Using Research to Improve Programme Decisions, Not Just Reports

Needs assessments, baseline studies, and evaluations are common in the humanitarian sector. Their value depends on whether findings actually change decisions. When research is treated as a donor requirement rather than a management tool, teams collect data they never use.

SITCO’s research work is designed around decisions. We help organizations define the question first: What do you need to know in order to act? From there we design methods that are feasible in the operating context, train data teams, and present findings in formats programme managers can apply.

Good research in Somalia also requires ethical, culturally appropriate engagement with communities. Sampling, language, gender dynamics, and access all shape the quality of evidence. Local researchers who understand these realities produce insights that travel better from the field to the boardroom.

If you are commissioning a study this year, ask your research partner how the findings will be used, by whom, and within what timeline. Evidence that arrives after the programme has already been designed is interesting. Evidence that arrives in time to shape it is useful.