CARRYING OUT THE FIELD SURVEYS AROUND COVID-19 PANDEMIC
S.W. Nepal Pvt. Ltd. (Scott Wilson Nepal/SWN) is a Nepali multidisciplinary research, development and engineering consulting service provider operational since 2000. We provide sustainable, innovative and cutting-edge solutions to some of the most prominent entities in Nepal – international development partners, intergovernmental organizations, I/NGOs, private sector and the government of Nepal. We have built a highly efficient institution that strives to provide the highest quality value to our clients.
SWN has successfully provided a variety of field based community surveys and evaluation services for our valued clients during the COVID-19 pandemic and we have excelled at responsibly leading assignments during this difficult time. SWN uses a localization approach for this using remote monitoring and data collection strategies, virtual collaboration platforms, strengthened local professional networks and built capacity to lead field assignments. In doing so, SWN assigns serious consideration into safety protocols set by the Government of Nepal and UN WHO. Some of the SWN projects illustrating the above include the following:
SWN is currently providing monitoring and baseline data collection services to ICF Consulting Services for the Nepal Urban Resilience Program (NURP) – a five-year program funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom. This assignment aims to understand the true economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals, formal enterprises and informal enterprises across three Metropolitan cities. Our outputs provide the NURP team with valuable insights and evidence on the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on diverse and inclusive economic growth and helps the NURP project refine and update their implementation strategies and priorities.
Most recently, SWN spearheaded a baseline assessment assignment for the USAID’s Improved Disaster Risk Management Project (Tayar Nepal). Our team carried out Knowledge, Attitude, Practice (KAP) surveys with 610 beneficiaries across eight Rural Municipalities, led key informant interviews (KII) with local and federal government officials through virtual collaboration platforms and tested a comprehensive Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) index tool across eight Nepal Municipalities. The final report established a concrete set of benchmark information in the realm of DRRM for Nepal, highlighted critical gaps and areas of improvement for Municipalities, and recommended strategies for Tayar Nepal project focus and implementation.
In April/May 2020, SWN conducted an extensive research on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on smallholder women food producers and on the food security of the most vulnerable people across Nepal for ActionAid International. Using qualitative research methodologies, our team endeavored to identify the impacts of mobility restriction on women farmer/food producers, the impact of drop in remittances on women-led households, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women smallholder farmers’ livelihoods. Considering the COVID-19 restrictions, we mobilized our well-established local network to carry out focus group discussions and supervised field teams through virtual collaboration platforms. The final report provided valuable fact-based evidence of the true field reality of women smallholder farmers.
SWN led a Nepal 2015 earthquake response review assignment for Swiss Solidarity in 2020 first quarter. This study sought two objectives: to review the perception of Earthquake Affected Population (EAP) of Sindhupalchok, Nepal of the multi-thematic assistance they received from Swiss Solidarity and its partner NGOs and to identify the overall effectiveness of the modalities of collaboration that took place between various stakeholders. The study team carried out a total of 1350 behavior and perception surveys and 18 FGD and KII. SWN contributed to a better understanding of the true perceived impacts of the Nepal 2015 earthquake response from Swiss humanitarian organizations and recommended evidence-based strategies to improve future project developments.