Ground Truth Solutions’ project in Sierra Leone, funded by DFID, aimed to provide Ebola programme managers of different organizations with a regular flow of data on the perceptions of frontline staff and the general population on a set of key perception indicators related to the response. The focus of the project was to provide real-time evidence for iterative corrective management of the programme and to listen to how key constituents perceived the Ebola response, to express their concerns in order to better direct and target efforts.
Ground Truth’s Constituent Voice® methodology was implemented around a series of key perception indicators. These covered the effectiveness of the Ebola response, peoples’ willingness to follow protocols intended to slow the spread of the disease, and possible gaps in programme design and implementation. Frontline workers and the broader population were thereby able to provide systematic feedback on their perceptions of what was working and what was not. Donors, meanwhile, could monitor and adjust the results of their support based on regular feedback related specifically to key perceptions of programme efficacy and impact. Feedback was collected through four different surveys from November 2014 to June 2015.
Front Line Worker Survey
The first covered the front line staff of a subset of the agencies working on the response. ChildFund, PLAN International, Save the Children and Wellbody Alliance were participating. Their staff were surveyed fortnightly to tap their front line knowledge of people’s behaviours and their perceptions of the speed and efficacy of services provided.
Citizen Survey
The second part of the Ground Truth programme was a survey of a randomly selected cross section of the population of Sierra Leone to get a sense of their propensity to abide by established protocols and, more generally, to get a sense of their unfolding understanding of the epidemic and the way they were experiencing it.
Quarantine Survey
This survey tracked perceptions of people’s experience of quarantine restrictions. There were two rounds of data collection while people were in quarantine and after they had completed the 21-day quarantine period. The survey was conducted in collaboration with PLAN International and Welthungerhilfe.
Decontamination Survey
This was a bi-weekly survey commissioned by PLAN International to better understand the views of people whose homes had been decontaminated following a case of Ebola in the household. It complemented Ground Truth’s three other surveys.
