Interactive voice response (IVR) and My World 2015 - My World and mobiles - post 4 of 6

IVR and My World 2015

Interactive voice response (IVR) versions of the My World 2015 allowed respondents to call a toll-free number and respond to automated voiced questions, usually in a local language, by pressing buttons on their mobile phones in response to automatically voiced questions.

How is the survey done via IVR?

As with the SMS and other options by which to take the survey, local partners and campaigns promoted both the survey and the local options by which to take it to potential respondents. For countries where IVR was offered, this includes promoting the toll-free number by which to take the survey in all relevant My World 2015 promotional media, from print articles to fliers and billboards to promotional SMS messages.

To set up the IVR platform in each country where it was offered, My World 2015 worked with local NGOs to record the survey in local languages. To set up the technical platform behind the IVR survey, My World 2015 and partners worked with an international company specialized in mobile technology as well as national and local mobile service providers.

Approach of the IVR My World 2015 survey

To make sure the My World 2015 survey was non-exclusive, distributors wanted to ensure that there was a survey option for illiterate individuals or individuals who did not have their own mobile phones. For this reason, My World 2015 offers an IVR option, where respondents call a toll-free number, pick their preferred language, and then respond to automated verbal questions by pressing buttons on their phone.

This survey option, when available in a specific country, was promoted in all relevant media and local outreach.

Implementation of the IVR My World 2015 survey

Working with Kirusa, an “international mobile technology provider”, connected to mobile service providers in Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and Bangladesh, as well as with local NGOs and telecom companies in different target countries, My World 2015 encourages partners and interested parties to record the survey in widely-spoken languages and distribute a toll-free number allowing respondents to call in and take the survey.

In a ‘How To’ document, My World 2015 explains how the IVR option works once set up:

•      The user will receive an SMS message on their mobile phone introducing them to MY World through a simple message and giving them a toll-free number to call to take the survey. They may also be offered a non-financial incentive to participate.
•       When an individual calls the toll-free number, an automated telephone system will allow them to choose their preferred language. They will then be asked four multiple-choice questions about the issues that are most important to them (each time selecting one from a choice of four MY World options). At each stage they will dial into the telephone keypad the number corresponding to their choice. Finally, they will be asked their gender, age and education level.
•       [My World 2015] estimate[s] that a caller will need a maximum of two minutes to complete the automated survey.
•       [Callers] will not incur any charges for making the call.

To record the survey in local languages, My World 2015 relied heavily on NGOs and other in-country partners. My World 2015 provided the prompt and script (usually in English), and then the partners translated, recorded, and edited the local transcripts.

Results of the IVR My World 2015 survey

The data portal for My World 2015 does not offer a clear look at all IVR results. Instead, those interested can access the results from the on-going IVR survey in Yemen, where Y-Telecom, local UN Volunteers, and the NGO Y21Forum have heavily promoted the toll-free number. MenaVAS and a local UNV, Mr Ahmed al- Ashwal, have taken care of the technical side and reporting for the Yemeni IVR and SMS version of the survey.

As of early June 2014, over 100 thousand Yemenis responded to the survey via IVR. (Only 46 thousand have responded via SMS in Yemen.) About 31% of these respondents are female (versus 23% in the SMS version of the survey). Fifty-nine percent of all respondents are between the ages of 31 and 45 while 41% are between the ages of 16-30.

As with the Yemeni SMS version of the survey, respondents ranked a better education, better job opportunities, and an honest and responsive government as their top priorities. Better healthcare ranked 7^th collectively (though it did rank 5^th amongst the largest responding age group, ages 31-45).

Click here for up-to-date IVR results from Yemen. 

Future plans for and lessons learned from the IVR My World 2015 survey in Yemen

IVR response rate, in Yemen at least, is more equitable with regard to gender and slightly more equitable when it comes to education level. More people have chosen to respond to the survey via IVR vs. SMS, perhaps because it is easier to call in and respond to the survey via phone, generally costing the respondent only about two minutes of his or her time, instead of responding to several text messages.

IVR seems to be, based on the Yemen case study, a more effective means of engaging respondents to the My World 2015. The dropout rate appears to be lower and the overall response rate higher and slightly more equitable with regard to gender. Offering the survey via IVR is more costly with regard to time and technical set-up on the side of the distributor; however, results suggest it is time well spent.

Further analysis was not possible because the data was not disaggregated to view IVR versus SMS survey data.