Researchers

Jeremy Weinstein, Duncan Lawrence, Jens Hainmueller

Abstract

In partnership with Mercy Corps, the Immigration Policy Lab is designing and implementing a novel low-cost, automated WhatsApp survey among Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. The survey will generate valuable descriptive data on indicators of household resilience and return migration in the context of a global pandemic. This WhatsApp survey method has been internally adopted by IPA as a potential tool for country offices’ use in remote survey implementation. The research team will also develop a publicly accessible technical manual and reproducible code so that other teams can leverage this novel method for implementing remote-surveys in the future. This will help other researchers implement low-cost remote surveys, which are particularly useful among populations difficult to reach.

Funding for this project was provided by the UK Department for International Development, awarded through IPA's Peace & Recovery Program.

Project Outcomes of Interest

Response rates and attrition over time for WhatsApp surveys, Economic and Health Status of Venezuelan Migrants in Colombia

Partners

Immigration Policy Lab (IPL), Mercy Corps

Link to Results

• Link to working paper (viability of using WhatsApp for data collection)
• Link to project summary
• Link to blog post

Impact Goals

• Build resilience and protect the financial health of families and individuals
• Improve social-safety net responses
• Promote peace and safety, and improve humanitarian response
• Reduce COVID-19 transmission rates

Project Data Collection Mode

• SMS
• Web

Results Status

No Results Yet