Explore a diverse array of creative research projects designed to deliver impact around the world
Here at Dobility–the company that powers SurveyCTO–we’ve always been passionate advocates for the importance of high-quality survey research and data collection. It’s what drives us to support researchers and organizations across multiple industries and disciplines in delivering impact. To that end, since 2021 we’ve been delighted to offer our annual Primary Data Collection Research Grant and award direct cash prizes and free SurveyCTO subscriptions to outstanding up-and-coming researchers.
Every year our team is inspired and impressed as they review grant applications and select the winners. And we know how much the SurveyCTO user community looks forward to learning about the latest data collection methodologies and innovations from each year’s cohort of awardees!
In 2024, we updated and expanded on what we were looking for in winning projects. We focused on feasible projects designed to make compelling impacts in notable fields that used unique research methods. Our goal was to reach an even broader number of applicants, and award grants to recipients from a wider variety of universities, backgrounds, and disciplines.
This year, our grant recipients are forward-thinking research rockstars working in many different fields, and using lots of different research methods! Like all past SurveyCTO grant recipients, they are committed to delivering real impact to real communities all around the world–and we’re committed to making sure that impact happens.
Here’s a quick snapshot of our 2024 applications, by the numbers:
Total applications: 722
Countries represented: 60
New countries represented by applicants in 2024 (11):
- Abkhazia
- Austria
- Chad
- Colombia
- Czech Republic
- Mexico
- Mozambique
- New Zealand
- Russia
- South Korea
- South Sudan
Universities represented: 312
Projects selected for full or partial grants: 8 (9 total recipients)
Projects selected for a free subscription: 25
This year’s research projects use virtually every method possible, from mixed-method approaches combining quantitative data with qualitative research to longitudinal studies to field experiments to multiple randomized control trials.
Beyond methodology, impact is front and center. All projects aim to provide high-quality data on critical questions regarding topics that range from gender-based violence to waste management for cities to how to leverage generative AI for sustainable growth, and much more.
Choosing winners was a challenge as always, but after much deliberation, we are thrilled to be able to announce that we have selected eight research projects from nine total PhD candidates to receive full or partial cash grants. In addition, all winners receive a free SurveyCTO subscription and will use SurveyCTO to gather data for their research.
Meet the 2024 winners of the SurveyCTO Primary Data Collection Research Grant
Without further delay, come meet and be inspired by this year’s awardees!
Read to learn a bit about their research, then click the video links to hear each winner describe their project scope and methods in more detail, including how they plan to use SurveyCTO:
Ines Böhret, PhD in Global Health at the School of Social Sciences and Technology at the Technical University of Munich.
“Unveiling Dynamics of Control: Understanding Economic Violence and Reproductive Coercion in Intimate Partner Violence.”
“Through this research I hope to contribute to a deeper understanding of economic violence and reproductive coercion and to inform the development of evidence-based policies and interventions that empower women and protect them from violence.”
Saqib Hussain, PhD in Public Policy at the KDI School of Public Policy and Management.
“Improving Displaced Livelihoods: A Training Program for Afghan Refugees in Pakistan.”
“This project aims to empower Afghan refugee youth in Pakistan by providing vocational and digital skills training to address their limited access to health, education, and job opportunities.
Through this intervention, I seek to enhance their economic inclusion and inform policies for marginalized communities.”
Partial grant recipients
Chioma John-NSA, PhD at Centre of Excellence in Environmental Management and Green Energy, University of Nigeria Enugu Campus.
“Comparative Spatial Analysis and Health Impacts of Solid Waste Disposal Locations in Slums of Awka and Enugu Metropolis, Nigeria”
“What excited me most… is that this research is not just a disciplinary research, but an interdisciplinary research, because it’s going to be contributing to environmental sustainability, it’s going to be contributing to climate change and health sustainability.”
Frederica Mendonça, PhD in Economics at Nova School of Business and Economics, NOVAFRICA.
“Road to Somewhere: Introducing reCycling in a Mozambican city.”
“This project will capture whether cyclists can work as the bridge between policy makers and the population. Given the incentive schemes tested, this project will also inform policies on motivating workers for pro-social behavior.
I plan to test whether the social reward scheme aligned with the monetary incentive can work to solve a common bad situation, contributing to the literature on the role of incentives in shaping behaviors.”
Ferran Vega-Carol, PhD in Public Policy (Economics concentration) at Duke University.
“Empowering Communities to Better Manage Solar Mini-Grids Through Participatory Role Play.”
“My study aims to evaluate the potential of COMET – a novel participatory workshop and simulation platform for improving mini-grid users’ knowledge and management of energy and stimulating electricity demand in rural areas. In practice, participants…engage in a role-play of electricity use, obtaining an energy bill for the payment period that is set for the simulation.I hope that the evaluation evidence generated by this project will inform transformative approaches to mini-grid design and management that can support their deployment at scale.”
Merve Demirel, PhD in Economics at the Institute for International Economic Studies at Stockholm University.
“Peer Networks and Educational Migration: Evidence from India.”
“My preliminary work shows that students, especially women, are willing to give up significant educational quality to stay closer to home. Through surveys, I found that this isn’t primarily about financial costs. It’s about other barriers like safety concerns and family dynamics.
