The Humanitarian Connectivity, Needs and Usage Assessments (CoNUA) Toolkit
Mobile and digital technologies are increasingly powerful tools for humanitarian programming, and more and more humanitarian organisations are using mobile technology to deliver assistance.
As digital transformation within the humanitarian sector continues, it is ever more important that decisions are based on strong evidence as opposed to anecdotal accounts about mobile penetration, access, use and preferences in humanitarian contexts.
The GSMA, in partnership with REACH and supported by the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC), produced the Connectivity, Needs and Usage Assessment (CoNUA) Toolkit. The Toolkit addresses the evidence gaps by providing tools to enable the measurement of access to, usage of, preferences regarding mobile phones as well to understand people’s digital skills and concerns they may have around the use of digital services.
What does the CoNUA Toolkit do?
The Toolkit provides a range of tools to examine mobile phone use for humanitarian purposes.
Taken together, these tools form a comprehensive understanding of mobile phone use for a particular crisis, including quantifying digital divides, such as gaps related to gender, disability, and age. It also enables a better understanding of the digital ecosystem in a particular context and the factors that allow this ecosystem to function.
Whilst mobile technology can play a pivotal role in delivering several forms of humanitarian assistance, such as cash and voucher assistance or access to vital information, the Toolkit does not aim to replace purpose-specific assessment tools already available. To this end, the Toolkit is designed to be modular and adaptable to be combined with other tools to create specific and fit-for-purpose assessments.
The Toolkit supports those who are committed to using a user-centred approach to deliver humanitarian assistance, contributing to the Grand Bargain commitment 6 – “a participation revolution”.
At present, each tool is available in Arabic, English, French, Spanish, and Swahili. The supporting documentation is available in English and French. We intend to add more languages as they are needed for deployments.
Deployments
The Toolkit has been used as part of several assessments and research projects, by a range of actors across multiple continents. More detail can be found in the map below.
Digital Access and Barriers in Displacement-affected Communities in Sudan
Two CoNUA assessments in White Nile and West Darfur, Sudan, with refugees, IDPs and the communities who host them. The assessments used the end-user survey (Tool 1), focus group discussions (Tool 2), merchant survey (Tool 4), and signal strength mapping (Tool 8).
Evaluation of Telecommunication Needs in Niger
ETC leveraged CoNUA to gather and evaluate data on the region’s digital ecosystem, and more specifically, on technology access, usage, preferences, and skills among local communities. This information has enabled ETC to design appropriate and effective ICT services that can best meet community needs. A total of 15 sites were assessed across the Diffa, Tillabéri, and Tahoua regions. They used the end-user survey (Tool 1), focus-group discussion guides (Tool 2), Merchant interviews (Tool 5), Market assessment (Tool 7) and Signal strength measurement (Tool 8).
Evaluation of Telecommunication Needs in Burkina Faso
ETC leveraged CoNUA to gather and evaluate data on the region’s digital ecosystem, and more specifically, on technology access, usage, preferences, and skills among local communities. This information has enabled ETC to design appropriate and effective ICT services that can best meet community needs. A total of nine sites were assessed across the Sahel, Centre-Nord, Nord, and Est regions. They used the end-user survey (Tool 1), focus-group discussion guides (Tool 2), Merchant interviews (Tool 5), Market assessment (Tool 7) and Signal strength measurement (Tool 8).
Early Warning System Project Assessment
As part of a feasibility assessment for a mobile-enabled early warning system in the Philippines, People in Need used the signal strength mapping tool (Tool 8) and the end-user survey (Tool 1).
The Digital Worlds of Displacement-Affected Communities
From accessing humanitarian services and information to exploring personal interests and activities, mobile phones allow these communities to create their own digital worlds. This research explored these worlds in three humanitarian contexts. A mixed methods study, the quantitative element was largely made up of questions from the CoNUA end-user survey (Tool 1).
The Digital Worlds of Displacement-Affected Communities
From accessing humanitarian services and information to exploring personal interests and activities, mobile phones allow these communities to create their own digital worlds. This research explored these worlds in three humanitarian contexts. A mixed methods study, the quantitative element was largely made up of questions from the CoNUA end-user survey (Tool 1).
Tools
The Toolkit is made up of eight individual tools. Each tool can be used separately, or several can be combined to create bespoke assessments, they can be inserted into other assessments as needed. This section provides a high-level summary of each tool and how it can be used. For full guidance on how each tool can be used and combined for tailored assessments, we suggest downloading the guidance document provided.
