Data Standards & Analytics

Committed to ethics and transparency, we approach data with integrity, refine methods and measurements to ensure robust analysis and preserve the (human) narratives behind the numbers.

In this age of digital transformation, we understand that data is more than just figures on a spreadsheet; it's a narrative waiting to be told. At the heart of Samuel Hall's extensive fieldwork lies our Data Standards and Analytics pillar. Pioneering innovative approaches to field data collection, analysis, and interpretation, we leverage over a decade's worth of insights, ranging from  Afghanistan to the MENA region, from East to West Africa. We employ advanced sampling methodologies, indices, statistical models, and predictive analytics. We strive wherever possible to collaborate in and contribute to the creation of global standards and best practices in the hope of informing spirited and rigorous policy debate.

Our Data Standards & Analytics Pillar is committed to: 

1.Strengthening data systems and standards. 

2.Enhancing safe and responsible data access.

 3.Leading large-scale, comparative quantitative surveys.

 4.Employing innovative data collection and analysis techniques. 

We care about common standards and open access to data and tools. We are engaged in discussions with partners throughout the world to create a library of standard question sets, measuring well-established indicators and performing advanced analyses, open to the scrutiny of all. 

We pioneer standards for robust field data collection and analysis with the collaboration of our research operations teams and through our quality control protocols.

Our Products:

  • Statistical Analysis Report

  • Forecast and Modelling Report

  • Dashboard for visually tracking, analysing, and
    displaying key indicators or metrics real-time to fosters data-driven decision-making, 

  • Cross-pillar methodological and analysis note support

Thematic Expertise:

We pride ourselves on our innovative expertise in:

  • Analytics

    • Large dataset & longitudinal analysis (basic and advanced)

    • Building dashboards 

    • Mapping through GIS

    • Developing statistical models, indices, metrics and predictive analytics

  • Data standards

    • Advanced sampling methodologies, incl. stratified, cluster-sampling, and reference-driven techniques.

    • Survey design, sampling & coding

    • Data quality monitoring & reporting

shop.jpeg

Our research teams implement advanced sampling strategies, including standard stratified sampling and cluster-sampling techniques, as well as more advanced reference-driven sampling methods. We have developed telephone-based canvassing techniques able to reach respondents from every province and district in a given country, and we have recently completed the first large-scale diary survey in Afghanistan, tracking over 3,000 households and 200 businesses for one year to glean an understanding of their energy consumption over time.

 
 
town.jpeg

Samuel Hall has developed a number of indexing and scoring algorithms that have later been adopted by clients for use in future studies.  Past innovations include a youth-employment nexus study to identify and assess employment opportunities for displaced youth (Investing in Somali Youth Exploring the Youth-Employment-Migration Nexus in Somaliland and Puntland),  and an integration index to evaluate the degree of assimilation of relocated displaced persons based on similarities to the host community using refined nonlinear regressions (Developing a multi-dimensional integration index in Afghanistan). 

Our Data Standards and Analytics team not only ensures alignment with frameworks like the SDGs and IASC, but actively participates in shaping and redefining these very indicators.

We use innovative methods and approaches that are replicable and scalable across contexts.Spatial analysis and satellite maps to inform our sampling approaches, triangulate area observations and scouting reports, and assess changes in land cover and the emergence of settlements for the displaced over time. We combine these insights with an ethnographic approach to tell the stories behind the satellite images to better inform humanitarian and development responses.