cleaner, faster data

"The Story Behind"

The knowledge behind CWEST

Getting to Grips with Real Work

Since its inception, EDI has delivered the most complicated surveys that clients could throw at it. With the proliferation of mobile phone networks, the availability of cheaper UMPC units and improved solar charging options, it was clear that the time was right to switch to electronic surveys. We shopped around but couldn't find anything robust and technically flexible enough to handle the complexity of our assignments: complex validity checking, household roster and consumption modules, integrated listing and stratified sampling, multiple languages, automated field progress reports, day-to-day supervision tools, integrated interviewer manuals and all the other real stuff.

So We Built It

The market had failed to provide, but the advantages of direct electronic data capture were obvious. We knew exactly what the requirements of the end-product were and exactly where other packages fell short. Unhampered by legacy technologies, we built our own software suite from scratch.

Born out of the Realities of the Field

While CWEST’s cradle was large-scale survey work in rural Africa, it has been carefully nurtured into maturity by EDI’s software engineers in the UK. Under CWEST’s bonnet are not just its bits and bytes but years of real field experience. Our own field teams conduct thousands of cwestionnaires every month (see case studies). Each field survey further hones CWEST’s efficiencies and ensures that it is survey-needs that drive the technology.

It’s Not Just in the Machine

We know first-hand that new technology means new logistical challenges. For instance how to keep the equipment charged in the field, how to transmit the data back and pickup live updates and more of that real stuff. Try the links below to see how CWEST works in practice or to contact us to start a conversation about how CWEST can work for you.