Baselines for a Development Intervention
The baseline survey in an M&E program is the study done prior to the implementation of an initiative in international development. The study is meant to contextualise the current situation of a given issue. The best way to think about the baseline survey is it is like the before picture that will be utilised to demonstrate how successful the development intervention has been in the after picture demonstrated through the M&E’s implementation and the final report. The baseline study needs to be conducted prior to any implementation of the program’s activities.
The baseline study itself can be a very lengthy process, so it is important that there is enough time allocated to conduct an effective evaluation. The indicators, data collection methods and data analysis of the baseline study should all align and match those in the project’s actual M&E plan. Therefore, the baseline study should be conducted after the project’s logical framework and the M&E design have been finalised.
The results of the study work to guide the narrative of the project plan. It can also serve to encourage greater stakeholder support for a project’s efforts once the study’s results are released because it can demonstrate how urgently an intervention is needed. The final results of the baseline can serve almost as guarantee to donors that the intervention is highly needed.
The baseline also becomes useful in that it can serve as the trial and error period of the M&E plan. If a data collection method or a certain indicator is not proving effective in the baseline the M&E plan can easily be revised as a result of this discovery. After the baseline study has been completed, it is best practice to go back to the logistical framework and make any necessary edits to the program design based on the findings.