Research

Marie Stopes International (MSI) values and uses evidence to develop, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and quality of its health programmes.

The Research and Metrics programme undertakes research and performance analysis with the ultimate aim of expanding access to high quality, affordable and cost-effective reproductive and sexual health services.

The Research and Metrics team is a multidisciplinary team with expertise in epidemiology, statistics, population dynamics, qualitative research and health economics. Based in London, Nairobi and Hanoi, the global team supports over 20 national research managers in 14 countries.

Key principles
Three key principles underpin MSI’s research programme:

• knowledge sharing: knowledge sharing is integral to all of MSI’s research and ensures that evidence leads to action and that lessons are shared within the organisation and more broadly.
• ethics: MSI’s programme of research is based on principles of medical and research ethics to protect the dignity, rights and welfare of all individuals and communities involved in research activities. MSI has set up an independent Ethics Review Board, chaired by Dr. Susannah Mayhew , Senior Lecturer in Reproductive Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• evidence-based: collecting timely, accurate information on activities across the MSI partnership is crucial for monitoring, evaluating and strengthening our programmes through evidence based decision-making. MSI is piloting a tool called the Dashboard, which aims to help our international programmes monitor performance and strengthen programmatic decision making.

Research types
MSI engages in a variety of different types of research:

• behavioural research
• clinical research
• operational research
• policy-related research
• market research

Research topics
MSI undertakes research on a variety of topics including:

• family planning research
• safe abortion research
• HIV/AIDS research
• maternal health research