End-user Survey
Like traditional individual-level assessment surveys, this tool is designed to collect statistically representative data meaning, that with proper sampling, findings can be generalised to entire populations.
To reduce overall length, only questions that are most relevant should be used, with others excluded. Additionally, the survey can be used as a question bank, meaning specific questions can be added to include elements of phone access, ownership, and usage in other assessments.
Data from this tool will be almost entirely quantitative, and as such should be analysed statistically. Data collection and analysis should be done in such a way that they are representative of the overall population.
Focus Group Discussions
This tool is a selection of guides for focus group discussions (FDG) touching on several topics, including context understanding, technology usage and preferences, the role of mobile in livelihoods and business, trust in communication and the use of mobile money. These tools are designed to collect individual stories, an understanding of nuanced aspects of mobile technology use, as well as topics that the researcher may not expect, which are more likely to be revealed through semi-structured discussions than other structured approaches.
The tool provides guidance on the best ways to collect qualitative data, as well as explore topics that benefit from group dynamics. The guides also provide suggestions on how to select participants. The questions in each FGD guide have been framed to facilitate free-flowing discussion, with specific prompts embedded, where appropriate, to help deepen discussions as the FGD progresses.
As with Tool 1, users can select to use the full tool, or take individual guides/prompts and include in other assessments or pieces of research.
End-user Exercises
This tool is a combination of a focus group discussion and user observation designed to understand how people use mobile technology and identify common challenges or barriers. The objective is not to test participants, but to give people the opportunity to demonstrate how they use technology to complete specific tasks. They help the Toolkit user understand specific pain points and learn about creative uses of technology that they may not be expected.
One of the exercises included in the Toolkit is a participatory mapping session that helps the facilitator see a setting – for example, a refugee camp – from the perspective of its residents, highlighting areas and features that are prominent to them (such as areas with good network coverage, agent access, or charging stations) rather than to camp managers.
Merchant Survey
The word ‘merchant’ refers to all the sellers, shopkeepers, network representatives, SIM and scratch-card resellers, and mobile money agents who provide mobile phone and mobile money related products and services.
The Merchant Survey tool aims to collect quantitative data from merchants, to understand the services they offer, the volume of business they complete and the types of customers they serve. It may be useful to deploy this tool in large-scale assessments where there are many merchants.
Tools 4 and 5 are very similar, unless a key priority of the assessment is to understand the supply side aspect of mobile technology in a crisis setting, we advise using just one tool, as opposed to both.
Before rolling out these tools, users should check if interviewing agents is allowed. Depending on context, the MNO and the local authorities may need to be informed. We suggest that the merchants be interviewed individually when they can spare some time away from their businesses.
Merchant In-depth Interviews
The word ‘merchant’ refers to all the sellers, shopkeepers, network representatives, SIM and scratch-card resellers, and mobile money agents who provide mobile phone and mobile money related products and services.
The Merchant In-depth Interview (IDI) uses a conversational approach, providing space for natural responses to questions about a merchant’s business and customers. The IDI tool may be best suited for smaller-scale assessments with fewer merchants.
Tools 4 and 5 are very similar, unless a key priority of the assessment is to understand the supply side aspect of mobile technology in a crisis setting, we advise using just one tool, as opposed to both.
Before rolling out these tools, users should check if interviewing agents is allowed. Depending on context, the MNO and the local authorities may need to be informed. We suggest that the merchants be interviewed individually when they can spare some time away from their businesses.
Merchant Mapping
The word ‘merchant’ refers to all the sellers, shopkeepers, network representatives, SIM and scratch-card resellers, and mobile money agents who provide mobile phone and mobile money related products and services.
Tools 4 and 5 do not contain any questions on the location of a merchant, this is done on purpose so that the respondents can remain anonymous and feel free to respond. Tool 6 helps to understand how many merchants offering specific services are in any given location or area. It allows the creation of a density map of merchants, potentially identifying underserved areas. It is GPS-enabled, and the Kobo Toolbox suite has a built-in way of displaying the data as a map. For a more powerful visualisation, the data can be downloaded and overlaid in a GIS with the Signal Strength mapping tool (Tool 8).
Market Assessment
This tool aims to help users better understand the mobile phone and mobile money products and services available in each context, including the cost. It also can show how popular and convenient services are within the local economy, and start to understand electricity access.
