Comment by yanokwa
3 years ago
I'm founder and CEO at ODK and we are hiring (https://getodk.org/jobs)!
ODK is an open-source mobile data collection platform. The common use-case is a data collector in the field fills out a form while offline. Whenever a connection is found, the data gets sent to a server where it can be seen and acted on.
ODK is basically the Land Cruiser of mobile data collection apps. It's designed to be very reliable in challenging settings and it's trusted for that reason. ODK is unique because the tool is generic, but it's primarily used by organizations working in humanitarian aid and global health. It's also unique because it's got a very friendly community of developers and users who hang out at https://forum.getodk.org.
You asked about impact? The impact of ODK on global health alone is pretty wild.
* ODK was a key tool in the eradication of wild polio in Africa (https://www.africakicksoutwildpolio.com/the-top-five-tech-so...)
* ODK was used to collect the clinical trial data for the recent malaria vaccine (https://forum.getodk.org/t/odk-s-role-in-the-first-malaria-v...)
* ODK is used to measure the global burden of disease through verbal autopsies (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/19/health/death-records-afri...)
And that's just global health...
* Jane Goodall Institute uses it to track the health of apes (https://www.google.com/nonprofits/success-stories/jane-gooda...)
* Red Cross uses it in most crises they respond to (https://americanredcross.github.io/2019/01/08/odk-collect-im...)
* Carter Center uses it for election monitoring (https://getnemo.org/)
* Honduras uses it to track education progress of students (https://proceso.hn/imperdonable-invisibilizar-casi-2-millone...)
* Sierra Leone is using it to monitor the planting of millions of trees (https://blogs.worldbank.org/sustainablecities/freetownthetre...)
So yeah, if you want to work on something that is objectively having positive impact, ODK is a great option!
> "The common use-case is a data collector in the field fills out a form while offline. Whenever a connection is found, the data gets sent to server where it can be seen and acted on."
is there any user control over this? otherwise, this is an totalitarian's dream come true. i'd suggest thinking about this capability a little more in relation to "positive impact".
The vast majority of users are staff who are hired to collect data for a non-profit. The vast majority of servers are self-hosted by those non-profits. It's very opt-in in that regard. Think of say a census worker counting households or farmer measuring plot yield. And even in those cases, yes, users have a lot of visibility in what is being collected and a fair bit of control.
Sensitive data that is collected from participants that users interact with are typically governed by policies set by Institutional Review Boards or Ministries of Health.
appreciate the forthrightness, but frankly, that's an unconvincing answer. participants should have full control over their own data rather than offloading trust to government agencies or corporate organizations that are potentially themselves corrupt.
note, for instance, that many gov agencies blindly and willingly send PII to google without participant permission.
1 reply →
I’m really confused by your objection. Can you be specific about what kind of user control you think is missing?
People know they are voluntarily filling out a form and for whom. It just doesn’t go to a server immediately due to lack of signal.
How is this any worse than voluntarily filling out a printed form on paper and putting it into a mailbox to get picked up later? A practice that has been socially accepted for decades?