KoBo Toolbox - Future Generations University

KoboToolbox Technical Manual

This digital manual provides technical guidance for Future Generations University (FGU) staff and alumni cluster members who are using KoboToolbox to collect, organize, and share Success Mapping data. It outlines user setup, naming conventions, permissions, and folder organization under the institutional workspace.

For assistance, contact: success@future.edu

1. Joining the FGU Team on KoboToolbox

The FGU Alumni Coordinator adds new members to the FGU team workspace in KoboToolbox. You will receive two emails with instructions to join.

You will receive an email to join the Future Generations University Team. Look for an email with the following subject line and content:
1. Email Subject: Read Me First: New Kobo Team Member Username- [Your_Specific_User_Name]
2. Email Content:

You will receive an email from support@kobotoolbox.org. Look for an email with the following subject line and content:
1. Email Subject: Read Me First: New Kobo Team Member Username- [Your_Specific_User_Name]
2. Email Content:

2. Set Up Your Account

Institutional Access

All alumni and staff users will operate under FGU’s institutional workspace in KoboToolbox. Access is managed by the FGU Alumni Coordinator or assigned Kobo administrator.

Email and Login Requirements – Alumni Participants

All alumni participants must use their official Future.edu email address. Personal or external email accounts are not permitted to ensure security and institutional data ownership.

User Naming Convention

Each user’s KoboToolbox username should match the prefix of their Future.edu email address.

Example: Email: amina.khan@future.edu → Username: amina_khan

Email and Login Requirements – Institutional Partners

Email accounts will be determined by the Kobo administrator and communicated to the participating cohort(s).

You will then be asked to confirm your email address.

Navigate to your email address and look for a confirmation email sent from KoboToolbox:

3. Permissions & Roles

Role	Typical Member	Permission Level	Access Description
Cluster Lead	Alumni Coordinator	Project Lead	Manage Project, View & Edit Form, View, Add, Edit, Validate, Delete Submissions.
Cluster Member	Alumni data collector	Data Collector	View, Add, Edit Submissions.
Technical Support	FGU staff	Coordinator	Edit, monitor, and validate data.
Observer	Faculty/advisor	Viewer	Read-only access for learning and QA.

4. Kobo Project Organization & Naming

Each alumni cluster project is housed in the FGU Kobo account. Each project must be titled using the following format:
FGU_ClusterName_Region_Year_Sector

Example: FGU_Kenya_East Africa_2026_Agriculture or FGU_Ethiopia_East Africa_2026_Conservation

5. FGU Folder & Project Organization

Each alumni cluster will have a dedicated Kobo folder housed on the FGU Google Drive for archiving, titled using the following format:
FGU_ClusterName_Region_Year

Example: FGU_Kenya_EastAfrica_2026

6. Data Security & Ethics

All data collected through KoboToolbox is stored within the FGU institutional workspace. Participants must follow FGU’s ethical documentation guidelines from the Success Mapping Guidebook. Personal identifiers (such as names, GPS data, or phone numbers) must be protected.

You may have access to questionnaires and data of other mappers.

7. Support & Troubleshooting

For assistance, contact: success@future.edu

Common Issues:

Invitation email not received: check spam or request resend.
Login errors: verify username (prefix of Future.edu email).
Access issues: confirm correct project permissions.

8. Clone a Questionnaire to Get Started

The base questionnaire you will first build from is provided by FGU, titled “FGU_Success_Mapping_Required_Questions_Template.”

To clone this or any other questionnaires, find the project you want to replicate and then take the following steps:

Enter the project,
Click on the form tab at the top of the screen,
Click on the three horizontal dots on the right-hand side of the screen.
Finally, select “clone this project” from the drop-down menu.

Next, rename the project using the naming conventions (explained above in Section 4).

9. Project Modification

Once the FGU_Success_Mapping_Required_Questions_Template is cloned and renamed, you will need to add the appropriate team members so they may modify it to add their approved questions. In the Form tab of the project you will click on the pencil icon on the right hand side of the screen, selecting “Edit in Form Builder”:

The Required General Information section must stay the same.

In the Required Sections portion, you will move your cursor to the area between the white boxes, a plus sign will appear, click on it.

You will need to add your approved question here and click on add question:

Now you will need to select the type of response you want to allow:

Add question types depending on what you want to capture:

Text / Number – for basic information and numeric data.
Multiple Choice / Select – to categorize responses.
Photo / Video / GPS – to capture visual evidence and location data.

Set additional properties like required responses, skip logic, or constraints to ensure accurate and relevant data collection.

The Success Story Summary and the Evidence & Documentation sections are required.

10. Preview Your Form

Test the questionnaire to check for errors, missing questions, or confusing instructions.

Previewing ensures that the data collected will be complete, accurate, and easy to analyze.

11. Deploy Your Questionnaire

Click “Deploy” to make the questionnaire live for field data collection.

This step activates the form and generates a link or QR code for enumerators or participants to access it.

12. Collect Your Data

Use mobile devices or web forms to gather responses.
Kobo allows offline data collection, which is helpful in areas with limited internet connectivity.

13. Manage Media (Photos & Videos)

Review uploaded images and videos to validate responses and document evidence of successful practices.
Visual data helps to present findings in reports, presentations, or community feedback sessions.

Click on the three dots and select “share this project”
Search by the FGU username based off of their FGU email address, indicate the permission selections and click on grant permissions