About This Course
In an era where timely, accurate field data drives programme decisions, paper-based data collection has become a costly liability. Mobile data collection platforms such as ODK (Open Data Kit) and KoboToolbox have transformed how organisations gather information in the field — enabling structured, validated, GPS-tagged data to flow from remote locations directly into analysis-ready databases, even without an internet connection.
This ten-day course is a comprehensive, tool-intensive programme designed to take participants from the foundational concepts of mobile data collection through to advanced form logic, server administration, data quality management, and integration with analysis tools. Participants will work hands-on with both ODK and KoboToolbox throughout, understanding where each platform excels and how to choose the right tool for different operational contexts.
Drawing on real-world scenarios from health surveys, humanitarian needs assessments, agricultural monitoring, and programme evaluations, participants will build and test complete data collection systems by the end of the course. Every module is grounded in practice — participants will leave not just with knowledge, but with working forms, configured servers, and data pipelines they can deploy immediately in their organisations.
TrainingComplex has designed this programme for the full range of professionals who interact with field data — from M&E specialists and field coordinators to GIS analysts and programme managers — ensuring that every participant develops the technical confidence and workflow design skills needed to lead digital data collection initiatives in their sector.
Who Should Attend
- Monitoring and Evaluation Officers and Specialists
- Field Research Coordinators and Data Managers
- Public Health Programme Staff conducting surveys and assessments
- Humanitarian and NGO Programme Officers
- Agricultural Extension Officers and Environment Field Staff
- GIS Analysts integrating spatial data from field surveys
- Government Statistics and Data Collection Personnel
- Academic and Applied Researchers managing field surveys
- Project Managers overseeing data-driven programmes
- ICT Support Staff deploying and maintaining data collection infrastructure
Learning Objectives
- Understand the architecture and ecosystem of ODK and KoboToolbox, including their similarities, differences, and optimal use cases
- Set up and configure ODK Central and KoboToolbox accounts, servers, and project workspaces
- Design well-structured, logic-driven questionnaires using XLSForm syntax and the KoboToolbox form builder
- Implement advanced form features including skip logic, relevance conditions, constraints, cascading selects, and repeat groups
- Incorporate multimedia capture — photos, audio, video, barcodes, and GPS coordinates — into data collection forms
- Deploy forms to Android devices using ODK Collect and KoboCollect, and manage offline data submission workflows
- Apply data quality assurance techniques including validation rules, enumerator training protocols, and back-check procedures
- Manage user roles, permissions, and team structures on both platforms for multi-user field deployments
- Monitor incoming submissions in real time and perform data cleaning and basic analysis within KoboToolbox and ODK Central
- Export and integrate collected data with external tools including Excel, Power BI, SPSS, and QGIS
- Troubleshoot common field problems including sync errors, form version conflicts, and device compatibility issues
- Develop a full mobile data collection system — from form design through deployment and reporting — for a real or simulated programme context
Course Modules
Module 1: Introduction to Mobile Data Collection — Concepts and Platforms
- The shift from paper to digital: benefits, risks, and real-world impact
- Overview of the ODK ecosystem: history, components, and community
- KoboToolbox platform overview: OCHA and non-humanitarian use cases
- Comparing ODK and KoboToolbox: when to use which platform
- Key data collection terminology: forms, submissions, enumerators, and servers
- Ethical and legal considerations: informed consent, data privacy, and responsible data principles
Module 2: Setting Up Your Working Environment
- Creating and configuring a KoboToolbox account (humanitarian and non-humanitarian servers)
- Setting up ODK Central: account creation, project setup, and navigation
- Installing and configuring ODK Collect and KoboCollect on Android devices
- Connecting mobile devices to servers and verifying sync settings
- Configuring server-level settings: storage quotas, language defaults, and submission limits
- Troubleshooting initial setup issues: QR code configuration, SSL errors, and device compatibility
Module 3: Introduction to XLSForm — The Universal Form Language
- XLSForm structure: the survey, choices, and settings sheets
- Core question types: text, integer, decimal, select_one, select_multiple, date, and geopoint
- Writing basic constraints and required fields to enforce data quality
- Uploading and testing XLSForms on both ODK Central and KoboToolbox
- Using the name, label, and type columns correctly: conventions, reserved words, and common mistakes
- Validating XLSForms with the ODK Validate tool and interpreting error messages before deployment
Module 4: Designing Effective Survey Questionnaires
- Principles of questionnaire design for digital data collection
- Question wording, response scale design, and avoiding common biases
- Organising forms with groups, sections, and page breaks for enumerator usability
- Using labels, hints, and guidance text to support field enumerators
- Sequencing questions logically: funnel techniques, sensitive question placement, and section flow
- Designing for low-literacy contexts: icon-based response options, audio prompts, and simplified language
Module 5: Advanced Form Logic — Skip Logic, Relevance, and Cascading Selects
- Writing relevance expressions to show or hide questions dynamically
