Field research

We deliver field research across a range of different operational environments, incorporating methods from electronic polling to face-to-face interviews and focus groups

We are also skilled in staff procurement, workforce development, data management, Quality Assurance (QA) and technical reporting – all of which are relevant to the delivery of quality research outputs.

Our company has designed, implemented and provided technical assistance for projects valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars, across developed, developing and least developed countries. Much of this work has included some form of research – from literature reviews to on-the-ground surveys and field trials during project implementation.

Prime has core capabilities not only in field research, but also in logistics and community engagement in diverse environments, including those with complex social and security-challenged operating contexts. To further extend our capabilities we often form strategic partnerships with local firms, drawing on valuable in-country knowledge of the operating environment.

Our capabilities include deep policy and program evaluation expertise and data collection to support clients across the policy cycle, from needs assessment and formative research through to full-service program evaluation.

We bring unrivalled expertise in risk management and cross-boundary and in-country logistics, always working closely with local in-country teams and relevant Government agencies to ensure investments and interventions are secured by strong local operational capacity and community / Government support.

Our past work includes:

♦ Annual Benchmarking Surveys (ABS) completed in Zambia, Africa, as part of the Zambia Dairy Transformation Programme, from 2017-2021, examining smallholder farmers’ changing behaviours and practices; client: New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (NZMFAT).

♦ Similar ABSs completed in Afghanistan (2012-17) and Fiji (2017-19), as part of NZMFAT-funded agricultural and food security support programs in those countries.

♦ Coordination of a large and comprehensive field survey across multiple provinces in Afghanistan in 2015, as part of the Comprehensive Agriculture and Rural Development – Facility (CARD-F).

♦ A market survey in Rwanda in 2017, as part of a feasibility study to determine the business model and implementation plan for an integrated beef and goat farm-to-market operation on a 6000-hectare block of Government-owned land; client: the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

♦ Mapping of the poultry and red meat value chains in Ethiopia in 2019, as part of a livestock investment feasibility study for a private sector client.

♦ Collaboration with Global Good Fund, a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation entity, to assist with field data collection in Ethiopia in 2016.

♦ Value chain analysis and market surveys across several provinces of Afghanistan, from 2019-2021, as part of the USAID-funded Afghanistan Value Chains – Livestock project.

♦ Community surveys completed in Afghanistan in 2018 and 2020, as part of the Asian Development Bank-funded Arghandab Integrated Water Resources Development Investment Program and Water Resources Development Sector Project.