Service · Research
Formative Research & KAP Surveys
Formative research tells you who to reach, what they do now and what stands in their way, before you design anything. We run qualitative studies, barrier analyses and KAP surveys across Kenya and Africa for NGOs, UN agencies, donors and governments.
Why formative research comes first
Every SBCC program makes assumptions about its audience. Formative research tests those assumptions before money is spent on materials, media or services.
It answers the questions a strategy depends on. Who exactly needs to act? What do they already know and do? What stops them, and who influences them? Which channels reach them, and which messengers do they trust?
Skipping this step is one of the most common reasons campaigns underperform. A team may produce excellent materials that address the wrong barrier, or reach the wrong person in the household. Good formative research prevents that.
It is also what most donors and UN agencies expect to see in a strong SBC strategy. Many terms of reference ask specifically for formative research, a KAP survey or a barrier analysis as the first deliverable.
Formative research methods we use
We match methods to the questions, the audience and your budget. Most studies combine several of these:
Desk review
Program data, past evaluations, national surveys and published studies, so new research only fills real gaps.
KAP surveys
Structured questionnaires measuring knowledge, attitudes and practices, with sampling designed for the decisions you need to make.
In-depth interviews
One-to-one conversations with audience members, influencers and providers to understand motives, fears and context.
Focus group discussions
Group conversations that reveal shared norms, language and reactions, held with care for sensitive topics.
Barrier analysis
A structured comparison of people who do and don't practice a behavior, to find the determinants that matter most.
Observation and journey mapping
Watching what actually happens at home, in markets or at service points, and mapping each step of the experience.
Where it adds value we also use participatory tools such as community mapping, ranking exercises and photo-based methods, which work well with young people and low-literacy groups.
When a KAP survey is the right tool
A KAP survey is useful when you need numbers: how many people know a key fact, hold a particular belief or practice a behavior. It also gives you a baseline you can measure against later.
But a KAP survey has limits. Knowledge and stated attitudes often do not predict behavior well, and people may give the answers they think you want. On its own, it tells you what but rarely why.
That is why we usually combine a KAP survey with qualitative research. We design the questionnaire around the behavioral determinants that matter for your topic, such as perceived social norms, self-efficacy, access and cost, not just knowledge.
- Use a KAP survey to size the problem, compare groups or set a baseline.
- Add qualitative work to explain the numbers and find the barriers worth solving.
- Add observation when what people say and what they do are likely to differ.
Quality, ethics and local context
Research is only as good as the conversations behind it. We take care with every step:
- Ethics first. Informed consent, privacy, safeguarding and, where required, ethics committee approval and research permits.
- Local language. Tools are translated, back-translated and tested, and data collectors speak the languages of the communities.
- Trained teams. Enumerators and moderators are trained on the tools, on probing and on handling sensitive topics.
- Data quality checks. Digital data collection with daily checks, and debriefs during fieldwork.
- Inclusion. Samples include groups who are often missed, such as adolescents, people with disabilities and remote households.
International guidance, such as the WHO Behavioural Sciences for Better Health initiative, stresses understanding drivers and barriers before designing interventions. Our formative research is built on the same principle.
How a formative research study runs
- 01
Agree the questions
We define the decisions the research must inform and the behaviors and audiences in scope.
- 02
Design the study
We choose methods, sampling and tools, and prepare protocols for ethics review where needed.
- 03
Train and pilot
We train the field team and pilot every tool, then adjust wording and flow.
- 04
Collect the data
Fieldwork with daily quality checks and regular debriefs with your team.
- 05
Analyze and validate
We analyze the data, then hold a validation workshop where findings become design decisions.
What you receive
Formative research should lead straight into action. Typical outputs are:
- A concise report with prioritized barriers and drivers for each audience
- Audience profiles and personas grounded in the evidence
- Recommendations for messages, messengers, channels and service changes
- KAP baseline values that feed your monitoring and evaluation plan
- Cleaned datasets, codebooks and tools you own
The findings then feed directly into your SBCC strategy, message development and human-centred design work.
Planning formative research?
Whether you need a rapid assessment for a new campaign or a full mixed-methods study for a multi-county program, we can help you scope it realistically.
Send us your draft ToR or a short description of the behavior and audiences, and we will suggest methods, a timeline and the questions the research should answer. Contact us or read how to write an SBCC ToR.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is formative research in SBCC?
Formative research is the research you do before you design a program or campaign. It explains who your audiences are, what they currently do, what helps or blocks the behavior you want, and which channels and messengers they trust. In SBCC it is the evidence base for every later decision.
What is a KAP survey?
A KAP survey measures knowledge, attitudes and practices on a specific topic among a defined population, using a structured questionnaire. It is useful for describing the situation and setting a baseline, but it rarely explains why people behave as they do, so we pair it with qualitative methods.
How long does formative research take?
A rapid study using existing data and a small number of interviews can take three to five weeks. A multi-site mixed-methods study with a KAP survey usually needs two to four months, including ethics approval where required, training, fieldwork, analysis and validation.
Do you handle ethics approval in Kenya?
We plan for it. Research involving people often needs approval from an accredited ethics committee and a research permit. We build those steps, and their timelines, into the work plan from the start and prepare the protocol and tools for submission.
Can formative research be done remotely?
Parts of it can: desk review, key informant interviews by phone, and some digital surveys. Work with communities, especially low-literacy or rural audiences, is usually stronger in person with trained local data collectors who speak the language.
What will we receive at the end?
A clear report written for decision makers, a slide summary, cleaned datasets and tools, and a validation workshop where your team and partners turn the findings into design decisions.