ADRA Professional Leadership Institute Planning Week Thailand, April 21-25, 2008

1. ADRA Professional Leadership InstitutePlanning WeekThailand, April 21-25, 2008 Day 2: April 21, 2008 Positioning ADRA for New Opportunities Conducting a Needs Assessment

2. Agenda • What is the Purpose of a Needs Assessment? • Secondary Literature Review • Inclusion of Stakeholders in Assessment • Quantitative vs. Qualitative Methods • Qualitative Methods • Choosing the Right Data Collection Tool • Assessing and Using Assessment Findings • Madagascar Assessment as an Example

3. What is the Purpose of a Needs Assessment? • To explore specific needs in a particular geographic area, usually to pursue a funding opportunity • To provide in-depth information about a specific topic or sector • To inform project design

4. Secondary Literature Review • National Statistics – Demographic Health Surveys, Census Information, etc. • Regional Statistics and Information – Surveys and assessments that have been done in a particular area (check with other NGOs, UN agencies) • Any relevant studies sponsored by your potential donor (ask during donor visit) • Country-specific resources – FEWS Net, Early Warning System information, UN Reports, Demographic and Health Surveys

5. Inclusion of Stakeholders in Assessment • Community-level: community-level committees, women’s associations, farmers groups, etc. • Local government: district authorities, regional government authorities, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education. • Vulnerable groups: marginalized ethnic groups, female-headed households. • Local NGOs working in a specific area • Traditional leaders: monks, etc. • Other ideas?

6. Planning a Needs Assessment • Team members – what core technical capacities are needed? • Logistical considerations – vehicles, fuel, flight arrangements, accommodation, setting up meetings. • How will you pay for the assessment? • Can portions be charged to the project? • Will a donor office pay a portion of the costs?

7. Quantitative vs Qualitative Research QUANTITATIVE • Answers the question “How many?” • Aimed at collecting objective quantifiable evidence • Quantitative research instruments must be used uniformly to ensure validity of data • Quantitative data is descriptive QUALITATIVE • Answers questions such as “How?” and “Why?” • Helps to determine meanings, processes, and reasons • Iterative process allows flexibility in approach to qualitative data collection • Qualitative data is interpretive

8. Choosing Qualitative or Quantitative • For many assessments, qualitative research can provide a sufficient level of information. • Secondary sources (from literature review) can provide quantitative information on the population (FEWS Net, DHS Data, surveys of other organizations). • Quantitative assessments are expensive since they require random sampling and a large survey team – an organization can easily spend $30,000 - $50,000 on an in-depth quantitative assessment. • This presentation will focus on qualitative methods.

9. Key Characteristics of Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis • Allows direct and personal contact with target populations in their own environments • Researcher becomes the instrument of data collection, using a topical outline to guide in-depth discussions • Qualitative methods are particularly oriented toward exploration, discovery, and inductive logic Focus Group Discussion in community field

10. Key Characteristics of Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis • Detail and depth of information collected through qualitative methods is typically derived from a relatively small number of interviews, group discussions, etc… • Qualitative analysis is not enabled by testing hypotheses but rather by using open questions to identify key issues and patterns • Qualitative methods are particularly appropriate for projects that aim to achieve individualized outcomes

11. Commonly Used Qualitative Data Collection Tools • Interviews - Key informant interviews - Focus group discussions - Household Interviews • Interactive research tools - Transects - Calendars - Flow Diagrams - Venn Diagrams - Ranking and Scoring

12. Session Objectives • The Value of Interviews • Introduce interactive qualitative tools • Transects • Calendars • Community Maps

13. The Value of Interviews • Why Community Interviews?Yields a more refined community profile; Generates valuable information to cross-check information obtained from group and focus group interviews. • Why a Focus Group Interview? Identification and description of common sector-specific issues and characteristics. Insights into the perceptions of community members. Helps identify of tension/sources of conflict. • Why a Key Informant Interviews? Gain a specific stakeholder view of a situation. Understand the roles and interests of certain stakeholders. Gain buy-in for important parties and incorporate into program design. • Why Household Interviews? Identify differences among the households of the community and allow for comparisons of households. Understand intra-household dynamics; i.e. allocation of food, resources etc.

14. Interactive tools Interactive data collection tools are: • Typically less structured than interviews • Dependant on the participation of community members • Are especially well-suited for analysis of agricultural, ecological and social systems within a particular community • Often referred to as participatory appraisal techniques (PRA tools)

15. Common Interactive Tools • Transects • Calendars • Flow Diagrams • Venn Diagrams • Ranking and Scoring

16. Transects Transects can either be drawn from highest to lowest elevation, or simply by walking around the community Required Resources: • Interviewer/recorder and local community guide • Recording materials (paper, pencil, camera if available and permissible by community)

17. Transects Methodology • Walk from one end of the community to the other with one or two community members (preferably a man and a woman) • Visit locations of interest, such as relief centers, markets, clinics, schools and water sources, but return to the same general direction • Visit homes at random (e.g. every 10th house) • In the homes you visit, ask to see any sick or very thin children or adults • If an important site was not seen, make a separate visit • Note the time of day, it may be useful for comparison

18. Transects What to observe • Range and quantities of food available. Prices in markets. • Food preparation, eating and drinking habits. • Water collection and storage. • General state of cleanliness/sanitation. • Main sources of livelihoods for men and women. • Minority or impoverished areas. • Any obvious signs of malnutrition. • General state of roads; means of transport.

