T hird-Party Monitoring has become an essential monitoring and evaluation tool for many agencies working in hard-to-accessareas. Our independent monitoring and verification services help give our partners confidence that reported results are reliable, ensuring that programmes are achieving the expected outcomes and delivering for end users. Our systems-based approach to data quality helps build stronger partner and in-country monitoring systems and reduces duplicative and extractive third-party data collection.

In fragile environments, Acumen Research can provide a meaningful contribution to the broader monitoring and evaluation toolbox, as well as increase accountability of donor spending, by offering; a mixed methods approach based on Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), household surveys (HHS), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), direct observation, and social media analysis, high-quality training to enumerators in the field, and research quality assurance. We always provide TPM services in collaboration with a network of local experts, including enumerators, data entry staff and analysts. By effectively measuring performance, our TPM services contribute to new project designs, sector and country portfolio strategies, and to broader strategic revisions that contribute to maximizing development effectiveness and improved delivery of services for beneficiaries.

Our TPM work enables our clients to understand what works and what doesn’t, in near real time, prompting adaptive programming, continuous improvements, and better results overall. Our monitoring work captures the information related to programme achievement to date, challenges, opportunities, risks, and future strategy development. For donor agencies, we also offer the option of verifying monitoring information from your implementing partners. For humanitarian, stabilization and development management programming, we can also provide baseline research and a source of primary field data to inform programming and help verify partner reporting.

S urveys are powerful tools to develop a better understanding of the target audience and stakeholders. With a rigorously designed and implemented survey, firms, government agencies, and non-profits can harness invaluable information to help inform their strategic, financial, and operational decision making. However, if design and implementation aren’t optimal, survey research can lead to ill-informed decision making based on unreliable and invalid information, and with serious consequences for operations, performance, and competitive advantage.

Our survey development team will provide you with a customized approach based on your research goals, sampling frame, intended output, and, of course, timeline. We’ll develop a solution specific to your organization, your survey research needs, and your sector to provide statistical consulting and analysis support for the entire survey research process. Whether you need assistance with specifying the initial survey, developing the sampling plan, conducting psychometric tests for reliability, validity, and power, or analyzing the collected data—or each of these steps—we’ll develop a plan to meet your specific needs.

T he digital world has opened up new and exciting possibilities for collating, analyzing and visualizing data. At Acumen Research, we know how to apply innovative technologies to complement other methodologies and better inform decision-making. Applying digital technologies allows us to deepen our understanding of the impact of policy and programmes on people, society and the environment.

When done well, data visualization can be an effective tool in helping us identify patterns, generate insights and tell the story behind data. Interactive dashboards can take these concepts a step further. Our in-house capabilities allow us to tailor visualizations to the diverse needs and preferences of our partners, utilizing infographics, animations, maps and a wide range of charts. We develop bespoke dashboards that allow partners to intuitively explore complex data sets or share their impact with others in an accessible way.

Our digital services range from remote data collection (e.g. mobile phone surveys) to make the most of existing data (e.g. demographics, social media, satellite imagery) or applying advanced analytical techniques (e.g., modeling impact, sentiment analysis). Digital also includes the enhanced visualization of findings, using technology to support user interactions with a dataset and dashboards for performance management. In all our work, we are careful to consider the implications and limitations of technology, including the ethical implications, and those voices that are excluded or marginalized by the digital world.