CiviMobile 5.5.1 introduces Surveys & Petitions for efficient data collection

Published
2021-01-26 04:23
Written by
skornien - member of the CiviCRM community - view blog guidelines

Still going door-to-door with printed walk lists or waiting until petitions on your website receive public attention? So much for inefficient data collection. Up with modern canvassing techniques, especially now when we know how to reach contacts fast, access CiviCRM on the go and manage data offline.

CiviMobile 5.5.1 changes the whole perspective on the process of collecting, generating and analyzing survey responses. More than that, a new version of the app enables to respond to petitions directly from mobile devices at any time and place.

CiviMobile Surveys: benefits

Surveys potentially hold a wealth of information for organizations to fall back on, make important inferences and bring necessary changes. When assigning volunteers to gather information and feedback from target audience, nonprofits make a giant leap forward to better understanding of community needs.

CiviMobile Survey functionality aims to expedite the data collection process and help interviewers conduct surveys effectively. How?

  • CiviMobile 5.5.1 removes manual survey data entry processes, which often can be costly, stressful, chaotic and victim to human error. 
  • All submitted responses are automatically stored and available to processing in real-time. This allows organizations to analyze feedback and address needs in a timely manner.
  • The team has immediate access to data at exactly the time they need it. 
  • Managing respondents (assigning, reassigning, releasing) in one tap and in real-time is an invaluable experience for interviewers doing fieldwork 
  • The respondent status reports get updated continuously as interviewers conduct surveys Contrary to manual surveys, CiviMobile survey distribution comes at no cost.
  • Why wait till prospective respondents visit your website or check email where you ask them to complete an online survey? This kind of uncertainty or delay is never a case with CiviMobile surveys. 

Planning and conducting surveys with CiviMobile

The challenges interviewers face on the job are just too many to be magnified by inconvenient survey techniques. By integrating CiviMobile Surveys into their practices of gauging public opinion, interviewers will have everything they need at their fingertips, in particular:

Detailed info about active surveys

Required permissions assigned, all active surveys are easily discoverable upon a tap on the main side menu item “Survey”. From the Survey screen an interviewer will navigate to the Survey details screen with all required information about the selected survey: title, type, instructions, respondent count, survey summary report (Pic.1). 

Pic.1 Survey List + Survey Details

Respondent tracking

The respondent tracking is far more than a means of monitoring the target audience engagement. No less importantly, it helps interviewers to manage their daily work. Displayed on the Survey Details screen, respondents tracking is implemented as the interviewed and reserved respondent count as well as the Pie Chart calculating the percentage of respondents by status (interviewed, reserved, GO TV) (Pic.2).

Pic.2 Respondent count + Chart Pie

Ability to reserve and release respondents

Defining the target audience is most commonly the first step when planning a survey. When this hurdle has been jumped over, the next step is preparing a respondent list. In that regard, the interviewer will tap “+” icon in the top-right corner of the Reserved Respondents screen to add individual contacts or the whole group to the list and reserve selected ones for survey. ACL roles restrict interviewer’s access giving permissions to view and edit only certain groups of contacts. The interviewer will be able to release the contact, mark contact as GO TV or change the respondent’s status (Pic.3).

Pic.3 Reserve respondents + Release respondents

Respondent list with background data

Why switch to spreadsheets, tools and notebooks for respondent list when CiviMobile survey functionality is a silver bullet that cuts through complexity of interviewer needs and provides all necessary features for planning and conducting surveys. Respondent list is not an exception. A tap on the count in the Respondents section will open a list of reserved respondents filterable by the contact information and status. To view or update contact information in CiviCRM Profile an interviewer taps the selected respondent and adds missing data or corrects the existing info while conducting the survey (Pic.4).

Pic.4 Reserved Respondents + Contact Details

Assigning interviewers

Collecting information for organization initiatives is a collective effort and usually help of staff members and volunteers is enlisted to conduct surveys. To complete canvassing campaigns by due date, avoid surveying the same set of respondents twice and then receive skewed data results, contacts are reserved and assigned to certain interviewers. With CiviMobile 5.5.1 you can do even more and assign interviewers or monitor their activities when the campaign is already in full swing. The feature protects from unforeseen events (Pic.5).

Pic.5 Assign Interviewer

Collecting data in real time

The moment the interviewer selects the contact from the reserved list and taps “Start Interview” button on the Contact Details screen, the survey is launched. Contacts provide answers to questions that appear on the Question screens, interviewers capture responses and the data is instantly saved in a server location, available for analysis at any time. It is essential that organization staff members instantly have a unique insight into respondents’ issues, attitudes, opinions and vision. No issue will escalate to be more difficult to tackle while data is being processed (Pic.6).

Pic.6 Survey Questions + Summary

CiviMobile Petitions: benefits

Getting people to participate in different types of petitions is often no easy feat especially when it’s face-to-face, timing is bad and the process is tedious.

CiviMobile Petitions take the form of in-app campaigns users can participate in directly from their own mobile devices. In contrast to CiviMobile Surveys, the functionality is your best bet when you don’t know who is going to sign a petition or support the campaign. The feature shortens the timeframe usually required for traditional petitions distribution, increases public engagement and maximizes response rates. How?

  • CiviMobile petitions reach their potential supporters whenever they are, allowing them greater flexibility. Users can participate at any time or place when commuting, waiting in line, stuck in traffic, traveling, etc. In light of this, the likelihood of immediate responses is much higher.  
  • When trips are not an option for volunteers, CiviMobile petitions make the collection of data possible even in remote areas 
  • Participants sign petitions or fill out online surveys on their own time and pace what leads to higher levels of involvement 
  • Interviewers do not interrupt respondents in the middle of their daily tasks nor affect their responses 
  • CiviMobile app alone will suffice to participate in petitions. No logins, accounts or passwords needed. 

How to use CiviMobile Petitions

The greatest power of petitions is communicating public opinion to decision makers. CiviMobile Petitions have all the necessary functionality to add ease, speed and accessibility to the process, in particular:

Access from public area

Petitions are available for both registered and unregistered CiviMobile users. Contacts who have an account and membership in the organization will access petition from the main side menu bar. For unregistered users, petitions will show up in public area mode along with public events and news (Pic.7).

Pic.7 Main Profile + Public Area

Direct campaigns

Rather than through a third party, CiviMobile users will select active petitions on the Petitions screen, then directly respond to questions and fill out petitions. Before completing the petition, user may give their answers the once over and make necessary changes. When completed, the petition will appear in the list of completed petitions (Pic.8).

Pic.8 Completed Petitions + Contact Petitions

Instant data processing

Data is available for analysis the moment user completes an in-app petition. In other words, with CiviMobile petitions support for a cause will be generated in a snap.

Configuring CiviMobile Surveys and Petitions in CiviCRM

As you switch to CiviMobile surveys for more efficient data collection, spend few minutes to create a survey or petition in CiviCRM and there you are!

CiviMobile will make no changes to the way user manages surveys or petitions in CiviCRM. Just follow CiviCRM instructions giving a detailed setup walkthrough and create a survey (petition). The moment a survey (petition) is created user will see it in CiviMobile app and may start benefitting from all features described above.

Gathering responses, mustering support and spreading information faster – CiviMobile 5.5.1 can do it all. CiviMobile canvassing doubles down on freedom and convenience online surveys and petitions once gained mass popularity for. And there is more. Convenient access. Fast performance. Intuitive layout. Try the functionality on demo and see for yourself.

Source: https://civimobile.org/civimobile-5-5-1-introduces-surveys-petitions-for-efficient-data-collection/