Fresh perspectives from Sustineo

Insight · 27 November 2015

Moving with the changing landscape of field data collection – benefiting from a transition to tablets

Sustineo has built a capability in the use of tablet-based data collection with Akvo FLOW, reflecting the wider shift from paper-based surveys to mobile phone and tablet based data collection tools. Our recent experience conducting a survey in the Solomon Islands for the United Nations Development Programme and the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission highlighted the benefits of using tablet based data collection tools, and that many of the arguments against using them in the field are not well-founded.

Insight · 14 November 2011

The Latest UNDP Human Development Index Rankings: Further Evidence of Paradise Lost?

The UNDP has just released the Human Development Report. Eight of nine Pacific countries listed in the HDI are in the bottom 40 percent and PNG is in the bottom 20 percent with many African nations. What is more disturbing is that HDI rankings for Pacific Island countries are falling over time - i.e. living standards are slipping behind the rest of the world. The plight of the Pacific Island countries is one that Australia and New Zealand cannot ignore. However, development aid in itself may not be enough to improve standards of living in the Pacific. Dr David Carpenter and Professor Mark McGillivray explore this idea further.