Participatory Data Collection and Management in Low-Resource Contexts: A Field Trial with Urban Refugees

As access to and control of data becomes increasingly democratized, understanding the potential and constraints for low resource contexts has important implications for system design as well as practice. Our research pushes the bounds of current system deployment by proposing and testing an ICT based participatory data management system to transform participants from data providers to data consumers. This tool begins with participatory design, which engages participants in deciding which types of data to collect. Then, it involves training them in data collection, analysis and management. This enables participants to gain basic data science skills to make informed decisions. Our study uses mixed methods to explore the feasibility and effects of this system with urban refugees living in Rwanda. The quantitative results indicate refugees' perceived effectiveness in using the system to build communities is directly influenced by system usability assessments, which in turn are influenced by education levels but not ICT self-efficacy. Qualitative results highlight the community-based interactions experienced by all participants and highlight important differences in pursuing projects with urban versus camp-based refugees.