---
id: "coronavirus-smarter-crowdsourcing:strategies/Invest-in-and-promote-the-use-of-technological-and"
type: "GovLab policy strategy"
title: "Invest in and promote the use of technological and digital innovations that can help collect accurate and…"
url: "https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/strategies/invest-in-and-promote-the-use-of-technological-and"
summary: "Invest in and promote the use of technological and digital innovations that can help collect accurate and timely data."
source: "The GovLab (coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org)"
licence: "Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)"
---

# Invest in and promote the use of technological and digital innovations that can help collect accurate and…

Invest in and promote the use of technological and digital innovations that can help collect accurate and timely data.

- Timeframe: 1+ years (structural change)
- Audience: Private Sector, Academia
- Type: Data, Technology/Innovation, Procurement/Logistics
- Recommendation: [Enhance Data Collection](https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/recommendations/enhance-data-collection)
- Part of: [Smarter Crowdsourcing in the Age of Coronavirus](https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/)

## Actions governments should take

1. Promote the use of wearables (smart watches, bio stickers, etc.) and portable health technology (eg. smart thermometers) that allow individuals to report symptoms, health conditions, or comorbidities.
2. [Invest in and promote the use of technologies like smart paper, phone apps, SMS surveys, that can be used by minimally trained/skilled workers to collect data and report it into open source or centralized platforms.](https://shifo.org/en/solution/)
3. Develop a smartphone app that collects opt-in geo-spacial information that can be used for contact tracing.
4. [Pilot rapid paper-based tests when the technology is available.](https://knowablemagazine.org/article/health-disease/2020/race-develop-paper-based-tests-coronavirus)
5. Ensure technologies can integrate their data into national or centralized data systems, or open source platforms.
6. Review all tools and technologies to ensure the highest level of data security, privacy, and anonymity where relevant.

## Examples from around the world

1. “Smart paper” forms are being used in East Africa to help digitize manually collected information. “Smart Paper” are printed paper that can be filled out by hand but scanned into a computer or phone, allowing them to be digitized quickly and with great accuracy. [SHIFO](https://shifo.org/en/solution/) - a Swedish company - has developed healthcare specific forms that are being used across East Africa ([Kenya](https://doc-08-b8-docs.googleusercontent.com/docs/securesc/bm4go9cere9ic389lqpd0klor6encu4u/dnigq1dv8pr524a1d99jco1o3gcqqf3b/1604956725000/05289062938595699748/04776368802958413349/19-aTH9Rke6FCjs9Qxt_4Pl2eZdoCAnG_?authuser=0&nonce=eg8e1eo6g0eq2&user=04776368802958413349&hash=p5a3do6hqkk7f88vgmhcp7o1nj27dch4), [Uganda](https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1937yCBMc9W956Nf3Ul-jDo8JB4TfI39J), [Tanzania](https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1_3cIaQL2abN_9Xj6ip11UWQbjuBvLVEs)). This technology allows for the collection of reliable data in hard to reach areas that may not have access to digital healthcare technologies. Importantly it is very low cost.