Research, Assessments & Studies
We conduct research, assessments, and studies that generate credible evidence for program design, performance review, strategy development, and learning — supporting you through the full research cycle: methodology design, sampling, tool development, enumerator training, data collection, quality assurance, analysis, and reporting.
Sub-services
Baseline Studies
Endline Studies
Midterm Evaluations
Impact Assessments
Labour Market Assessments
Market Systems Assessments
Needs Assessments
Social Impact Assessments
Perception Surveys
Household Surveys
Policy Research
Gender Analysis
Stakeholder Mapping
Our standard
Context-sensitive research, ethical data collection, representative evidence, and clear recommendations that support programming and management decisions.
Related services
Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) · Technical Studies & Sector Assessments · Data Analytics, GIS & Digital Solutions
Blue Presto is a research firm in Afghanistan conducting baseline, midline, endline and impact studies — household surveys, needs and market assessments designed and delivered by an experienced Kabul research team.
Whether you are designing a new program, measuring results against a logframe, or testing what actually works in the field, our research and assessment services give you credible, independent evidence built on sound methodology and Afghanistan’s operating realities. Because confident decisions start with credible evidence.
What’s included
Depending on scope, a typical engagement includes:
- Study design and methodology — clear research questions, mixed-methods designs, and sampling strategies (stratified, cluster, purposive) realistic for Afghanistan’s terrain and access conditions.
- Survey instrument development — questionnaires in English, Dari and Pashto, piloted before deployment; interview guides and focus group discussion protocols.
- Field data collection — trained enumerators conducting household surveys, phone-based surveys, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews, including in hard-to-reach provinces.
- Needs and market assessments — structured assessments of community needs, service gaps, market systems, and sector opportunities, mapped to program and investment decisions.
- Baseline, midline and endline surveys — measurement against indicators and results frameworks, including quasi-experimental designs where comparison groups are feasible. Our endline survey Afghanistan studies are built for donor accountability and learning alike.
- Impact studies — outcome and impact measurement beyond outputs, using attribution-aware methods and triangulation.
- Data management and quality assurance — digital data collection with real-time monitoring, back-checks, spot audits, and supervisor verification throughout fieldwork.
- Analysis and reporting — cleaned, documented datasets; descriptive and inferential statistics; thematic coding of qualitative data; geospatial overlays where relevant; study reports with a transparent methodology annex, executive summaries, and presentation decks.
Every deliverable is reviewed by senior staff, written in clear language, and structured around the decisions it has to serve.
Our approach
Design with your decisions in mind. We start from the decision the research must support. Together we define the research questions, hypotheses, and success criteria, then build the sampling, tools, and analysis plan around them.
Tools tested before deployment. Questionnaires and guides are drafted in English, translated into Dari and Pashto, and back-checked for meaning, then piloted on real respondents and revised — a flaw caught in a pilot costs hours, while a flaw caught in analysis costs the study.
Trained field teams, closely supervised. Enumerators are trained on the instrument, consent and privacy ethics, and field protocols, deploying under supervisors who run daily checks. Where access is restricted, we layer methods: phone-based interviews, geotagged verification, and document review alongside physical fieldwork wherever possible.
Rigorous analysis. Field data is cleaned, documented, and checked for consistency before analysis. Quantitative data is analyzed with appropriate statistical methods; qualitative data is coded thematically. Findings are triangulated across sources — and where evidence is inconclusive, we say so, with recommendations for closing the gap.
Transparent reporting. Every report carries a methodology annex — sampling, instruments, field coverage, quality-control results, and limitations — so findings hold up before a donor, a board, or an auditor.
Who it’s for
As a survey company in Kabul with field reach across the country, our research and assessment services are built for organizations that need credible evidence from Afghanistan’s operating environment:
- UN agencies and international donors — baseline and endline studies tied to results frameworks, and independent impact measurement for accountability and learning.
- International and national NGOs — needs assessments for program design, KAP surveys for baselines, and endline surveys to demonstrate results.
- Government counterparts and public programs — independent performance measurement and sector evidence.
- Private sector clients and investors — market assessments and sector research before committing resources.
If your decision depends on what is actually happening on the ground — not on assumptions — this service is designed for you.
Frequently asked questions
What is an endline survey, and when do we need one?
An endline survey re-measures your baseline indicators after an intervention ends, showing what changed and by how much. You need one when donor agreements require evidence of outcomes, or when you need to know what worked before designing the next phase. Our endline survey Afghanistan engagements always include a full methodology annex, so findings stand up to donor review.
Can you survey provinces our staff cannot reach?
Yes — a core reason clients engage us as their research firm in Afghanistan. We field trained teams across the country and design data collection around realistic access conditions, combining physical fieldwork where possible with phone-based and remote methods where travel is restricted.
How do you assure data quality?
Quality control runs through every stage: piloted instruments, trained and supervised enumerators, digital capture with real-time monitoring, back-checks and spot audits during fieldwork, and independent consistency checks before analysis — every dataset is cleaned and documented first.
What do you need from us to scope a study?
A starting point is enough: your program documents or concept note, the decisions the research must inform, the indicators to measure, and the geography and timeline. We refine the scope and propose a methodology, plan, and budget you can approve with confidence.
Further reading: Third-party monitoring in Afghanistan · Independent verification · Feasibility studies and sector assessments · Data and GIS solutions · Project audit in Afghanistan
Discuss your research needs
Tell us what you need to verify, understand, or improve.