Module 8. Collecting information with market actors

Other considerations in gathering data from market actors

It is important for data collection to be driven by the cycles that markets actors work within, rather than by donor needs. For instance:

For agricultural projects, data gathering should take place in accordance with the seasonal cycles
Projects with businesses or other organisations that produce formal accounts should also take annual business and accounting cycles into consideration to reduce the burden of data gathering on partners
It is also important to start data collection when sufficient time has passed for change to be recognisable in data provided by partners. This will avoid over-burdening partners with requests that do not provide usable information.

The cost of data collection for the programme and its partners is another issue to be aware of. Different ways of keeping the cost down include:

Making sure the programme M&E team keep track of all data being collected, and actively review how the same data might be used for different purposes
Making use, where possible, of secondary data that has been collected for other purposes (e.g. use of government statistics, or businesses' sales data)
Considering the use of phone interviews in place of field visits

Discussing data and arrangements for data sharing may also be part of the ongoing reflection and review processes (Module 6).