Reflections from the ODK Summit 2025

By September 23rd, 2025

At ODK Summit 2025, Andy Hulthen explores how the ODK platform is transforming field data into actionable insights for the Agroecology team

In June this year, I had the exciting opportunity to attend the biennial ODK Summit in Rome. This meeting brought together developers, implementers, and organisations from around the world, that rely on ODK for data collection and decision-making. This year the Summit had a strong focus on agriculture: supporting smallholder farmers, strengthening climate resilience, and improving supply chain traceability.

What is ODK?

ODK (Open Data Kit) is an open-source software platform that helps organisations collect, manage, and use data in the field. ODK works by combining a server (ODK Central), which stores and manages data, with a mobile app (ODK Collect) that lets field teams collect information on Android devices (even offline!) and sync it back when they have connectivity. It is designed for use in challenging environments where internet access may be unreliable and is used by organisations around the world to power everything from health surveys to agricultural monitoring. In the Agroecology team, ODK helps us collect data of all types across a wide range of projects and contexts, making it easy to capture information wherever and however we need it.

A hands-on format

The Summit was refreshingly interactive – think musical chairs, bingo, and live workflow mapping. Participants joined breakout sessions to brainstorm new features, test prototypes, and work directly with the product designers to guide future development.

Product updates and vision

The ODK team shared several exciting developments and the direction the platform is heading:

  • Entity workflows for tracking of persistent records (like households, farms, or patients) to enable easier updates and true longitudinal data collection.
  • Web Forms redesign with offline support and iOS compatibility and improved handling of groups, repeats, and images.
  • New Geospatial tools, including a new map view in ODK Central and improved spatial data collection in Web Forms.
  • User management enhancements like expiring accounts, QR onboarding, and flexible permissions.
  • Editing in ODK Central with geodata tools and media previews.
  • Improved integrations with Power BI, R, Python, and Google Sheets.
  • AI support through a new assistant on the ODK docs site.

Community in action

Perhaps the most inspiring part of the Summit was hearing the diverse ways others use ODK in the field:

  • Distributing mosquito nets in Congo,
  • Supporting voter registration via SMS in high-stakes elections,
  • Designing forms for non-literate farmers,
  • Mapping mangrove loss with the Philippine Space Agency, and
  • Conducting household mapping for a population micro census in Uruguay.

These stories showed just how versatile ODK is, and how the community drives its evolution.

Key takeaways

  • Smallholder farmers benefit immensely from even basic record-keeping.
  • Providing actionable insights back to participants could be transformative.
  • Agriculture-specific software is often rigid or expensive – ODK offers a flexible alternative.
  • Lessons from agriculture have parallels in health, energy, and humanitarian work.

Overall, the Summit reinforced that ODK is more than a data collection tool, it is a catalyst for change across a range of sectors all over the world. Attending the event was a reminder of how a flexible, open platform can empower communities, improve decision-making, and turn field collected data into actionable insights Whether it’s supporting farmers, protecting ecosystems, or strengthening public health, ODK continues to demonstrate just how much real-world impact smart tools can achieve.