19. Example of Transect Walk Chart Source: Abarquez and Murshed (2004)

20. Calendars • Important tool to identify patterns in food security, vulnerability, climate changes, etc. • Can be grouped by gender, socio-economic group, or livelihood Required Resources: • Preferably two assessment team members • Recording material (paper, pencil, etc.) • Topical outline with list of items to address in calendar Community Members Developing a Seasonal Calendar

21. Community Maps • Community maps are similar to transect walks in that they rely on the direct input of community members • Differ in that they can provide information on housing, roads, water, schools, and other infrastructure • Often conveys institutional context and social structure Resources Required: • Two assessment team members • Recording material (paper, pencil, etc.) • Topical outline with list of items to include

22. Community Maps Methodology • Make a preliminary list of the elements you want the map to describe • Select groups that represent particular communities or population subgroups • It may be useful to compare their visions of the community • Decide where to draw and find a suitable space • Ask participants to work together; begin drawing the layout of the community. Include a map legend if necessary.

23. Community Maps Methodology • Facilitate mapping by asking about locations of elements that may have an impact on key social/economic issues. Education, health care, livelihoods and other venues of social importance. • Let participants decide what to include in the map as this will show locations/institutions that are viewed as important, but be sure to include all locations in your list • Next ask them if the layout of the community has changed in recent memory, and if so, how.

24. Community Maps Methodology • Ask them to identify the most important community resources in maintaining food and livelihood security • Natural resources (rivers, streams, forests, etc.) • Agricultural and other food gathering areas; • Sources of livelihoods and other important institutions (markets, businesses, schools, hospitals, etc.) • Ask participants to reach consensus on the map • Identify any areas that they perceive as being the source of problems and/or constraints on food and livelihood security

25. Flow Diagram • Presents events in a cycle of food production, marketing, and consumption • Describes the decision making processes or structures of local governments and service agencies • Identifies the opportunities and constraints for citizen participation

26. WFP NGO Community Women’s Group Elders Dist.Gov’t. Venn Diagram • Used to identify institutional relationships in a given community. Particularly useful to identify and understand the informal social networks that vulnerable households rely on

27. Venn Diagram: Methodology • Ask participants to list institutions known to affect the chosen topic • Participants then select a circle to represent each institution, with relative size as a measure of significance • Explain that the closer the cut-out circles to the central one, the greater influence/relationship the organization has with the community • The circles should be moved until agreement is reached • Once complete, participants can discuss and analyze the relationship of their community to the various institutions identified • One way to conclude is to ask participants to imagine the changes that would occur if one of the more powerful institutions were moved closer or further from the center

28. Ranking and Scoring • Wealth Ranking • Illustrates local perceptions of the wealth groups within a community and group households. • It also identifies key issues and suggests ways in which their situation can be improved. • Can also help assessing food needs and comparing changes in wealth over time. • Methodology • A group of people who have lived in the community for a long time and form a representative sample of that community in terms of age, gender and socio- economic status. • Several groups may be necessary depending on village size and area of familiarity • One facilitator for each group. • Set of sheets of paper or cards upon which household names can be written.

29. Ranking and Scoring • Ask each group/participant to take cards, one by one, and to form piles representing the different levels of wealth/well-being • The group/participant decides on the number of piles • Discuss with participants why they have put particular households in particular piles • This will give a good understanding and description of the different social strata in the community • Record the results • You might finish off by producing a simple graph of well-being and wealth for the community, and comparing this with the normal “curve” found in most communities

30. Wealth Ranking Example

31. Choosing the Right Data Collection Tool • Most planning must be conducted in a limited amount of time and visiting multiple locations. How do you decide which data collection tool to use? • When should you use/not use interviews? • Community maps? Transect map? Seasonal calendar? • Venn Diagram? Flow Diagram? • Ranking and Scoring? • What has your experience been using these tools? • In your experience, do certain tools help generate information requested by certain donors / for certain lines of funding?

32. Assessing and Using your Findings • How do you test the validity of your findings? • How do you triangulate data collected quantitatively? • How do you represent / present this information in your proposals? • You’ve spent a lot of time collecting this information? What other business development uses are there for this information?

33. Using Assessment Findings • Write a summary of needs assessment for an attachment (particularly if donor requires an assessment to be conducted) • Incorporate key findings of assessment into proposal in background section • Identify other avenues to share information collected: donors, other NGOs, technical working groups, etc. (builds ADRA’s credibility)

34. Madagascar Example • Outline of questions • Filling in information from all members of survey team under outline of questions • Needs assessment summary to share with donors and other stakeholders

35. Questions and Discussion