Project Updates

1. Remote Insights Gathering study on Family's Perspectives of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia

Empatika has begun work on a two-phase remote qualitative research study. The study will use a flexible mix of explorative and participatory remote research tools in order to gather insights on the COVID-19 situation in Indonesia from people’s perspectives over a six-month period. Study participants are some of the families that Empatika researchers have stayed with during previous research studies (currently over 40 families across 24 districts of Indonesia).

Our researchers are currently working with 'their' families as part of the first of three rounds in the second phase of this study. The current round will focus on the changes with children's, parents', and teachers' experiences related to education.

See our blog for more details!

2. Maternal, Adolescents, and Young Child Nutrition and WASH study and Action Research (Indonesia)

Our research teams returned to each of the four study communities for conducting human-centred design workshops to brainstorm and prototype potential context-specific solutions to the challenges or opportunities for improving maternal and child nutrition in each community. After a delay due to Covid, our team was able to carry out these workshops in person in each community using Covid-protocols which included the use of masks and/or face shields for all facilitators and participants, using open-air spaces, and getting researchers tested before and after the fieldwork. You can read more about our thoughts about doing fieldwork during this pandemic on our blog.

Our researchers will be checking in with people in each community over the phone as part of the monitoring process as community members trial their chosen solutions.

3. Endline for MPCA (Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance) Mixed Methods Study in Lombok

Our teams finished the endline fieldwork in September for this integrated mixed methods study looking at tracking people's experiences of this Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) programme in East Lombok.

Due to Covid-19, cash transfers as part of the MPCA programme were put on hold from mid-March until July. While our team had already conducted the baseline survey in early March, the qualitative portion was moved to late July due to Covid and with the delay of the cash transfers themselves. Rather than using immersions for the qualitative portion of the study as planned, our team used participatory focus group discussions (using Covid health protocols) with beneficiary mothers that were complemented with informal conversations with officials, teachers, fathers, health providers, kiosk owners, and others in these communities.

The endline survey was conducted in four communities in August and September following the final cash disbursements as part of the programme, followed up by the qualitative endline in three communities. In total the survey included around 500 beneficiaries in four communities, while the qualitative portion included 14 pFGDs and separate informal conversations with over 100 people in three communities.

See our 2019 year in review!