Services

Effective program and policy support requires high-quality, timely, and representative information about the people being served. IDinsight applies state-of-the-art methods to collect and analyze information from household surveys, facility surveys, firm surveys, focus groups, and key informant interviews to strengthen policies and programs. Tailored to the needs of decision-makers, and benefiting from our networks of trained enumerators, IDinsight can obtain timely data about people’s living conditions, effects of shocks like droughts and epidemics, and public opinion and preferences. This data can help clarify agendas, enabling international agencies to align priorities with government or NGO partners based on what is most effective. We also work with academic and civil society partners to ensure we are eliciting the most meaningful information in a particular context. Once collected, we analyze and share findings in forms like dashboards that can be most readily used by international agency staff and leaders, and their government counterparts.

Leaders initiating or reforming programs to improve human welfare have a wealth of evidence to draw on. But the amount of information can be overwhelming. Which evidence applies to a specific challenge in a given context? IDinsight teams with deep contextual knowledge work with program experts to articulate the path to impact through evidence-informed theories of change. Drawing from evidence databases, we can identify and communicate the most reliable and relevant information. We then help leaders apply evidence to their work, often using human-centered design so new interventions are responsive to a communities’ conditions, preferences, and aspirations. Program teams in international agencies find this valuable for discussing and negotiating with a range of stakeholders, from in-house technical specialists to government counterparts.

Nearly every leader can increase a program’s impact by improving its implementation. Understanding what is – or isn’t – working and why requires systematic feedback about the pace and quality of execution. This data can help leaders understand pain points, for example, they may need to better train front-line workers, or improve targeting of people receiving services, or address supply-chain bottlenecks. We work closely with partners in ministries, project management units, NGOs, and other implementing organizations to design and execute tailored evaluations and analyses to improve programs that serve vulnerable populations. IDinsight teams assess a program’s performance, identify the sources of implementation bottlenecks, and/or strengthen others’ use of administrative data. In addition, IDinsight teams can develop dashboards for ongoing feedback. Working in complex operating environments where leaders face competing priorities, we focus on high-impact, practical solutions. Often, we deploy embedded teams to work side-by-side with implementers. We conduct rigorous analytic work and also providing on-the-job training. Our teams are supported by sectoral and methodological specialists, who contribute to all aspects of the work and assure technical quality. IDinsight teams often develop sustainable monitoring and learning systems that establish feedback loops for data-informed decision-making to continue beyond our partnership.

Reaching ambitious goals for social and economic progress demands careful measurement of the net impact of programs intended to reduce poverty and improve opportunities for vulnerable communities. Evidence from impact evaluations has become fundamental to global development and can help decision-makers direct resources to the most effective programs. IDinsight brings extensive experience evaluating the impact of health, education, agriculture, social protection, and other programs across sectors. Our highly trained teams deploy a range of rigorous approaches within time, budget, and operational constraints. Decision-makers often need information beyond whether a program “works.” So we blend quantitative and qualitative approaches or assess a program’s affordability to provide additional context for leaders. This gives decision-makers a full picture of a program’s benefits and net impact. We also develop specific recommendations for larger-scale implementation using insights derived from the evaluation. Our teams go beyond purely technical support to consult with stakeholders or disseminate findings to constituencies, development partners, and/or media.

Efficient use of public funds is an essential element of good governance. IDinsight has a growing portfolio of projects in which we provide decision support to improve leader’s resource allocation. Using data science, including machine learning techniques, specialized IDinsight teams can draw on a range of existing administrative, census, geospatial, and other data sources to increase the efficiency of spending. We also use conventional high-quality, representative survey methods to supplement these approaches. Moreover, we can conduct sophisticated analyses using administrative data to help leaders identify sources of leakage, and fix vulnerabilities in the systems through which funds are transferred.

With rigorous qualitative and quantitative research, we can bring in the voices of those you serve. We help your team reflect on dignity in their own work through workshops, training and dignity audits to uncover blockages to being respectful. Co-design helps staff and participants join together to imagine a way of working that meets people’s hopes. Using our rigorous measures of Felt Respect for Dignity, we can evaluate the impact of your efforts to be respectful, and their consequences for the rest of your program. Research has shown that dignity is something citizens value and are frequently denied. Respectful interactions produce greater wellbeing and self-efficacy, improved health, better functioning democratic spheres, greater cooperation, and increased service uptake and satisfaction.