Formative research

Formative research informs programme decision making, whether that be in the form of a baseline survey to help design a project or set benchmark indicators so an intervention can be monitored over time; or the pre-testing of advertising, communication materials and products; or larger consumer surveys to understand a populations’ knowledge and behaviour towards a particular product or service.

The information gathered is used to:

• define and understand those groups better 
• improve upon or develop new services and information that will better meet their needs
• ensure those services and that information are appropriate before they are launched
• improve the relationship between Marie Stopes International and its clients, and others that it works with

Studies conducted include:

• Perceptions and realities: Yemeni women, men and contraception - English & Arabic (summary)
• Perceptions and realities: Yemeni women, men and contraception - English & Arabic (full report)

• Adolescence in Pakistan: sex, marriage and reproductive health - overview
• Adolescence in Pakistan: sex, marriage and reproductive health – intoview
• Overcoming barriers to reproductive health in post-conflict Afghanistan: a participatory study – overview - English & Farsi
• Overcoming barriers to reproductive health in post-conflict Afghanistan: a participatory study – intoview - English & Farsi
• Reducing maternal mortality among repatriated Guatemalan refugees - overview – English
• Reducing maternal mortality among repatriated Guatemalan refugees - intoview - English
• Reducing maternal mortality among repatriated Guatemalan refugees - overview - Spanish
• Reducing maternal mortality among repatriated Guatemalan refugees - intoview - Spanish

Marie Stopes International also pilots new tools for research and documents best practice to share within the Marie Stopes International global partnership and with other organisations.

To date these have included the Developing a participatory poverty grading tool which aims to facilitate communities to identify their own definition and criteria of poverty which can then help ensure that information and services are targeted at the poorest groups within a community. This research has been conducted in Bangladesh, Yemen, Kenya and in Uganda.

In Latin America, Marie Stopes International documented 3 social franchising projects in Honduras and Nicaragua as part of an initiative to pilot and develop alternative forms of delivering quality sexual and reproductive health services. The lessons learnt from this research have been used to help inform the development of Marie Stopes International’s social franchising programme around the world.

• Developing a participatory poverty grading tool - overview
• Developing a participatory poverty grading tool - viewpoint
• Participatory poverty grading tool manual - project managers guide
• Participatory poverty grading tool manual - trainees guide
• Participatory poverty grading tool manual - trainers guide
• Social franchising in Nicaragua & Honduras - overview - English
• Social franchising in Nicaragua & Honduras - intoview - English
• Social franchising in Nicaragua & Honduras - overview – Spanish
• Social franchising in Nicaragua & Honduras - intoview – Spanish  

What’s the difference between an overview, intoview and a viewpoint?

Each piece of research has an overview (a summary) of the research undertaken and either an intoview (the full report) or a viewpoint (the full report but on an issue that Marie Stopes International feels has global partnership wide applications).