About SOMVO
SOMVO — the Somaliland Organisation for Minority Voices and Opportunities — is a Hargeisa-based humanitarian research organisation dedicated to generating credible, community-informed evidence to guide programming and advocacy for minority IDP communities.
Generating Evidence for Equitable Response
SOMVO was established in response to a persistent gap in the humanitarian evidence base: minority IDP communities in Somaliland are systematically underrepresented in needs assessments, programme evaluations, and policy dialogues. Our mandate is to close that gap — producing rigorous, participatory research that places the voices and experiences of minority communities at the centre of humanitarian decision-making.
We apply internationally recognised research standards to every study, ensuring findings are credible, reproducible, and defensible to donors and policymakers.
Community members are partners in our research process — from questionnaire design through validation — not merely subjects of study.
Our findings are not shaped by donor preferences or political considerations. We report what the data shows, including inconvenient truths.
We share findings with the communities we study before publication, and we commit to following up on how evidence is used in programming.
How We Conduct Research
The 2026 Daami Camp baseline study employed a mixed-methods approach combining structured quantitative household surveys with qualitative validation through focus group discussions and key informant interviews.
Prior to data collection, SOMVO conducted community orientation sessions in Daami Camp to explain the study's purpose, obtain community consent, and recruit community liaison volunteers to support enumerator access.
A structured household questionnaire covering six thematic domains was developed in consultation with community representatives and validated by an external technical advisor. The instrument was translated into Somali and piloted with 30 households before full deployment.
24 trained enumerators — 14 women and 10 men, all from minority community backgrounds — conducted face-to-face interviews with 847 randomly selected households over an eight-week period from March to May 2026.
Quantitative findings were validated through six focus group discussions (three with women, three with men) and 12 key informant interviews with community leaders, service providers, and local authority representatives.
Quantitative data was cleaned and analysed using SPSS v27. Qualitative data was coded thematically using NVivo. Findings were triangulated across methods before being compiled into the final report.
Methodology Snapshot
Field Research Team
The Daami Camp baseline study was led by a core team of experienced humanitarian researchers with deep roots in Somaliland's minority communities.
Fadumo has 12 years of experience in humanitarian research and programme evaluation across the Horn of Africa. She holds an MSc in Development Studies from the University of Edinburgh.
Abdi coordinated all field operations for the Daami baseline, overseeing enumerator training, data quality assurance, and community liaison. He is a native of Hargeisa with extensive experience in IDP camp assessments.
Hodan led the quantitative analysis for the baseline study. She holds a BSc in Statistics from Amoud University and has previously worked with UNHCR and NRC on displacement data systems.
Mahad managed community orientation, consent processes, and the recruitment of community liaison volunteers. His relationships within Daami Camp were instrumental in achieving the study's high response rate.
Work with SOMVO
SOMVO welcomes partnerships with humanitarian organisations, development funders, academic institutions, and government bodies seeking credible evidence on minority IDP communities in Somaliland.