Women and Gender Studies

In 2016/17, IDA undertook three surveys for ‘Change Starts at Home’ which was implemented by Equal Access and supported by DFID. The project worked with couples, families, and community leaders to drive a change in community attitudes towards violence against women and girls. The survey had a sample size of 1,440 married couple and was conducted in three districts- Chitwan, Nawalparasi, and Kapilvastu, in control as well as intervention VDCs.

Safety, Security, Peace and Conflict Studies

In 2014-15, for GIZ, IDA conducted a perception survey amongst key stakeholders (high level civil servants, political leaders, former ministers of the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction, civil society leaders, and the media) regarding the accomplishments of the Nepal-donor basket fund, Nepal Peace Trust Fund (NPTF) and the areas it needs to concentrate on in the near future. 

From 2008-2011, IDA conducted four research studies under Saferworld with the support of various donor organizations. IDA undertook four nationwide surveys with a sample size of over 3000 respondents spread across 30 districts in Nepal to track public’s perception of security over time. 

Community Development and Livelihoods

 In 2018/19, through the support of JICA, IDA conducted a research study on community organizations by examining community mobilization models of Community Mobilization Project (CMP) and Saamudayik Bikaas Tatha Hariyali Aayojana (SABIHAA). The study adopted a mixed approach and employed a qualitative-quantitative method, conducting individual surveys, institutional surveys, FGDs and KIIs. 

 In 2018, IDA conducted an end-line survey with the University of Georgia, USA for of the BASIS project was implemented by Heifer International. The project aimed to improve the livelihood of rural households by increasing their social capital and production of farm families, and to provide evidence based recommendation for future project designing. For the end-line survey, the sample comprised of 3,200 respondents spread across 5 implementation districts of Palpa, Tanahu, Rautahat, Sarlahi and Mahottari. 

Economic, Business and Finance Studies

 From 2009-2011, IDA conducted two Business Climate Surveys in Nepal for the Asia Foundation. It was undertaken to document the transactions and to explore the perceptions of 1,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises in four major urban centers of the country – Biratnagar, Pokhara, Butwal and Nepalgunj. The survey analyzed the perception of Nepali entrepreneurs regarding the business environment in their localities and in the country as a whole. 

In 2015, IDA conducted two financial inclusion surveys. The first financial inclusion survey in early 2015 was conducted before the 2015 earthquake and undertaken with the support of DANIDA, DFID, UNCDF, and Fin Mark Trust. It measured profile levels of financial access and use of its services by all bankable adults across income ranges and other demographics. The sample size for this survey was over 4000 respondents and it was conducted across 71 districts. 

The second survey after the earthquake was conducted with the support of UNCDF.  The sample size for this survey was study was a subset of the first nationwide survey and comprised of 768 respondents from 14 most earthquake affected districts.  

 In 2015/16, IDA conducted a baseline study for UNNATI’s sub-component on Rural Transport which was supported by Nepal-Denmark Development Cooperation. The project focused on promoting sustainable inclusive growth by reducing poverty and raising living standards by supporting farmers and working with market forces such as banks, businesses and entrepreneurs. For the study, IDA employed a mixed qualitative and quantitative approach. As a part of the quantitative approach, a survey comprising of 1,400 respondents was undertaken. One of the main components of UNNATI was upgrading/constructing rural roads and IDA conducted a baseline for the road component. 

Governance

 From 2013-2018, IDA conducted five perception surveys including a baseline survey and an end line assessment for the Sajhedari Bikaas Project (2012-2017) which was implemented by PACT and supported by USAID. The sample size for the baseline survey was 7,539, the rest of the surveys had a sample size of about 2,880 respondents. 

 In 2010/11, IDA in collaboration with Social Science Baha and with the support of DANIDA and DFID conducted a baseline study to generate baseline data for all the indicators of three projects: Governance Baseline Study of Human Rights Good Governance Programme, Enabling State Programme (ESP), and Rights, Democracy and Inclusion Fund (RDIF). For the study, IDA adopted a qualitative-quantitative research approach and undertook nationwide surveys, focused surveys, content analysis, key informant interviews, focus group discussion to identify key governance indicators in Nepal, their rationale, baseline and means of verification, and also reviewed global governance indices. 

Public Opinion Surveys

To capture the changing dynamics of Nepali public opinion, IDA has conducted several longitudinal public opinion surveys over the years.

Through The Asia Foundation Partnership with Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on Subnational Governance in Nepal, IDA has conducted two nation-wide surveys, ‘Survey of Nepali People’ in 2017 and 2018. The surveys had a sample size of over 7,000 who were spread across 7 provinces of Nepal. This longitudinal survey series will be conducted on an annual basis and aims to provide policy-makers and the broader public with rigorous data, reflecting the views of the Nepali people on the direction of the country, and on security, governance, politics, social relations, and the economy.  The SNP 2018 was jointly published by The Asia Foundation, Inter disciplinary Analysts, and Kathmandu University School of Arts.

From 2004 to 2015, IDA undertook eleven nationwide public opinion surveys called "Nepal Contemporary Political Situation (NCPS)". The NCPS survey series, a nationwide longitudinal survey with a sample size of 3,000 respondents aged 18 and above was undertaken by rigorous sampling design.

 Seven of the surveys were exclusively supported by The Asia Foundation (TAF) (NCPS I, II, III, IV, IX, X, and XI) and one was co-supported jointly by TAF and the UK’s DFID (NCPS V). Three of the NCPS Surveys (NCPS VI, VII, and VIII) were supported by USAID.

The NCPS series reports (NCPS I to VIII) have been published and are in the public domain, the rest are in the public domain in the form of reports or power point presentations. It had been greatly used by many journalists and opinion writers in their columns. It was widely acclaimed by researchers, academics, politicians, journalists, senior civil servants, and parliamentarians for having been a valuable longitudinal dataset, the only one of its kind that tracked Nepali public opinion over several years. 

Supported by Inter news Network and NDI, IDA conducted three nationwide public opinion surveys from 2013-2014 called ‘Public Opinion on Political Parties and Electoral Legislative Process’. The surveys were undertaken to document public opinion on various political issues such as overall direction of the country, main problems at the national and local levels, expectations from the Constituent Assembly, federalism, decentralization, governance, media, etc.  The survey had a sample size ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 and was spread across over 40 districts of the country. 

In 2010/2011, under the project Nepal Transition Initiative (NTI) funded by USAID and implemented by Chemonics International, IDA conducted three nationwide public opinion surveys called ‘Rolling Public Opinion Poll’. The survey covered issues of contemporary politics and aspects that the public wanted prioritized in the constitution being formulated. The survey employed a random sample of 3,000 respondents that were spread across 35 districts in Nepal.