The impact that I hope to make is to understand whether a structured mentoring program, which connects prospective students with current university students who have already made this journey, can help address these non-financial barriers.”
Ola Aboukhsaiwan and Peter Ward Griffin, PhDs in Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
“Bridging Financial Frictions and Behavioural Barriers in Yemen.”
“We hope to identify actionable strategies for helping Yemeni banks, NGOs, and government entities design policies to allow inclusive growth and enable some of the poorest Yemenis to escape poverty traps and live a better life.
We believe that our research will contribute towards informed policymaking that may have a lasting impact on the lives of Yemenis and also contribute to addressing climate change.”
Sarah Shaukat, PhD in Economics at Tufts University.
“Evaluating the Impact of AI-Driven Training on Microenterprises: Evidence from Pakistan.”
“I’ll be studying how generative AI, ChatGPT in particular, can provide business advice to micro-entrepreneurs and help boost their productivity.
Through this project, I hope to contribute to developing better and more effective ways of delivering business training for micro-enterprises and micro-entrepreneurs.”
Honorable mentions
In addition to the cash grants and free subscriptions, we also awarded 25 free subscriptions to the following:
- Suliasi Batikawai, School of Public Health, University of Queensland – “Exploring Community-Level Modifiable Factors Influencing Acute Watery Diarrhea Incidences in Fiji.”
- Mohammed Baba Adamu, Department of Geography, Yobe State University, Damaturu, Nigeria – “Geospatial Analysis of the Impacts of Climate Variability on Malaria Prevalence in Yobe State of Nigeria.”
- Ananya Diwakant, Department of Economics; University of Washington, Seattle USA – “Intrahousehold differences in perceived health risks of using solid fuels for cooking.”
- Yannick Markhof, United Nations University, UNU-MERIT – “The effects of a tax amnesty on tax morale and tax climate: Experimental evidence from Uganda.”
- Matthew Brooks, UC Davis, “Adaptation to Climate Change using Mixed Crop-Livestock Systems: Evidence from Nepal.”
- Nicolas Riveros Medelius, Harvard University – “Connecting Conversations: Issue-Based Discussion Networks and Civic Identity Development in Bogota.”
- Yannick Malalanirina, Université Clermont Auvergne, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France – “Transactional Sex and Sexual Corruption in Madagascar’s Schools.”
- Piyush Ganghi, University of California, Santa Cruz – “Extinguishing the Blaze: Impact of Crop Residue Management on Stubble Burning in India.”
- Susana Lozano Esparza, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington – “Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Mexico: From Adolescence to Adulthood.”
- Anwesha Bhattacharya, Harvard University – “Perceived Stigma and Barriers to Mental Health Care: An Intervention With College Students in India.”
- Axel Eizmendi Larrinaga, Tufts University – “Cyclical Liquidity Shortfalls of Cash Transfer Beneficiaries: Evidence and Implications.”
- Balasubramanyam Pattath, Geneva Graduate Institute, Switzerland (IHEID)) – “Linguistic Divides: Gendered Language and Women’s Economic Outcomes in India.”
- Miryana Dayanti, Ohio State University – “Exploring the Interplay of Capacity, Social Networks, and Service Quality in Daycare Centers: Cooperation and Competition in Kenya’s Urban Informal Settlements.”
- Hardi Ahmed, Universidad de Alicante – “Navigating Dynamics: Evaluating Enumerator Effects on Household Activities, Social Norms, and Dietary Taboos.”
- Ishita Ghai, Pardee RAND Graduate School – “What drives the lack of provider recommendation for cervical cancer screening in Uganda?”
- John Green, Johns Hopkins University – “Subjective Beliefs and the Choices of Community College Students.”
- Jared Kalow, MIT – “Roving Clients, Stationary Patrons: The Political Behavior of Urban Commuters.”
- Kamya Yadav, University of California, Berkeley – “Playing the Field: Navigating Gendered Pathways into Politics.”
- Luca Parisotto, University of Bocconi – “Youth mental health and job search.”
- Muhammad Adil Ahsan, Harvard University – “Doctor’s Orders vs Divine Wisdom.”
- Maria de la Paz Ferro Venegas, University of California, San Diego – “Strengthening Childcare Models that Promote Women’s Economic Empowerment.”
- Nicolas Jimenez, Yale University – “The Effects of E-commerce on MSMEs in India.”
- Preeti Nambiar, Vanderbilt University – “Climate hazards and citizen – state relation.”
- Silvia Castro Fernandez, University of Munich LMU – “Breaking the Silence: The Role of Community Ambassadors in Addressing Menstrual Health Stigma in Nepal.”
- Vrinda Kapoor, Cornell University – “Employer quality and information frictions in spot labor markets.”
Stay in touch to learn more about these winning projects
Congratulations to this year’s SurveyCTO Primary Data Collection Grant awardees!
Now in its fourth year, the SurveyCTO Primary Data Collection Research Grant continues to inspire us here at SurveyCTO. We’re honored to further these up-and-coming researchers’ impact not only through our grant but by engaging with them throughout the year. If you’re curious to follow the journeys of our 2024 winners and learn more about their research, be sure to follow us on the channels below and subscribe to our newsletter through the button on the right! We’ll be sharing more from this year’s grant winners in the coming weeks and months.
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