Key findings from the participatory village assessment using the qualitative information appraisal (qia)

The QIA (Quantified Information Appraisal) is a methodology which, besides aggregating local numbers (e.g. on facilities installed), quantifies qualitative information on village processes, with gender and poverty mainstreamed in both scores and process. The methodology uses existing PRA methods such as Village Social Maps, Transect Walks, Scoring Matrices and Focus Group Discussions. Based on the experiences with the Methodology for Participatory Assessment (MPA) the QIA was developed and used in India in a variety of development projects since 1999. Apart from the expansion from the water and sanitation sector to other sectors, notably watershed development, poverty alleviation, rural livelihoods and water resources, the QIA added several other features to the MPA, including peer review of scores, documentation of reasons for scores, use of an MS ACCESS database to store and analyse information, several rounds of stakeholder meetings and a detailed action planning report. The QIA is designed for use in both one-time assessments for baseline, mid-term and overall project impact assessments, as well as for continuous monitoring as part of a project’s regular monitoring and evaluation system. (authors abstract).