Publication Archives

Unlikely tools for unlikely times: 9 things to consider before using IVR as a research tool

In 2016, INC ran an interview titled “This CEO runs a billion-dollar company with no offices or email.” The interview profiled Matt Mullenweg, the CEO of Automattic, which runs WordPress. WordPress…

It’s all in the when: improving online engagement of COVID-19 self-assessments

Imagine for a moment, what life would have been like in the early 1400s if emoticons were available. Instead of having to write out a message to share that your…

Remotely different: a tale of research during COVID

When you hear the word remote, it probably signals an access challenge. It creates the visual image of a rural or distant area, far off from the general population, possibly…

Driving behavior change in the face of COVID: is increasing access to reliable information effective?

A decision alone is not enough, it must be an informed one. To achieve highly impactful decisions, one must have access to quality information, shared through the right reliable channels,…

What to look at when approaching family planning initiatives: family planning programs have become to public health what dating applications are to modern day romance – essential.

Imagine relationships in a world without the internet, smartphones, or Google. Our minds immediately go to a world of old movies where carrier pigeons were the messengers of love! In…

Meeting the mark: testing communication campaigns using the Low-cost Message Testing Guide

Precision is the tell of extraordinary marksmanship. However, it is preceded by numerous missed shots, form adjustment, choice of weapon, and the strength of character to keep shooting better. Precision,…

A Partnership to teach: training the next generation of behavioral scientists with the MIT Governance Lab

In recent years, behavioral sciences, or ways to better understand determinants of human behavior, have emerged as a leading innovation across disciplines and sectors. These novel methods and data allow…

Pick and Choose: using A/B testing to refine campaign messages

Deciding which message works for a given audience should be considered an extreme sport given all the context, nuances, and innuendo you have to sift through to make that choice.…

When the measure is broken the solution is wrong: a project on intimate partner violence in Nairobi shows why choosing the right measure matters.

Measures enable us to estimate behavior change due to a particular intervention. In research settings, reliable and valid measures are a prerequisite to answer research questions and draw conclusions about…

When the measure is broken the solution is wrong: building measures that are contextually relevant in India.

It is impossible to say whether or not an intervention works if we cannot measure it effectively. Measures enable us to estimate behavior change due to a particular intervention. If…