- Using constraints and constraint messages to block invalid entries
- Building cascading select lists for hierarchical geographic or categorical data
- Calculations and dynamic labels: using previous answers within the form
- Using the if(), coalesce(), and selected() functions to handle conditional logic and missing values
- Testing and debugging complex logic: using the Enketo web preview and trace-through methods to verify expression behaviour
Module 6: Repeat Groups, Multimedia, and GPS Capture
- Designing repeat groups for household rosters, asset lists, and transactional records
- Capturing photos, audio recordings, and video within forms
- Barcode and QR code scanning for respondent identification
- GPS point, trace, and shape capture: configuring accuracy thresholds and map widgets
- Controlling repeat group behaviour: fixed counts, user-driven repeats, and referencing repeat answers outside the group
- Managing file size and storage: setting image resolution limits, audio quality, and device storage thresholds for multimedia-heavy deployments
Module 7: Deploying Forms and Managing Field Teams
- Publishing and versioning forms on ODK Central and KoboToolbox
- Managing user roles: project managers, data collectors, and viewers
- Organising field teams: assigning forms, devices, and geographic areas
- Enumerator training protocols: briefing guides, practice sessions, and quality checklists
- Creating and distributing app user QR codes in ODK Central to streamline device provisioning at scale
- Developing a deployment-day checklist: pre-field device checks, form version confirmation, and contingency plans for connectivity failure
Module 8: Offline Data Collection and Submission Workflows
- Understanding ODK and KoboCollect offline mode: how data is stored locally
- Managing form downloads, updates, and version changes in the field
- Submitting completed records: bulk submission, selective submission, and draft management
- Handling connectivity challenges: SIM data, Wi-Fi hotspots, and scheduled sync windows
- Preventing data loss in offline scenarios: auto-save behaviour, device encryption, and backup strategies
- Field supervisor workflows: spot-checking locally stored submissions before sending and coordinating end-of-day upload routines
Module 9: Data Quality Assurance and Monitoring
- Real-time submission monitoring dashboards on KoboToolbox and ODK Central
- Identifying and flagging anomalies: outliers, skip logic violations, and GPS drift
- Back-check and audit log features in ODK and KoboToolbox
- Building a data quality assurance protocol for multi-enumerator field deployments
- Using the audit log to analyse enumerator timing, question revisits, and GPS location at the point of interview
- Designing secondary validation checks in Excel or Power Query to catch cross-variable inconsistencies that in-form constraints cannot catch
Module 10: Data Export and Integration with Analysis Tools
- Exporting data from KoboToolbox and ODK Central in CSV, XLS, GeoJSON, and SPSS formats
- Cleaning and reshaping exported data in Microsoft Excel for reporting
- Connecting KoboToolbox data to Power BI for live dashboard visualisation
- Exporting GPS data to QGIS for spatial analysis and map production
- Handling repeat group data in exports: understanding split sheets, flattening structures, and performing roster-level joins in Excel or Power Query
- Managing multi-language and multi-select fields in exported datasets: parsing concatenated responses and mapping label values to codes
Module 11: Troubleshooting Common Field and Platform Issues
- Diagnosing and resolving form upload errors and XLSForm validation failures
- Fixing sync failures: server connection errors, authentication issues, and firewall settings
- Managing version conflicts when forms are updated mid-deployment
- Device management best practices: storage, battery, and Android compatibility
- Recovering orphaned or failed submissions: locating locally stored instances, manually extracting XML files, and re-submitting via the server interface
- Documenting and escalating platform bugs: using ODK and KoboToolbox community forums, GitHub issue trackers, and support channels effectively
Module 12: API Integration and Automation
- Introduction to the KoboToolbox and ODK Central REST APIs
- Pulling submission data programmatically using API calls in Excel Power Query and Python
- Setting up webhook notifications for real-time data alerts
- Automating data pipelines: scheduling exports and connecting to external databases
- Authenticating API requests securely: managing tokens, environment variables, and avoiding credential exposure in shared scripts
- Structuring a Python data pipeline end-to-end: paginating through large submission sets, handling nested repeat group JSON, and writing cleaned output to a database or flat file
Module 13: Capstone Project — Building and Presenting a Complete Data Collection System
- Capstone brief: teams receive a realistic programme scenario requiring a full digital data system
- Form design, testing, and iteration: applying all course skills to produce a deployment-ready form
- Mock field deployment: teams collect data using their forms and submit to a shared server
- Presentation and peer review: teams present their systems, justify design decisions, and receive structured feedback
- Data quality review stage: teams export and inspect their mock submissions, identify errors introduced during the field exercise, and document corrective actions
- Reflective debrief: facilitator-led discussion mapping each capstone decision back to course modules and identifying each participant's priority learning areas for continued development
Requirements & Prerequisites
Participants should have a basic working knowledge of Microsoft Excel and be comfortable using Android smartphones or tablets. Familiarity with survey design concepts or experience conducting fieldwork is helpful but not strictly required. No prior experience with ODK or KoboToolbox is assumed — the course begins from the fundamentals.
