BACK: Your technical requirements

2.2 Which existing tools have the features you need?

Looking for existing tools first is useful because:

You can often compare and test them easily - before you have spent any money.
It is often cheaper than building a new tool (some have reduced prices for non-profit organisations).

Write down all the tools you can think of. List tools that your organisation has already used, ask people you know, and search online.

tips

Want some independent, impartial advice? Get in touch with The Engine Room for a free one-hour call to help you look into your options.

Don't rely on online sites that list tools - they are often out of date. If you are considering a tool, try calling or emailing the people behind it directly. If you can't get in touch with anyone, it is probably not the right tool for you. In our research, organisations that relied on a technical provider found that delays in contacting them sometimes disrupted their projects.

case study

"We didn't really use any criteria to make a decision on a specific platform. Next time we'd do things differently by developing a custom SMS platform that allows for more active engagement. It would have been nice to know what options were out there.” — A participant in our research

research

Many organizations did not look for tools that do the job, but developed a completely new tool. This was often harder and more expensive than they expected.

resources

Try these links for examples and comparisons of different tools:

mobile data collection (here, here and here)
mobile devices
tools for working with data
visualisation tools (also here)
field survey data
M&E systems.
sensors
SMS platforms
Simple GIS data collection tools .

Kopernik’s Impact Tracker tool provides comparisons of data collection tools, SMS communication tools, geospatial mapping tools, and remote sensors.
Social Source Commons collect and describe an array of tools.
TechChange run a free online course for using mobile data collection projects.
To think through general principles, try these resources:
- The DIY Toolkit has a carefully curated set of tools to help you think through your project's strategy and goals
- Digital Principles’ community insights on the reuse and improvement of technology tools.
- The Info-Activism How-To-Guide for strategies and tools for digital campaigning.

Alidade

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

STEP 4

CONGRATULATIONS

2.2 Which existing tools have the features you need?