Import participation data from an external activity into the Alida platform

If you've fielded an activity in an external platform (for example, a focus group, an in-depth interview, a forum, or a survey), you can import the participation event data into the Alida platform through a CSV file. Use this feature to credit community members for their participation.

You can perform this task once after the activity has closed, or you can re-import participation data as many times as you wish to update statuses while the activity is still open.

  1. Open the Surveys app and click New Project.
  2. Under External Activity, click Create.
  3. Enter the internal-facing name for the activity (maximum 255 characters) and click Create.
  4. Click Track Participants.
  5. Click Upload Participants.

  1. In the Upload Participants dialog, select a Community.
  2. Click Choose File to browse for your CSV.
    The CSV file must have the following columns:
    Column header Status Description Example value
    Email Required The email address of the participant. This value will be used to match the participants to existing members' profiles.
    • If the email address matches an existing member's, the participation events will be added to that member's profile.
    • If the email address does not match an existing member's, a new nonmember profile will be created.
    • If the email address matches a member's old email address, the participation events will be added to that member's profile. Once imported, the Participant Status list will display the member's current email address instead of the old one.
    		risus@example.com
    Firstname Optional The first name of the participant.
    Note: This value is ignored if the email matches an existing member's current or old email address.
    		Linda
    Lastname Optional The last name of the participant.
    Note: This value is ignored if the email matches an existing member's current or old email address.
    		Logan
    EventDate Required The date and time of the participation event. 2024-12-01T12:00:00Z
    Event Required The exact nature of the participation event. Possible values include:
    • SurveyInvited
    • Started
    • SurveyCompleted
    • SurveyDisqualified
    • SurveyOverQuota
    Note: The values must match what is listed here. Using different values will cause the import to fail.
    Tip: Include the most current participation status of the member. The application will backfill the other events. For example, if someone's status is SurveyCompleted, the application will also credit their profile with SurveyInvited and Started statuses.
    		SurveyInvited
    Tip: Click Sample CSV file to download an example of how to format your participation information.
  3. Click Upload.
    Result: The application processes the CSV file.
  4. When the CSV upload is finished, look for these indicators that the participation data was imported successfully:
    • A notification appears in the notification center.
    • On the external activity's Distribute tab, a Participation Summary bar chart appears and displays counts for the following events:
      • Invited
      • Started
      • Incomplete
      • Completed
      • Disqualified
      • Over Quota
    • Under Track Participants > Uploaded CSV, the CSV file has an Upload Status of Successful.

      If the Upload Status says Failed, click the Errors link beside it to download an error message file that will help you troubleshoot your CSV.

    • Click the file name of a successful CSV import to view the participation data that was added by that file.
    • Under Track Participants > Participant Status, the successfully imported participants across all CSV imports are listed. For each participant, the following pieces of information are displayed:
      • Name
      • Email
      • Community
      • Participation Status (as of the most recent CSV import)
      Tip: Use the search field to find participants based on their names and emails.