Leaving Consent to the point of data collection might not be the best idea

by | May 25, 2020 | ICT4D |

When mapping consent, we realise we expect a lot to happen at the final interaction. Too much in fact.

The data collector has targets of how many people per hour or day they need to be registering so they just need to check the box. The quality of the consent is not a concern as their performance is being graded on other metrics.

The person being registered has been waiting in line for hours, is away from family, and is worried that asking too many questions at the point of registration risks them being turned away.

Leaving the responsibility of creating awareness, educating, and answering questions to the data collector helps no one. In fact it frustrates all involved and consent is can not be achieved.

Perhaps it’s time we look at the overall process. Perhaps it’s time for awareness raising about consent to happen as part of the mobilisation efforts of the project. And maybe we could even measure the performance of the awareness raising by checking for understanding at the point of registration – the greater the understanding, the better the awareness.

Consent mapping is part of business process mapping. We can become more efficient and improve the quality of consent, if we map it and measure it. It’s not very difficult, but it is a choice.

And the choice is up to us.

Photo by Kaleidico

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