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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
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Challenges and Lessons Learnt​

  • In Kenya it was noted that there was inadequate publicity for the two days’ pre-enumeration listing of households. Although the teams were accompanied to the households by village elders who introduced them to the households, this could cause confusion in the community by households thinking that this is the actual enumeration coupled with the earlier mapping exercise that may have visited the same household head.

  • Large EAs took a long time to navigate for pre-enumeration and led to fatigue among the enumerators ahead of the actual census enumeration. The EA demarcation should also consider the time considerations required for pre-enumeration household listing.

  • Weak GPS signals in forested areas, around tall buildings and arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) areas affected the accuracy of the readings. Kenya had no mitigation measure to this, but in future a system that uses tapped coordinates can be employed to ensure complete and accurate GPS readings.

  • Enumerators experienced difficulties with the EA maps such as in identifying EA boundaries in some urban areas while in other areas, EAs along county boundaries overlapped. The enumerators were supported by the local leaders to allay the problem.

  • In some instances, the application on the tablets could not read maps in PDF format implying the system was not interactive. In such cases, hard copy maps were required yet the teams also experienced delays in delivery of printed maps to the field. Hence forcing enumerators to use the uploaded EA maps with their inherent challenges. This predisposes coverage concerns.

In relation to logistics, the following was noted:

  • The late constitution of a census logistics team to handle tasks during enumeration led to hurried development and implementation of activities which lead to gross errors and mistakes. For instance, in Kenya, the census logistics team was constituted and officially started work after three days of its constitution. The inspection and evaluation committee for mobile devices was also constituted late and most of the members had no prior experience in undertaking the task.

  • As a result of the absence or late establishment of a logistics team, several logistical issues generally get disorganised. Again, giving an example of Kenya, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) had not identified a warehouse or storage facility at the headquarters in time; most suppliers of the procured materials delivered the materials late in unplanned phases and yet the quantities were voluminous and weighty which required a lot of time and energy to load. This brought a challenge with further downward distribution of materials to the training centres and EAs, catalysed by low staffing at the county and sub-county.

  • The available fleet management can also pose challenges to the smooth running of the enumeration which in turn leads to concerns about the data quality in instances when a central team must physically respond to a problem. In Kenya, the following would have been avoided if logistics management had been prioritised early during the census planning - delays in acquiring additional fleet when initial fleet proved was insufficient, coupled with frequent breakdowns of vehicles especially during rainy season and in areas with bad terrain. As well as a lack of established petrol stations and garages in some counties that could not issue electronic tax receipts which presented accountability issues that can affect implementation of work.

  • Arising from the limited availability of government vehicles to cover a census in most African countries, the use of non-government vehicles with private non-field-based drivers comes with their limited appreciation of field procedures and understanding of documentation as per the government guidelines. This poses a challenge in executing field work easily.

Digital enumeration was affected by gadget related concerns such as:

  • Failure in real time data transmission to the central server arising from poor network connectivity,

  • Failure to update and data sharing between the enumerators and content supervisors affected by blockage of the application and late introduction of Mobile Device Management software.

  • Interference and slowing down of the enumeration process because for some devices, sim cards kept popping out. (Case in Kenya)

  • Continuous updating of the census software posed some challenges and the system stabilised after installation of Census live. (Case in Kenya)

  • Logistical challenges may affect enumeration if not handled appropriately such as:

  • Inadequate transport for ICT Supervisors, administrators, and census committee members hampered effective monitoring during enumeration.

  • Having few people with knowledge of troubleshooting the CAPI application during enumeration.

  • Need to have more than one enumerator assigned to an EA with over 150 households can arise and if managed can cause major challenges to the enumerators and supervisors to cover.

  • Some respondent refusals may arise during enumeration for instance in Kenya, the “Kavonokia” Sect members in Kitui and Tharaka Nithi counties refused to be enumerated. At the same time, there may be respondents reporting not to have been enumerated during and after the enumeration period.