Key Concepts


Mobile Infrastructure: 

Mobile infrastructure refers to the hardware and software that enables mobile telephony. This mobile infrastructure may include, but is not limited to: 

  • mobile handset operating systems; 

  • mobile handset software for phone calls and SMS; 

  • mobile antennas, towers, routers and switches owned by mobile operators and their sub-licensees; 

  • data centers and networks owned by mobile operators and their licensees; 

  • cloud-based voice protocol and sms message processing systems provided by the consortium or their sub-licensees; and operators of MOH networks and services or their sub-licensees. Surveda, the survey software designed for this program is considered to be a part of the telecom infrastructure that is required to generate data.

  • The configuration of the mobile infrastructure is a key component of InSTEDD's technical assistance. MOH will be informed throughout the process and be asked for support as recommended by InSTEDD


Data Hosting

Data hosting for the NCD Mobile Phone survey is defined as the permanent storage of the completed survey results. The survey tool provides four ways to export survey data including: the survey response file, the interactions file, the incentives file and the disposition history file (more information on these file types can be found here). If the MOH has an existing system for storing and managing these data, InSTEDD, the technology implementer will attempt to accommodate. If the MOH does not currently use a data hosting system, the consortium recommends Ona as one that is currently supported.  Under any hosting scenario, MOH has exclusive ownership to its data and has the right to grant the consortium access to that data at any point in time.


Survey Tool Hosting

Survey tool hosting refers to the location and methods used for storing data and survey software, which includes Surveda, Nuntium and Verboise. Below is a summary of key concepts and hosting choices for the Surveda tool. Further, each hosting option does not affect data ownership: under each scenario, the MOH has exclusive data ownership. 



Data Hosting Checklist

  1. Will data will be stored in an existing system or a new one? 

    • If MOH already has a local instance of a software capable of storing data such as ONA, we recommend this option

    • If a new database must be installed, we recommend a database like MySQL or Mongo 

  2. Will this system use an existing server or they need to setup a new one? 

    • Must this server reside on MOH premises or rented in a designated hosting environment?

    • If on MOH premises, what kind of server does the MOH need or have? What are the specifications for this server? (i.e., note that 2 processors and 6gb of memory is sufficient).

  3. Who on the MOH ICT team will administer this server? InSTEDD can give support but throughout the project  MOH is be the admin

  1. How will the server and system are evaluated and installed

  2. How will connections and data transfer from mobile survey system be tested.

  3. When will Need to determine data location in June
  4. Once it is all set up, Data will appear in the specified database when a large scale survey has finished running.