Baseline survey

How do we Evaluate Programmes?

It is one form of survey  carried out before the project activities start.

It is an analysis describing the situation prior to a development intervention, against which progress can be assessed or comparisons made.

According if it is conceived within a programme or a project cycle management, a baseline surveys will be carried out  in the identifying phase of programme cycle management or in the  project origination stage.

Why carry out a baseline study?

In order to measure progress (or lack of it) towards intended programme outcomes, you need to have a reference point - a description and measurement of initial conditions that are addressed by the programme.  Collecting baseline data essentially means taking the first measurements against the programme’s indicators to find out ‘where we are today.’  This enables you to compare the situation before and after the intervention, to note changes and to consider what effects the programme has had on the situation.

When do you carry out a baseline study?

A baseline study should be undertaken once the programme has been designed (but then how the programme was designed without the data?) and the indicators agreed, so that the information collected is both relevant and manageable.  It should happen at the beginning or just prior to the beginning of a development intervention.

Sources of baseline data

Baseline data can come from either primary sources (gathered specifically for this purpose) or secondary sources (collected for another purpose, but relevant to this programme). Secondary data may come from government departments (e.g. the national bureau of statistics), from international data sources (such as the World Bank), from local official agencies (such as village schools and health centres) or from other NGOs. Secondary data can save you money, but be careful to check that it really is the information you need and that it both valid and reliable.