1. Quantitative tools include only “need-to-know”information
Review the project monitoring and evaluation plan to identify your quantitative
information needs for either monitoring or evaluation tools. We consider the
information needs stated in the M&E plan ―need-to-know‖ information, meaning
they are required to monitor and evaluate the project. Additional information that
may be of interest but is not stated in the M&E plan is considered ―nice to know.‖
Nice-to-know information is likely to be of interest, but is not essential to understand
the progress or impact of the project. Collecting nice-to-know information risks
taking away staff time and other resources that should focus on high-quality project
implementation, including high-quality M&E for the project. By building the
questions directly from the indicators in your M&E plan, the questionnaire will stay
as short as possible and the data collection process will be more efficient.
In the M&E plan, state whether to collect the quantitative data at the household level,
the community level, or from another source. In general, ask for information common
toall members of a community (e.g., number of different types of households, main
hazard risks and last flood events) in a community-level survey. For information that
varies for different households (e.g., livelihood strategies, monthly income and dietary
diversity) use household-level surveys.
Review your analysis plan to determine which comparison groups are required for
analysis. For example, you may compare households based on socioeconomic status,
geographic location, and flood-affected or drought-affected status. The analysis plan
should state what information is required to create these comparison groups.
Include survey questions to collect the comparison group data.
Once you have completed your draft questionnaire, recheck the questionnaire
against the M&E plan to make sure that 1) the questionnaire includes all M&E
information needs stated in the M&E plan and 2) the questionnaire does not include
additional information that is only nice to know.
