The Reality Check Approach Plus (RCA ) Project is a KSI partner seeking to develop the capacity and policy demand for conducting high-quality qualitative research in Indonesia and internationally. RCA is an accredited qualitative research methodology, and the project is developing the capacity of research partners, individual researchers and government counterparts to design, commission, conduct and analyse high-quality qualitative research.
RCA is currently conducting a training course for Government of Indonesia staff on the current and future potential for using integrated mixed-method approaches to enhance its evidence-based policy-making capability. There is growing recognition that integrating qualitative and quantitative research approaches can provide a better way to understand complexity, to increase the validity of findings and recommendations, and to provide a stronger basis for making policy and designing programs.
The course is designed to provide an opportunity for commissioners and users of mixed-method research to build their understanding, confidence and capacity to demand, quality control and interpret mixed-method research activities. It is providing a practical forum to explore the ways in which qualitative and quantitative methods can be brought together to their full potential, and specifically seeks to:
- Build the understanding of the comparative advantages of mixed methods over single-method approaches
- Explain the different ways in which qualitative and quantitative research methods can be integrated into genuine mixed-method and holistic approaches to address research challenges, and how they are used differently in research and in impact evaluation
- Provide resources and build capacity for course participants to be able to assess mixed-method research proposals and research products, and ensure that commissioned research providers undertake high-quality research
- Provide an opportunity to practice skills of interrogating data and evidence through a case study of a mixed-method approach, including a real-time opportunity to undertake different analyses based on qualitative insights on quantitative data from a household survey.
The course was delivered on 31 October – 2 November and was attended by participants from the Bappenas Centre of Policy Analysis (PAK) and Balitbang Research Units at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and Ministry of Villages.
The RCA and KSI teams are also collaboratively designing the 4th RCA/KSI study, which is exploring the enabling and hindering culture for research at universities. Consultations with key parties in the Reference Group are currently being conducted, including with the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education and Bappenas. The study is planned for November / December 2016 and is seeking to enhance understanding of the challenges and opportunities in conducting research and the contextual environment within universities that influences critical thinking, performance, motivation and incentives.
Full details of all RCA studies and activities can be found at: www.reality-check-approach.com. Previous RCA/KSI studies include understanding poor people’s perceptions and experiences of Household Financial Management and Hygiene and Nutrition, and the experiences and perceptions of Frontline Health Service Providers. More than 10 other studies have been commissioned in Indonesia.