Because these topics vary widely from context to context, the best way to obtain this information will likely also vary. Therefore, this tool has purposely been developed to avoid being overly prescriptive and make it applicable in a wide variety of contexts. It can also act as a guide for including elements of or questions about mobile technology into pre-existing market assessment tools.
Signal Strength Mapping
The signal test tool helps Toolkit users map out connectivity coverage and quality in a given area. It tracks whether connectivity was sufficient to complete tasks such as making a phone call or streaming a video, which helps collect systematic evidence about network connectivity strength and which services are reliably accessible.
This tool provides the most direct way of understanding network coverage, but it is most useful when combined with end users’ perceptions obtained through the Survey and Participatory Mapping tools. Where available, it will be worth cross-referencing data with network coverage data provided directly by MNOs.
Key Topics
The Toolkit can be used to explore a range of topics and issues, either individually or a collection of a few. This section highlights some key areas of potential interest and what assessments linked to these topics might look like.
Each of these assessments should be preceded by a detailed desk review, to make sure research questions cannot already be answered with pre-existing evidence. Toolkit users might use Tool 7: Market Assessment to help them with this.
Focus Group Discussion “Zero” (FGD 0) is specifically designed to gather context information, informing other parts of the assessment. It contains questions on why and how mobile technology is used by crisis-affected people and helps orient the assessment towards topics most relevant to them. Especially where the assessment is implemented in new or unfamiliar locations, we recommend using FGD0 before other tools, incorporating findings into the design of all the remaining assessments.
Many toolkit users will be interested in finding out how many members of a community have access to a mobile phone, including developing an understanding of which groups may be unserved or underserved.
This could be done through measuring phone penetration and quantifying mobile gender or disability gaps, for example.
Where people lack access, assessments can be used to identify the key barriers that communities face to help in the design of new programming or interventions.
A potential assessment
| End users – Survey
(specifically questions related to phone access) |
To understand who has access to a phone, who does not and the reasons they believe are preventing them. |
| End-users – focus group discussions
(specifically FGD 0 and FGD 1) |
To identify access barriers and challenges not predicted in the survey instrument and to identify contextual nuance |
| Merchants – survey | To understand merchant perspectives of barriers to phone access and the types of people accessing services |
Toolkit users will want to deploy assessments which help them to understand the ways in which people are using their phones, the types of services they use and the purposes for which they communication.
Assessments can also be used to identify barriers which prevent people maximising the use of their phones as well as the preferences they have for the future use of mobile technology.
A potential assessment
| End-users – survey
(specifically questions related to phone use and preferences) |
To gain statistics on how many people use phones in specific ways or for specific purposes, and to identify reasons that prevent them using phones how they would like to. |
| End-users – focus group discussions
(specifically FGD 1 and FGD 3) |
To identify how people are using their phones and to identify barriers and challenges not predicted in the survey instrument and to identify contextual nuance |
| End-users – exercises | To understand how people use their phones, including identifying challenges they face and workarounds they employ. |
| Merchants – in depth interviews | To gain contextual nuance and insights from people providing services and often troubleshooting for customers. |
For many toolkit users, the main questions they have will relate to the ways in which aid users are using mobile internet in their daily lives.
The survey can be used to identify who does, and who does not, use the internet, the services, and apps they use and the barriers that prevent them using it as much or as broadly as they would like.
A potential assessment
| End-users – survey
(specifically questions related to mobile internet) |
To gain statistics on who does and does not use the internet and to quantify barriers which prevent people from using the internet at all or as much as they would like to. |
| End-users – focus group discussions
(specifically FGD 1) |
To identify the ways in which people use mobile internet and to identify barriers and challenges not predicted in the survey instrument and to identify contextual nuance |
| End-users – exercises | To understand how people use mobile internet, including identifying challenges they face and workarounds they employ. |
| Merchants – in depth interviews | To gain contextual nuance and insights from people providing services and often troubleshooting for customers. |
For many, especially those with an interest in humanitarian cash assistance and livelihoods, key research questions will revolve around mobile money and the use of digital financial services for business and employment.
Assessments can be designed to answer such questions. It is highly likely that users will need to combine CoNUA tools with tools form cash related assessments, such as the Red Cross Cash in Emergencies Toolkit or CALP Network’s Programme Quality Toolbox for assessments to answer all questions related to the use of mobile money for cash interventions.