Training Methodology
- Step-by-step guided platform walkthroughs on both ODK Central and KoboToolbox, with participants following along on their own devices
- Hands-on XLSForm construction exercises where participants build increasingly complex forms from provided templates and specifications
- Scenario-based form design challenges drawn from real M&E, health survey, and humanitarian assessment contexts
- Simulated field deployment exercises using Android devices to test forms, capture data offline, and submit to a live server
- Peer review sessions where participants critique each other's forms for logic errors, usability, and data quality risks
- Structured troubleshooting labs where common field problems are introduced and participants diagnose and resolve them
- Data export and cleaning exercises using datasets generated during the course, processed in Excel and Power BI
- Group capstone project: teams design, test, deploy, and present a complete mobile data collection system for an assigned programme scenario
- Daily reflection logs where participants document lessons learned and plan how tools will be applied in their own organisations
- Facilitator-led Q&A clinics addressing platform-specific challenges relevant to participants' actual field contexts
Organisational Benefits
- Reduced data collection costs and elimination of paper-based transcription errors
- Faster data availability enabling more timely programmatic decisions
- Improved data quality through built-in validation rules and structured form logic
- Strengthened organisational capacity for digital M&E and field research
- Enhanced ability to conduct surveys in remote, offline environments without data loss
- More consistent enumerator performance through standardised digital forms
- Readiness to comply with donor and reporting requirements for digital data systems
- Better integration between field data and organisational analysis and reporting tools
- Reduced duplication of effort through reusable form templates and centralised server management
- Increased staff confidence and competence in deploying technology-enabled data collection initiatives
Where Is Mobile Data Collection with ODK and KoboToolbox Training Offered?
This course runs in-person across: Cape Town, Mombasa, Lagos, Dar es Salaam, Kigali, Riyadh, Dubai, Zanzibar, Nakuru, Abuja, Nairobi, Naivasha, Kampala, Accra, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Kisumu, Arusha, Addis Ababa, plus Live Virtual (online) cohorts. Browse live dates for your city below.
Upcoming Schedules
| Location | Format | Dates | Price |
|---|
| Cape Town, South Africa |
In-Person |
28 Sept 2026 – 9 Oct 2026 |
USD 7,600 |
| Mombasa, Kenya |
In-Person |
5 Oct 2026 – 16 Oct 2026 |
KES 230,000 |
| Lagos, Nigeria |
In-Person |
5 Oct 2026 – 16 Oct 2026 |
USD 5,000 |
| Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |
In-Person |
12 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
USD 4,600 |
| Live Virtual |
Online |
17 Oct 2026 – 6 Dec 2026 |
KES 160,000 |
| Kigali, Rwanda |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 28 Oct 2026 |
USD 3,800 |
| Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 28 Oct 2026 |
USD 9,000 |
| Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 8,200 |
| Zanzibar, Tanzania |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 28 Oct 2026 |
USD 5,000 |
| Nakuru, Kenya |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
KES 230,000 |
| Abuja, Nigeria |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 28 Oct 2026 |
USD 5,600 |
| Cape Town, South Africa |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 28 Oct 2026 |
USD 7,600 |
| Nairobi, Kenya |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 28 Oct 2026 |
KES 230,000 |
| Naivasha, Kenya |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 4 Nov 2026 |
KES 240,000 |
| Kampala, Uganda |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 4 Nov 2026 |
USD 3,800 |
+234 more dates — view live schedule →
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need programming experience to attend this course?
No programming experience is required. The course uses XLSForm, which is Excel-based, and the KoboToolbox graphical form builder — both designed for non-developers. The API and automation module in the later days introduces basic concepts, but participants can follow along without a coding background.
What devices and software do I need to bring?
Participants should bring a laptop with Microsoft Excel installed and an Android smartphone or tablet capable of installing apps from the Google Play Store. TrainingComplex will provide guidance on pre-installing ODK Collect and KoboCollect before the course begins, and facilitators will assist with setup on Day 1.
Will I receive a certificate upon completion?
Yes. Participants who attend and complete the full ten-day programme, including the capstone project, will receive a TrainingComplex Certificate of Completion in Mobile Data Collection with ODK and KoboToolbox.
Is this course relevant if my organisation only uses one of the two platforms?
Absolutely. The course covers both platforms in parallel so participants gain transferable skills. Users committed to one platform will still benefit from understanding XLSForm — the common form language — as well as the data quality, deployment, and analysis workflows that apply to either tool.
Can the course content be customised for our organisation's specific survey tools or sector?
Yes. TrainingComplex offers in-house delivery of this course with customised form templates, sector-specific scenarios (e.g. health, agriculture, humanitarian), and integration with your organisation's existing data systems. Contact us to discuss a tailored delivery.
