Frequently asked questions

The data journey is our unique approach to data and development and consists of four stages: Design, Capture, Understand and Act. The methodology is aimed at helping you design your programmes so that you can capture and understand reliable data which you can act upon for sustainable change. Read more here.

Each stage of the data journey is key to moving from data to decision. In fact, the data journey is a circular process - the successes and lessons learned at each stage inform and improve the entire process and ensure that your programme contributes to lasting impact. 

The Design stage ensures clarity on the context and the problem you’re trying to solve as well as on the data you need to improve decision making. This phase is bound to remove any unclarity in how the data collected further down the line should be interpreted and the decisions that can be derived from it. The Capture stage helps you collect reliable data and verify the quality of the data as it comes in so you can save time when you start the analysis. The Understand stage allows you to extract the insights that matter and the Act stage helps you use the insights to implement lessons learned and drive sustainable change. Read more about the data journey.

The data platform and data journey services are offered as a package. At Akvo, we believe that data informed decision making is about more than just software; it’s about transforming the way you work with data, from designing your programme to generating results. We co-create the solutions with you and build on tools and expertise you might already have in place. 

We see the data journey and data platform as complementary components in ensuring your success. That’s why we choose to work with organisations looking for a holistic approach to data. We take the position of a partner, thus supporting you not only in maximising the use of our tools but also in successfully using data for sustainable change now and in the future. 

At the same time, for the data journey to effectively come to life, the data platform is key.

Our data platform is open source and the source code can be accessed free of charge. If you have in-house knowledge and a team of software developers, you can use the code from GitHub to run the systems and tools on your own. 

We charge to host and run the platform for you and scale it according to your needs. Thus, you do not need to set up your own servers or have a development team running, continuously improving  and taking care of the platform for you. Akvo’s total development costs are carried by all our partners together to keep them as low as possible. 

You also get a support team to answer your questions as well as access to our tool documentation. By paying the fee, you can essentially use the platform hassle-free. 

In addition, we have a team of developers supported by data and development experts who ensure the maintenance and constant development of the platform, which means you will benefit from the continued improvement of the functionalities. Ultimately, our fees ensure we are financially sustainable and allow  our tools to be around into the future.  

For more information, read this blog post by Peter van der Linde, co-founder and solutions director at Akvo: Free is great, as long as you don’t depend on it.

At Akvo, supporting you and your data journey is our top priority. So when you choose to share any data or information with us or use our products, we commit to keeping it safe and secure. Akvo has strong data security and privacy protection policies, frameworks, and procedures in place. Check out this page to find out more about how we ensure data privacy and security.

Akvo does not claim data ownership. You remain in full control of your data and can determine what data you keep private or share openly.

Yes, our data platform provides APIs that will allow you to connect it to other tools that you use. For specific inquiries, please check our help and support page.

Check out this list of water quality parameters you can measure with Akvo Caddisfly.

Check out this page for details on equipment supported by Akvo Caddisfly. We can procure the equipment for you.

We can help you to extract meaning from and interpret data, which requires both tools and methods from statistics and machine learning, as well as being human. Specific tasks include:

• Identifying the data-analytics problems that offer the greatest opportunities to the organisation
• Determining the correct data sets and variables
• Cleaning and validating the data to ensure accuracy, completeness, and uniformity
• Analysing the data to identify patterns and trends
• Interpreting the data to discover solutions and opportunities
• Communicating findings to stakeholders using visualisation and other means
  

In general, we can help you out with:

• Data fundamentals
• Data cleaning
• Descriptive analysis
• Diagnostic analysis
• Predictive analysis (machine learning)
• Data visualisation and dashboarding

Since 2008, we’ve worked with over 20 governments and 200 organisations in more than 70 countries to improve the way they implement development projects and make decisions using data.

Governments we've worked with include those of Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, Liberia, Mauritania, Republic of Central Africa and Sierra Leone. Organisations include Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Charity: Water, Cisco, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the German Development Agency (GIZ), SNV, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Habitat, UNICEF, USAID, the World Bank and more.

Check out this page for a full list of governments and organisations we’ve worked with.

Browse this page and read stories of change in sectors ranging from WASH and Agriculture to climate action and gender equality.