#21 MEL Digital Transformation | In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa sits down with Aasit Nanavati, Chief Strategy Officer at DevResults. Together, they discuss what digital transformation actually means in foreign assistance and why 2025 felt like an inflection point for the entire sector.

In this episode of Survey & Beyond: The Data Collection Podcast, host Marta Costa sits down with Aasit Nanavati, Chief Strategy Officer at DevResults. Together, they discuss what digital transformation actually means in foreign assistance and why 2025 felt like an inflection point for the entire sector.

What You’ll Learn:

How to recognize the critical inflection point in foreign assistance
Why technology fatigue undermines impact
The single source of truth framework
How to avoid the legacy loop trap
Why foundational data infrastructure must precede emerging technologies

Aasit Nanavati is Chief Strategy Officer at DevResults, a monitoring, evaluation, and learning technology platform, bringing over a decade of expertise in global health, international development, and digital transformation. With a background in public health and epidemiology, Aasit has led impactful programs across India, Uganda, and beyond while championing data-driven decision-making as a core principle in foreign assistance.

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Episode Resources:

Aasit Nanavati on LinkedIn
DevResults Website
Marta Costa on LinkedIn
SurveyCTO Website ant

Episode Chapters:

09:57 Intro
10:13 From Public Health to MEL Tech
16:59 Foreign Assistance at an Inflection Point
20:06 The Digital Tools Ecosystem
21:55 Why Digital Transformation Fails
25:35 The Danger of Over-Customization
28:21 Human-Centered Innovation
30:48 What Single Source of Truth Unlocks
35:32 The Next Decade Challenge
38:08 What’s Exciting Now
40:21 Closing Takeaway