InnovATE Program
Generic Scoping Methodology
Original Draft by Keith M. Moore keithm@vt.edu
This document outlines the procedure a team might follow when conducting a scoping visit.
Since, each situation will be different – each requiring different tools and the adoption of some
tools and the modification of others – this serves as a checklist that a team would consult before
finalizing the scoping strategy. An index of generic scoping tools developed by innovATE
follows this checklist.
1. In the weeks before visiting the host country, the scoping team should:
a. collect and read background material on the targeted agricultural education and training
institution(s) and the agriculture education and training (AET) system as a whole
b. conduct a meeting(s) or conference call(s) to discuss their strategy for the scoping visit
with the USAID Mission staff
c. make plans for a local resource person known to the mission (i.e., translator and/or local
consultant with relevant experience) who will help set up meetings, arrange logistics, and
help with interviews and compiling information for the report
d. establish the foundational questions that USAID wishes to be addressed, draft and
exchange a scope of work for comments
e. identify and discuss critical documents, issues, and findings
f. identify key stakeholders and institutions to be interviewed/investigated
2. It is helpful if one or more of the team arrive in country a day or so before the full team
arrives so that meetings can be set up or confirmed, especially those to be held during the
first few days of the scoping visit. On arrival in country, the full scoping team should meet
to discuss the final arrangements for the scoping, and to finalize the key thematic areas target
issues to be investigated. Discussion should involve:
a. Strategy for confirming established findings and examining new areas that can only be
investigated in country
b. final logistical arrangements should also be discussed
3. An entry visit with the Mission should be held as soon after the full team is assembled as
possible.
a. During this visit the group should highlight how the scoping trip will be conducted to
help address mission needs/areas of concern
b. Discuss the SOW and any changes in the activity that may be needed
c. Gather reports and other resources pertinent to the scoping that are not otherwise
available
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4. Once the schedule is confirmed, the team will begin holding meetings, stakeholder
interviews, and focus group sessions, which will be critical to the scoping visit data
collection effort.
a. The more information exchange occasions conducted the better. Initially,
interviews/meetings should be held with the central stakeholders associated with the
targeted AET institution(s) and these interviews should involve the whole team. After a
few days in country, the team can divide up to increase the number of stakeholder
contacts and expand perspectives (except for opportunities to meet with additional
central/critical AET stakeholders).
b. Host country partners will often be very helpful in establishing contacts and setting up
interviews. However, expanding the sample to other institutions and stakeholders is
critical to being both inclusive and establishing the triangulation on issues needed for
effective institutional mobilization and change.
c. Snowball sampling based on the network module at the end of the innovATE Stakeholder
Interview Data Sheet (see Index) is highly effective in this regard; as is contacting
representatives of stakeholder groups identified during the initial background research
and literature review but for which our partners have not been able to set up interviews.
d. Every evening, the scoping team should meet to discuss the day’s findings, evaluate
scoping progress, and make adjustments in their strategy.
5. Once the majority of interviews, meetings and focus groups have been conducted, each team
member should list four or five key points/findings/conclusions for each of the key thematic
areas identified at the outset of the scoping visit. These will be compiled and form the basis
for the scoping report.
6. If there is a set of stakeholders (e.g., an institution’s faculty) that with more in-depth
discussion could add to the breadth and credibility of the scoping, it could be useful to
conduct a SWOT exercise with them to help focus, interpret, and determine needs
constraints, and opportunities for the stakeholder institution.
7. The draft scoping report should conform to stakeholder and USAID needs, and establish a
platform for moving onto the design phase.
8. The last step in the scoping visit is the “exit” meeting with the USAID Mission. During this
meeting the team will report on and discuss with USAID early observations and potential
recommendations. The team will also discuss with USAID the remaining steps in the scoping
process (further interviews, locating any missing pieces of information and submission of the
draft report) and a timetable and format or scope for the report will be discussed and agreed
upon.
9. The team should meet to discuss and assign writing assignments and other follow-up tasks
before leaving the country.
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This set of guidelines is a work in progress. With experience and testing this document will grow
and improve. Please send comments and suggestions to Kurt Richter (richterk@vt.edu), Johanna
Cricenti (johanna5@vt.edu), or Tom Hammett (himal@vt.edu).
See the innovATE website for more information on scoping assessments and reports from
selected assessments http://www.oired.vt.edu/innovATE
The index that follows lists the scoping tools and related documents that have been developed
and tested by the innovATE program team. All of these documents can be found on the
innovATE website or can be provided on request.
Index of Generic Scoping Tools
1. Stakeholder Interview Data Sheet: an interviewee documentation sheet identifying key
stakeholder sector and institutional characteristics and network connections (used to build
snowball samples).
2. Generic Interview Schedule Guidelines: a broad-based script for group and individual
interviews adaptable for educators, private and public employers, policy makers, regulators,
and other stakeholders.
3. Institutional Scoping Tool: a set of critical issues to be investigated designed around six
standards to capture key indicators of institutional capacity for implementing an institution of
higher education’s AET programs of study in agriculture.
4. Landscape Analysis Tool: a set of questions and discussion topics designed to overview the
AET policy and institutional landscape arranging AET system characteristics in three
thematic areas.
5. Faculty Focus Group Questions: a set of discussion questions to elicit faculty AET
perspectives and working conditions.
6. Student Focus Group Questions: a set of discussion questions to elicit student experience and
perspectives concerning their institution’s AET program.
7. Gender Module A (focus group discussion items for students): a set of attitudinal and
behavioral questions for students to characterize student perspectives on gender equality in
agriculture.
8. Gender Module B (focus group discussion items for administrators, faculty, and staff): a set
of attitudinal and behavioral questions to characterize staff perspectives on gender equality in
agriculture.
9. Dean’s Interview Questions: guidelines for interviews with AET institution administrators to
gather basic information on the structure and functioning of an institution’s AET program.
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