The leading IVR survey platform for humanitarian programs, crisis response, and academic research
Use IVR surveys to get real-time insights — especially from illiterate populations — in low and middle-income countries.
Build robust IVR surveys without writing a single line of code
Many powerful features specifically designed to improve data collection from hard-to-reach populations.
Skip logic
Configure the survey to jump to a later part based on the respondent’s answer to a question.
Text-to-speech
Convert your written questions to audio—with personalization (“Hi FirstName“)—in 44 languages.
Reconnect calls
Call respondents back instantly when a call drops, and continue the IVR survey where they left off.
Four response types
Collect responses via keypress choices, spoken responses, keypress ranges, and speech recognition.
Call forwarding
Forward respondents to a live agent based on their responses.
Call retries
Call respondents again if they don’t pick up, according to a schedule you set.
Conditional logic
Set certain questions to be asked only if conditions are met, e.g., the respondent’s gender is female.
Multi-lingual
Configure campaigns in multiple languages, so respondents can take the IVR survey in the language of their choice.
Triggered actions
Send airtime top-ups and SMS alerts, update contact profiles, and more based on each response.
Campaign scheduling
Schedule your IVR survey to go live on a specific date and time.
Caller ID masking
Call respondents from a local phone number to improve pickup rates.
Call time windows
Set call time windows so respondents are called only during specific time periods (e.g., M-F, 9 to 6).
Speech recognition
Respondents answer questions by speaking, e.g., saying “female” or “male.”
(72 languages supported)
Keypress choices
Respondents press a key on their phone to answer a question, e.g., they press 1 for yes, 2 for no.
Spoken responses
Respondents record a message as their answer. You listen to the recording or have it transcribed.
Keypress ranges
Respondents press multiple keys to answer a question, e.g., their age, or an ID within a range or list you specify.
Top ways organizations use engageSPARK’s IVR survey platform
Academic research
University researchers use IVR surveys to collect data at scale from populations across Africa, Asia, and the Americas—in days, not months
- Conduct research on any subject matter—public health, refugees and migrants, financial security, nutrition, media, energy security, anything.
- Use RDD (random digit dialing) to find participants, or bring your own contact list to survey.
- Create your campaigns and export your survey results from anywhere.
Humanitarian programs
NGOs worldwide leverage IVR surveys to gather insights from their beneficiaries—improving programming and reporting.
- Collect feedback via inbound IVR hotlines or outbound IVR surveys to help tweak your programs and as part of Accountability and Feedback Plans (AFPs).
- Ask demographic and related questions to enroll participants into your programs.
- Conduct longitudinal IVR surveys to understand how responses change over the course of your project.
- Run baseline and endline surveys for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and reporting.
Crisis response
UN agencies and international humanitarian organizations use IVR surveys to quickly get real-time, critical data during crises
- Learn who needs immediate assistance during emergencies and connect them directly to someone who can help.
- Set up a hotline for refugees to enroll in programming and learn where to get aid distributions.
- Disburse cash more effectively by getting pinpoint data quickly—for example, how each family heats their home, so you can determine how much money to send them.
How Catholic Relief Services collects and validates data from hard-to-reach places across Ethiopia
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) uses IVR surveys to collect a series of data points each month from dozens of local partner agencies across Ethiopia—like how many kids are malnourished, how many safe water sources dried up, etc.
The individuals at the local agencies who collect the data only have basic mobile phones. They periodically receive automated calls from the engageSPARK system with an IVR survey, which asks them to submit each data point by pressing keys on their phones during the calls.
The heads of each local agency then go through a CATI survey on the engageSPARK platform to validate the data their colleagues submitted via the IVR survey.
Now that the data is validated, CRS can export it.
“I can say that working with engageSPARK has been a delight in a way that knowing that any support is a chat box away, with swift response that makes your life a lot easier.
The platform is user-friendly, that a person with no ICT knowledge like myself can understand and use the IVR campaign to extract data that is critical to support the most vulnerable households in our society.
From the well-organized support system, exceptional customers service, various system features to the incredible platform, engageSPARK has been one of the best and easiest companies to work with!”
How IVR surveys (interactive voice response surveys) work
1. Create IVR design
Upload or record audio for your questions (or use text-to-speech). Set the possible answer choices and configure settings.
2. Push out calls
Our system starts calling the contacts you uploaded. Or we call randomly generated numbers (RDD).
3. Collect answers
Your respondents hear the questions when they pick up. They press keys on their phone (or speak) to answer the questions.
4. Get survey results
Get results in real-time. Visualize answers with charts. Export the data to Excel or via API.
Why choose engageSPARK?
Respondents don't need a smartphone
Your participants can take IVR surveys from any mobile phone, even a basic phone. They don’t need an internet connection or a smartphone.
Integrated with telcos globally
We’re connected with mobile operators across the world, so you can survey anyone—without needing to engage with phone companies.
Exceptional customer support
Our global support team goes above and beyond to help you succeed. Time and again, our clients highlight that our support sets us apart.
Easy-to-use, fast and powerful APIs
Easily integrate IVR survey campaigns with your server or any CRM. Use our APIs to trigger IVR surveys directly from your server or to push results into your CRM.
Trusted by the largest organizations worldwide. Used in 180+ countries.
