Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast

#26 Building Digital Infrastructure for Climate Action | In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa sits down with Allen Fan, Co-founder of CarbonHQ, to uncover how CarbonHQ is building the digital infrastructure that carbon project developers need to manage data from multiple sources, automate quality checks, and ultimately compress credit issuance from year...

#24 Should You Build or Buy Your Data Collection Software? In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa sits down with Maria Pervova, Business Development Lead at SurveyCTO. Together, they tackle one of the biggest decisions organizations face when setting up their data collection infrastructure: should you build your own software in-house or subscribe to a Saa...

#23 In this episode of Survey and Beyond, Marta speaks with Nicole Linares, Research Analyst, about how geospatial data collection helps farmers meet EU deforestation regulations. Nicole explains how offline mapping tools, GPS boundary tracing, and satellite imagery are used in remote environments to ensure compliance, improve traceability, and connect farmers to global markets.

#20 MEL Digital Transformation | In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa sits down with Hannah Wichmann, a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Specialist at Five Talents UK. Together, they explore how data collection, when done correctly, fosters trust, transparency, and transformation.

#21 MEL Digital Transformation | In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa sits down with Aasit Nanavati, Chief Strategy Officer at DevResults. Together, they discuss what digital transformation actually means in foreign assistance and why 2025 felt like an inflection point for the entire sector.

Data collection, impact measurement, and survey research are often described as complex, expensive, or impossible to get right, especially at scale. In this special December compilation episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, we revisit some of the most thought-provoking conversations from across the year, bringing together researchers, practitioners, and technologists who are pus...

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa goes solo to break down three critical non-sampling survey errors — enumerator effects, nonresponse errors, and response errors — while providing practical, actionable solutions for each. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Youtube Podcasts. Instructio...

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa sits down with Alexa Kneale, a Researcher and Account Executive at PowerSolve Technologies, a custom software solutions provider and bespoke MRV tools developer for seamless data management and ER calculations.

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa sits down with Jeremy Taylor, Chief Research and Evaluation Officer at The Possible Zone. Together, they explore how social-emotional learning (SEL) and STEM education intersect with cutting-edge data collection, unpacking why surveys still matter, but also why they're not enough, especially when you're trying to mea...

If you think expertise alone rules the technical training game, you’ve got it all wrong! In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa sits down with Maulik Chauhan, Founder of Trestle Research and India Lead at SurveyCTO, to understand what it really takes to drive successful digital transformation. Together, they explore the crucial elements of training teams...

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa is joined by Dr. Mark Pagell, Professor of Sustainable Supply Chain Management at the University College Dublin. Together, they share how adopting a people-centric approach transforms data collection within sustainable supply chains, challenging traditional models that prioritize economic growth over social and ecolo...

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa is joined by Douglas Johnson, a Senior Statistician on the Technical Team at IDinsight. Together, they share groundbreaking approaches to survey sampling that balance rigor with cost-effectiveness, especially in regions where traditional census data is unavailable or unreliable.

In this special episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa is joined by SurveyCTO’s Business Development Manager, Maria Pervova, and Associate Account Executive Catherine Kendall. Together, the three navigate insights coming from the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development (DIHAD) Conference & Exhibition in Dubai, a leading event on humanitarian aid and...

In this greatest hits episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa is joined by Maulik Chauhan, Founder and Managing Director of Trestle Research. They dive into the importance of digitizing data, the challenges and benefits of transitioning from paper-based to digital data collection methods, and what it takes to smoothly transition to digital data collection.

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa is joined by Dr. Angela R. Pashayan, an expert in International Development, Experiential learning, Leading Int'l trips, and Intercultural Communication. Together, they explore the ethics of field research in vulnerable communities. Drawing from her research in Nairobi, Dr. Pashayan shares valuable insights on naviga...

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa goes solo to address the most pressing questions from over 700 SurveyCTO users about crafting effective survey questions, from avoiding bias to ensuring cultural relevance.

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa is joined by Dr. James O'Donovan & Dickson Mbewe, who represent the Community Health Impact Coalition. Together, they explore the need for fair representation in the community health worker space, bringing to light a recent study that shines a blaring spotlight on the lack of fair recognition of their work and the wo...

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa is joined by Amelia Burke-Garcia, Director of the Center for Health Communication Science at NORC at the University of Chicago, to dive into the transformative role of data in health communication, the integration of AI in messaging, and the importance of inclusivity in public health campaigns.

In this special Christmas episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa shares key insights from our guests about the transformative role of data in empowering communities and driving impactful change, featuring Paul Nzerebende, Maulik Chauhan, Andrew Gerhardt, Lara Mikhail, Mohammad Malik, and Yahya Hussein.

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa is joined by Yahya Hussein, Digital Programmes Advisor for Oxfam, to explore innovative digital tools that empower marginalized communities. They dive into how Oxfam is empowering communities through bottom-up accountability, challenges and innovations in implementing bottom-up accountability systems, and the future...

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa is joined by Mohammad Malik, a Managing Partner for Research Solutions, to explore the exciting transformation of data collection practices in Pakistan. Mohammad shares how shifting from traditional paper methods to digital tools has revolutionized their work, the role of AI in streamlining data processes, and how di...

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa is joined by Lara Mikhail, Senior Officer of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) at USAID Egyptian Pioneers. They dive into how data triangulation can inform decisions and feed into adaptation in the implementation process, as well as how Lara uses advanced techniques like data simulation and after-action revi...

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa interviews Andrew Gerhardt, Senior Digital Data Collection Manager at Loop Horizon. Andrew shares his 14-year journey in digital analytics, offering insights on data quality, privacy compliance, and integrating fragmented data. He discusses best practices for data governance, the challenges of imperfect data, and bal...

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa is joined by Maulik Chauhan, Founder and Managing Director of Trestle Research. They dive into the importance of digitizing data, the challenges and benefits of transitioning from paper-based to digital data collection methods, and what it takes to smoothly transition to digital data collection.

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa is joined by Paul Nzerebende, Decision Support Analyst at the Human Trafficking Institute in Uganda. Paul discusses his work using data to combat human trafficking, optimize systems, and promote sustainable growth. He emphasizes the value of storytelling, success stories, and effective dashboards in presenting impact...