UN Banner
HomeAboutExperiences and LessonsCase StudiesRecommendationsResourcesChecklist
Home
About▶
BackgroundPurposeRationaleStructureTarget Audience
Experiences and Lessons▶
1. Project Planning and Management2. Geospatial Mapping and EA Database3. Enumeration Instruments and Tools4. Data Capture and Management5. Census Testing and Pilots6. Recruitment and Training7. Deployment and Supervision8. Enumeration and Logistics9. Quality Assurance and Risk Management10. Census Analysis and Products11. Partnerships and Collaboration12. Advocacy and Publicity13. Procurement and Financial Management14. Post-Enumeration Survey15. Alternative Approaches16. Planning Checklist
Case Studies▶
1. Project Planning and Management2. Geospatial Mapping3. Enumeration Instruments4. Data Capture5. Census Testing6. Recruitment and Training7. Deployment and Supervision8. Enumeration and Logistics9. Quality Assurance10. Census Analysis11. Partnerships12. Advocacy13. Procurement14. Post-Enumeration Survey15. Alternative Approaches16. Planning Checklist
Recommendations
Resources
Checklist
Skip to main content

Introduction​

Once you have recruited and trained your field staff, there are still many more considerations to ensure that they are effectively monitored in the field to safeguard the quality of the enumeration. In this chapter we discuss some of the tools that have been developed to assist with the deployment and supervision of field personnel including dashboards, issue resolution tools, central census support centre, enumerator tracking and remuneration of field personnel.

A comparison of field personnel deployment and supervision in the non-digital versus digital era​

Some aspects of deploying the field force will be similar in a digital census to a non-digital census – ID badges, uniforms and other physical equipment will need to be provided in both cases. However, there are some major differences. The first being that instead of being equipped with copies of the paper questionnaire, the enumerators all need to be equipped with a Computer-Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) device uploaded with the correct maps etc. for their location (see CAPI and provisioning of devices). Consideration must also be given to how the battery of this device will be kept charged and whether data will be transmitted using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. See also data transmission.

Enumerators may upload the data they collect to their supervisor, if so checks can be carried out by the supervisor before the data is further uploaded to census headquarters. This step of supervisor checking may negate the need for supervisors to carry out random re-interviews. Instead, enumerators can be sent back to households where errors have been identified, and further training can be given to any enumerators who are making systematic errors.

Payment systems for field staff can be automated, with information required to enable this collected as part of the online recruitment system. (See also recruitment and training).

Real-time monitoring of progress with regards to data collection enables timely decision making and problem solving if some Enumeration Areas (EAs) are found to be harder to enumerate than initially planned for. Dashboards allow the supervision of the census as a whole and stakeholders can be kept informed as to progress with meaningful up to date results.  However, strategies need to be in place to make effective use of all the additional information that is now so readily available.

Considerations for field personnel deployment and supervision in a digital census​

The use of technology in a census undertaking includes the use of innovative ways such as cloud computing, smart mobile devices, Global Positioning System (GPS), and web Geographic Information System (GIS) among others. During the 2020 round, various technological innovations were used to improve the quality of census processes and efficiency of the census business model. Amongst the innovations made, the following were offered by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA): provisioning of tablets, the use of census and survey monitoring dashboard, and census support centre/issue tracker. Efforts have been made to ensure that the tools available to support digital censuses are affordable and readily accessed. For instance, all the UNECA census tools are made with open-source technology and are completely free to use by member states. Consider which tools will be most cost and time effective for your census.