Data collection involves and profiles young people from pacified communities

Pereira Passos Institute uses the free software For Research in Action "Agents of Transformation" that trained in field research young people from the communities where the UPPs were installed to be surveyed, and thus raise data from more than 5 thousand young people from these communities.

Photo: Márcia Foletto / Agência O Globo

Where it was applied

Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Period

2013

Case

Social Responsibility

Reach

5,400 young people

Para Pesquisa* was used in data collection in 10 communities participating in the Pereira Passos Institute's Social UPP program, in the work "Agents of transformation" in August 2013.

Cognita was responsible for the conception and development of the field data collection tool, which allowed the program to collect data from 5.4 thousand young people in the communities and thus build the profile of the youth in the UPPs.

*For Research is a free software created by Tim Institute and developed by Cognita

With the process of pacification of communities in Rio de Janeiro, the need to know who the residents of these communities are and what they think has become an important demand for public authorities and private enterprise. After all, gathering information about these populations is the first step towards making decisions that insert the people from pacified regions into the dynamics of the city.

In this context, the TIM Institute, in partnership with the Pereira Passos Institute, of the Rio de Janeiro city hall, created the project Agents of Transformation. The initiative took young high school students from public schools to the streets to research and learn about the reality of other young people from these same communities.

The project supplies a demand that is not met by traditional household surveys: themes that are of specific interest to young people, such as sports, culture, financial access, entrepreneurship, and the quality of public services. At the same time, the project allows young people to get to know an alternative of professional qualification and productive inclusion.

What is For Research

Para Pesquisa is an open source tool composed of an online data collection system + a mobile application (for cell phones and tablets) with the Android operating system.

The data collected are transmitted over the internet using 3G or EDGE technology. After transmission, a project coordinator receives the questionnaire submissions and is responsible for approving the answers or sending them back to the agent who filled in the questionnaire to correct the information.

The system has the ability to report whether questionnaires are pending, awaiting review, submitted, and processed. It has a user-friendly interface that helps the agent in the field to achieve a faster form filling time than the traditional way.

The project also has an administration system that allows managers to create new forms and assign them to coordinators and field agents directly from the admin to the application automatically.

Agents of Transformation

The Agents of Transformation project has met the urgent need for quality information about the residents of communities in Rio de Janeiro, especially those where Pacifying Police Units (UPPs) have been installed. In addition, it offered young people from these communities an alternative of professional qualification in field research.

Photo: Tim Institute

After the training, the young people went out into the streets of their communities to conduct a large-scale household survey with statistical rigor, capable of tracing the socioeconomic profile of the youth in these communities. Each researcher interviewed 50 young people between 14 and 24 years old and recorded the information on tablets with 3G or EDGE connection, using the free software Para Pesquisa.

The project culminated in the graduation of these young researchers, held after the presentation of the study results, which were shared with public agencies, companies, and Third Sector institutions.