Measuring development progress in Nigeria

Our client

Our client is one of the world’s largest philanthropic organisations that partners with African countries and institutions to develop and implement innovative approaches to confront hunger, disease, gender inequality, and poverty.

The client’s mission

Africa Practice is a key partner for the foundation in Africa: we provide strategic advisory and support the successful implementation of its goals, particularly across education and health. The foundation asked Africa Practice to help it explore better ways to measure and understand development progress in Nigeria. Recognising that GDP and other frequently used metrics are not a perfect or even ideal way to understand development, we were tasked with testing the feasibility of alternative measures like sentiment indices, and assessing how these approaches could support better policy-making to improve development outcomes.

Our support

Africa Practice supported the foundation by undertaking a feasibility assessment for a Hope Index in Nigeria. The study sought to gain a comprehensive understanding of whether such an index would have clear, distinct use cases across the private and public sectors, how it could be structured, and how hope could be measured. Our support included: 

• Primary data strategy, collection and analysis 
• Survey design – written and visual 
• Key informant interview and focus group administration
• Value at stake assessment

The results

We compiled a report that detailed the specific use cases for the Hope Index and the best methodologies for implementation. To further support the implementation of a pilot, Africa Practice developed the preliminary index that measures an individual’s hope. By providing in-depth research and empirically testing the feasibility of the index, the foundation is equipped with a clear understanding of its potential benefits and use cases, as well as what is required to roll it out successfully. The client has recognised this and is now considering implementing a pilot project in Nigeria’s Kaduna State.