How to plan and run a baseline survey

What is a baseline survey?

A baseline is a measurement of key conditions, your indicators, before a project begins. You use it later to show how far things have changed. The IFRC's Baseline Basics guide gives a simple comparison: you record your weight before a diet so you can tell later whether the diet made a difference.

Mercy Corps makes the same point. Without a baseline you may be able to show outputs, such as items delivered, but it is hard to show changes in knowledge, behaviour or conditions.

When should you do it?

Do it after the project is designed and funded, and before the activities that affect each indicator begin. Mercy Corps notes that a phased approach can work, with different rounds for groups that start at different times. Plan the baseline in your first month. Our inception checklist shows where it fits.

How is a baseline different from an assessment?

Source: Mercy Corps baseline tip sheet. Sometimes an assessment can supply some baseline information, but do not assume it replaces a baseline.

How do you plan a baseline in seven steps?

1. Define the purpose. State why you need it and who will use it. Agree timing and when you will repeat it.
2. List what to measure. Take the indicators from your logframe. IFRC guidance says baselines usually focus on higher-level indicators, such as outcomes, including changes in knowledge, attitudes and practice. Add key assumptions that you must monitor.
3. Measure only what you need. Extra questions waste time and make repeating the study harder.
4. Choose methods. Surveys give percentages and averages. Focus groups and interviews explore reasons. Many baselines combine them. See focus group discussions and key informant interviews.
5. Plan the sample. Pick a sample you can rebuild at endline. You need not interview the same people, but you must sample the same target group in a comparable way. See sampling for small surveys.
6. Prepare tools and team. Write questions that match your indicator definitions. Build the form in KoboToolbox or on paper. Train enumerators and test the tool with a few people.
7. Write a scope of work or plan. Include budget, timeline, roles and ethics steps.

How do you run the data collection?

• Get consent. Explain the purpose, say participation is voluntary, and protect names. See ethics and consent.
• Use local language. Translate carefully and test with Burmese-speaking enumerators, so questions mean the same thing everywhere.
• Supervise. Check completed forms daily. Fix errors while the team is still in the area.
• Plan for access. In areas with limited access, use trained local enumerators or phone interviews where safe and suitable, and note the limits in your report.
• Keep data safe. Store personal data securely and remove names when you analyse.

How do you report the baseline?

A short report is enough. Include the purpose, the indicators, the methods and sample, the results by group, limits, and what the results mean for targets. Mercy Corps treats a baseline study report as a minimum standard. Use the results to refine your targets and your implementation plan. File the tools and the definitions with your indicator reference sheets so the endline team can repeat them.

What if you have no time or budget for a full survey?

A baseline does not have to be large. IFRC guidance says a baseline can use interviews and focus groups, or a mix, when a survey does not fit the budget and timeline. A small baseline of the five most important indicators, done well and written down, is more useful than a long one that nobody finishes. Say plainly what you measured, how many people you reached and what the results cannot show.

What mistakes should you avoid?

• Starting after activities begin. You lose the "before" picture.
• Changing the indicator definition at endline. IFRC guidance stresses that baseline and endline must use the same indicators and measurement methods to be compared.
• Measuring everything. Focus on the indicators.
• Skipping the report. Without it, the endline team cannot repeat your work.
• Ignoring seasons. If an indicator changes by season, collect at the same time of year later.

How EMPO can help

EMPO is a reliable, Yangon-based training and consultancy provider and one of Myanmar's leading names in practical NGO training, with 1,200+ people trained and 15 partner organisations. We offer MEAL training and intensive support in English and Burmese, online or in person across Myanmar. Our store also offers a package of 23 ready-to-use KoboToolbox XLS forms. See our services or contact us.

Sources

• Baseline Basics — IFRC, 2024
• MEL Tip Sheet: Baselines — Mercy Corps