Cambridge, MA - May 17, 2016 - In a move that deepens its social impact and expands global support for best practices in data collection, Dobility today announced the launch of a free "Community" edition of SurveyCTO to enable NGOs, non-profits, researchers, students, and other small-scale users to collect better data in the field. To support its growing user base in South Asia, Dobility also opened an India subsidiary this month.
"Our social mission informs every business decision we make," said Dobility founder and CEO Dr. Christopher Robert. "We wanted to ensure that the best practices pioneered by our users and collaborators were accessible to everyone. The free Community edition of SurveyCTO -- in tandem with a new online designer -- enables new users to get started easily, regardless of their budget or technical skill set."
Thousands of users in more than 50 countries already use SurveyCTO for their offline mobile data collection projects. The free Community edition of SurveyCTO includes automated quality checks, the ability to pre-load data sets, and an integration with Statwing, an innovative platform for computer-assisted data visualization and analysis. SurveyCTO is regularly used for impact evaluations, monitoring and evaluation, mHealth, academic research, household surveys, exit polling, web surveys, and other types of data collection in sectors such as agriculture, health, microfinance, education, humanitarian aid, public policy, and international development.
In developing SurveyCTO, Dobility has collaborated especially closely with Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). As global leaders in impact evaluation and field research, IPA and J-PAL have invested considerably in piloting and refining techniques for collecting higher-quality data in the field. Dobility has sought to augment their work with its own investment in technology, focusing relentlessly on SurveyCTO's stability, security, and ease of use. By distilling best practices into usable features and launching a free Community edition, Dobility intends for SurveyCTO to expand the circle of organizations and individuals that can take advantage of hard-won lessons.
The SurveyCTO platform grew out of Dr. Robert's experience as a researcher on several Harvard-based development economics projects in Tamil Nadu, South India. The same technical challenges seemed to plague every project, and it became apparent that better technology could simplify the lives of research team members, reduce project costs, and improve data quality. Leveraging skills honed as a technology entrepreneur earlier in his career, Dr. Robert quickly developed the prototype for SurveyCTO. Dobility was born.
"In a way, with the launch of our India office, Dobility is coming home," said Maulik Chauhan, Associate Director of Dobility India. "Dobility's roots are here and the opportunities for data collection that create social value are unparalleled. I'm looking forward to seeing how SurveyCTO can raise the standards for data collection and analysis throughout the region and around the world."
###
Dobility will host a Launch Party on Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 6-8pm at Workbar Cambridge, 45 Prospect Street, Cambridge, MA 02139. Members of the media are encouraged to attend. Please RSVP to Alexis Ditkowsky.
About Dobility
Dobility, Inc. is committed to promoting the effective use of data worldwide. Funded by -- and accountable to -- its users, Dobility offers affordable, reliable, and professionally-supported technology that anyone can use. SurveyCTO, Dobility's flagship software, is built atop the open-source platform Open Data Kit (ODK) and has been used in over 50 countries for impact evaluations, monitoring and evaluation, mHealth, academic research, household surveys, exit polling, web surveys, and other types of data collection. Founded in 2013, Dobility is led by Dr. Christopher Robert, a technology veteran and development economist with Masters and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University.
Dobility, Inc.
45 Prospect Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
USA
Dobility India Pvt. Ltd.
1st Floor, Dhanlaxmi Chamber, Ashram Road
Ahmedabad - 380 014, Gujarat
India
For press information, contact Alexis Ditkowsky at 1-617-286-2669 x703 or aditkowsky@dobility.com.