Potential assessment, building on specific CVA or livelihoods assessments
| End-users – survey
(specifically questions related to mobile money) |
To identify the mobile money services used and the providers people have accounts with. It can also identify reasons why non-users do not have wallets. |
| End-users – focus group discussions
(specifically FGD 2 and FGD 4) |
To identify the ways in which people use mobile money and the ways in which they use their phones to run business and make a living. This can identify barriers and challenges not predicted in the survey instrument as well as contextual nuance. |
| Merchants – in depth interviews | To gain contextual nuance and insights from people providing services and often troubleshooting for customers. |
| Market assessment | To understand services available in local market and costs associated with them |
The CoNUA Toolkit can be used to complement dedicated CWC assessments, such as those using CDAC’s Information and Communication Needs Assessment tool, with a specific spotlight on mobile.
Mobile phones offer great potential for humanitarian agencies to develop systems for communicating with aid users and for meeting their information needs. For this to be done effectively it will be important to understand the types of information they wish to receive digitally.
Potential assessment, building on a dedicated CWC assessment
| End-users – survey
(specifically questions related to communicating with humanitarians and information needs) |
To gain a quantitative understanding of how many people already use their phones to communicate with humanitarians as well as those who would like to. |
| End-users – focus group discussions
(specifically FGD 3) |
To understand how people want to be communicated with digitally, including contextual nuance not predicted in the survey tool. |
Network coverage is required to access most mobile-enabled services. Information about network coverage can be accessed as secondary data or can be manually collected in the field.
A proxy can also be gained by asking individuals about their experience with accessing coverage. Data disaggregated by mobile network operator will likely be more useful for project design and operations. Therefore, assessments should not only ask “Is there mobile network coverage here?” but also “Which mobile networks have coverage here?”.
Before designing an assessment around network coverage, it is worth checking resources such as GSMA’s Mobile Coverage Maps or Opensignal to see if they provide the information needed.
A potential assessment
| Signal Strength Mapping | Provides georeferenced metrics of coverage quality. It can be run in multiple locations to create a map of coverage. |
| End users – Participatory Mapping | Helps to understand where people perceive in network to be best and worst in their area. Helps to understand where people travel to for reliable service. |
| End users – Survey (specifically questions on coverage access) |
To understand the proportion of people with reliable access to network and mobile internet in their own homes. |
It is important that humanitarians understand people’s literacy and digital literacy in order to ensure they promote and provide services which can be safely and effectively use.
A number of tools in the toolkit will enable this understanding.
Potential assessment
| End-users – survey
(specifically questions related to literacy and language) |
To understand the proportion of a community with literacy skills and in which languages. |
| End-users – focus group discussions
(specifically FGD 1) |
To understand goals people have for using their phones and ways in which they do so |
| End-users – exercises | To understand how people use their phones, including identifying challenges they face and workarounds they employ. |
The most successful digital humanitarian interventions build on and leverage existing infrastructure, services, and user base.
Before designing, for example, a programme using mobile money, an assessment of current practices and state of the market should be done to ensure success.
The toolkit can help to understand the existing market for mobile and digital services in a given location and identify where it is stronger and where it is weaker.
Potential assessment
| End-users – focus group discussions
(specifically FGD 2) |
To identify the ways in which people use their phones to run business and make a living. |
| Merchants – in depth interviews | To gain understanding and contextual nuance directly from people providing digital products and services. |
| Merchant mapping | To develop an understanding of where market services are available, can use GIS analysis to develop a map. |
| Market assessment | To understand services available in local market and costs associated with them |
Resources
Toolkit Overview
Toolkit Guidance
Download all the tools
The CoNUA toolkit contains all tools in: Arabic, English, French, Spanish, and Swahili
If you have a question or any feedback about the toolkit, please get in touch.
Acknowledgements
The Humanitarian Connectivity Needs and Usage Assessment Toolkit has been developed through a close partnership between GSMA and REACH Initiative, with support from the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster. GSMA is especially grateful to the ongoing support from Lukasz Kruk (REACH), Phyza Jameel (ETC), and Maria Saleh (ETC).
Additionally, colleagues from more than 20 organisations have supported and fed into development and refinement of this toolkit, including:
American Red Cross, BBC Media Action, CARE, CDAC Network, CALP Network, Danish Refugee Council, Grameen Foundation, Ground Truth Solutions, ICRC, IOM, International Rescue Committee, Internews, Joint IDP Profiling Service, Jangala, Mercy Corps, Norwegian Refugee Council, Overseas Development Institute, People in Need, Solidarités International, The Research People, Translators Without Borders, United Healthcare Distributors, U-Learn, UNHCR, and WFP.
