

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

What you take back to work

  1. Tested emergency assessment XLSForm template
  2. ODK Central project configuration checklist
  3. Enumerator briefing and device readiness plan
  4. Assessment data quality assurance protocol
  5. Consent, safeguarding and data protection checklist
  6. Decision-focused assessment findings brief template

Who should attend

  • Assessment Officers — need to build and manage rapid digital assessment workflows
  • MEAL Officers — need reliable mobile tools for monitoring and post-distribution data
  • Information Management Officers — need controlled forms, submissions and data exports
  • Programme Officers — need evidence for targeting, design and adaptation decisions
  • Emergency Response Coordinators — need timely assessment findings for operational prioritisation
  • Field Team Leaders — need practical controls for enumerators and mobile data collection

Skills and tools covered

XLSForm designEmergency assessment planningODK Central administrationMobile data collectionData quality assuranceHumanitarian data protection

Tools and standards

ODK Collect, ODK Central, XLSForm, Sphere Handbook

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings followed by humanitarian case work, guided form building, group reviews and mobile-data simulations. Participants work with realistic rapid assessment, household survey and key informant scenarios, configuring forms in XLSForm and deploying them through ODK Central and ODK Collect. Trainers use error diagnosis sessions to examine broken logic, poor question wording and weak data controls. Application planning connects each participant’s assessment package to their own response procedures, staffing arrangements and approval routes.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic humanitarian programme terminology and have some exposure to assessments, monitoring, surveys or field data collection. They should be comfortable using spreadsheets, Android smartphones and web-based applications. Experience with ODK, XLSForm, coding, statistics or database administration is not required; these are taught from the ground up. Participants will benefit most if they can bring an anonymised assessment form, indicator list or current response scenario, but this is not essential. The course is not a substitute for specialist epidemiology or advanced statistical sampling training.

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

Participants should have basic familiarity with humanitarian assessments, monitoring or field data collection and be comfortable with spreadsheets. No prior ODK, XLSForm, programming or statistical software experience is required.

Participants should bring a laptop capable of running a modern web browser and, where possible, an Android phone or tablet for ODK Collect. An anonymised questionnaire, indicator list or response scenario is useful but not mandatory.

The course is designed for assessment, MEAL, information management, programme and emergency response staff who need to collect and use field data. It is especially useful for teams moving from paper forms or ad hoc mobile tools to controlled ODK workflows.

This course focuses on building and operating ODK-based digital assessment systems during humanitarian response. It covers assessment design and data use, but does not replace broader MEAL strategy, evaluation design or advanced statistical analysis courses.

Participants build a form, deployment process and quality protocol that can be adapted to an active or planned assessment. The final package can support rapid needs assessments, household surveys, facility checks, key informant interviews or post-distribution monitoring.

The first week establishes assessment design, XLSForm construction, ethics and ODK configuration. The second week focuses on deployment, testing, quality assurance, data handling, analysis, reporting and a capstone assessment package; each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 with about 6.5 contact hours.

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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