Data System & Survey Design

02 — Service Area

Data Systems &
Survey Design

We don’t just collect data — we architect evidence. Every survey instrument, every digital protocol, every household dataset we design is built to answer the questions that move millions of dollars and millions of lives.

18+ Countries deployed
30+ Peer-reviewed papers
15+ Years of field evidence
$M+ Donor decisions informed

The gap between field reality and boardroom decision is where most development data fails.

We close that gap. Our survey systems are engineered from the methodology outward — combining rigorous economic theory, digital field protocols, and publication-grade quality control so your evidence survives peer review and boardroom scrutiny. Every tool we build has already been tested at scale across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

01 — Methodologies

Six data systems.
Field-tested. Peer-reviewed. Investment-grade.

Case 01 — Ghana

Ex-ante CBA Data Architecture for Climate-Smart Agriculture

Heliyon, 2021 · USAID-funded · Coastal Savannah AEZ

Most investment decisions in climate agriculture are made on anecdote. We replaced anecdote with a fully standardized household data platform designed to capture the true cost structure of climate-smart practices — before a single dollar is committed.

Using SurveyCTO and ODK, we built production cost databases that integrated labor, inputs, environmental indicators, and seasonal variability at household level — then extrapolated these to national investment estimates including externalities.

SurveyCTO ODK Ex-ante CBA Sensitivity Modeling National Extrapolation
Case 02 — 11 Countries

Harmonized Multi-Country Survey Systems Under Uncertainty

Climate Risk Management, 2025 · Africa & Asia

When a donor wants cross-country evidence, the biggest risk is incomparable data. We solved this by engineering a single unified household survey instrument deployed across 11 countries in Africa and Asia — capturing financial, behavioral, and climate-risk variables in a structure designed for cross-country econometric analysis from day one.

The datasets were then paired with Monte Carlo simulation in R and @Risk to model investment decisions under uncertainty — revealing that structural market constraints, not risk perception, are the binding barrier to CSA adoption.

Multi-Country Instruments Monte Carlo (@Risk) R / STATA Financial CBA Uncertainty Analysis
Case 03 — East Africa

Geo-Referenced Adoption Systems: Linking Farmer Decisions to Landscape

Int. Soil & Water Cons. Research, 2019 · CIAT / CGIAR

Why does the same technology succeed in one village and fail in the next? We designed a geo-referenced household survey system that linked farmer adoption decisions to profitability, soil type, and landscape-level resilience variables — making invisible spatial patterns legible to researchers and investors.

The system powered econometric adoption models that identified the precise socio-economic conditions under which soil-carbon technologies become viable — evidence that directly informed scaling decisions across East Africa.

Geo-referenced Surveys Econometric Modeling Adoption Barrier Analysis Soil-Carbon Metrics
Case 04 — Sub-Saharan Africa

Value-Chain Survey Platforms for Climate Adaptation Prioritization

Heliyon, 2022 · Multi-country SSA · Smallholder Value Chains

A donor with limited resources faces a hard question: which climate adaptation strategy deserves the next $10 million? We built large-scale household survey platforms across multiple Sub-Saharan Africa value chains to generate harmonized datasets required for cost-benefit ranking of adaptation strategies.

The methodology combined rigorous sampling design with standardized instruments, enabling apples-to-apples comparison of adaptation options across crop types, agro-ecological zones, and national contexts.

Value-Chain Surveys CBA Ranking Harmonized Instruments Multi-AEZ Design
Case 05 — Kenya

Agent-Level CBA Frameworks for Circular Bioeconomy

Discover Sustainability, 2025 · DANIDA-funded · Dairy Sector

How do you measure the economic value of turning waste into wealth? When DANIDA funded Kenya’s circular dairy bioeconomy program, we designed the data system to capture financial viability and systemic impact across the entire whey, cheese, and yogurt valorization pathway — at the level of each individual value-chain agent.

This agent-level CBA framework required purpose-built survey instruments combining structured interviews with financial modelling modules embedded in the survey instrument itself.

Agent-Level CBA Value-Chain Analysis Financial Viability Modeling Circular Economy Metrics
Case 06 — Kenya, Zimbabwe & Ethiopia

Panel Data Systems Linking Water Retention to Carbon & GHG

Frontiers in Soil Science, 2024 · Swedish Gov & Nordic Climate Fund

Proving that a soil technology simultaneously improves water retention, raises yields, sequesters carbon, and reduces GHG emissions requires a data system that speaks all four scientific languages at once. We built panel data platforms in three countries integrating agronomic, hydrological, carbon, and socioeconomic indicators within a single coherent survey architecture.

The result was a systematic review and impact evaluation capable of satisfying both scientific peer review and government investment committees — funded by the Swedish Government and Nordic Climate Fund.

Panel Data Design Multi-Indicator Integration Systematic Review Impact Evaluation GHG / Carbon Metrics
02 — Our Process

How we turn a research question
into an investable answer

1

Theory of Change Mapping

We begin with your investment logic — tracing causal pathways before designing a single question.

2

Instrument Architecture

Survey modules designed around economic variables, with embedded quality checks and skip logic.

3

Digital Protocol Setup

SurveyCTO / ODK deployment with enumerator training, pilot testing, and real-time validation.

4

Data Architecture & Cleaning

Institutionally-structured storage, reproducible cleaning pipelines in R or STATA, full audit trail.

5

Analysis & CBA Modelling

From econometric adoption models to Monte Carlo simulation — analysis matched to your decision context.

6

Publication & Policy Output

Peer-reviewed papers, technical reports, and executive policy briefs — all from the same dataset.

03 — Global Reach

Survey systems deployed in
18+ countries across three continents

🇰🇪
Kenya
Soil carbon, dairy, forage, CSA adoption
🇪🇹
Ethiopia
Adoption constraints, livestock CBA
🇿🇼
Zimbabwe
Sandy soils, climate adaptation
🇹🇿
Tanzania
Lab-in-field RCTs, CSA panel data
🇬🇭
Ghana
Ex-ante CBA, coastal savannah AEZ
🇲🇿
Mozambique
Agro-pastoral systems, vulnerability
🇲🇱
Mali
Coping strategies, climate variability
🇷🇼
Rwanda
Climate-smart resilience pathways
🇺🇬
Uganda
IKEA R4ICSA-II program evaluation
🇳🇬
Nigeria
Technology adoption surveys
🇻🇳
Vietnam
CSA multi-country risk analysis
🇵🇭
Philippines
Market access, resilience studies
🇨🇴
Colombia
Sustainable agriculture CBA
🇵🇪
Peru
Climate-smart value chains
🇸🇿
Eswatini
Adaptation options appraisal
🇨🇲
Cameroon
Mixed crop-livestock systems
🇿🇲
Zambia
Integrated modelling platform
USAID
US Agency for International Development
World Bank
International Finance & Development
DANIDA
Danish Development Cooperation
IKEA Foundation
R4ICSA Climate-Smart Programme
CGIAR / CIAT
Global Agricultural Research

Ready to build a data system that survives peer review and wins the boardroom?

Whether you need a multi-country survey architecture, an ex-ante CBA platform, or a digital data collection system for your next major program evaluation — let’s talk about what your evidence needs to prove.

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