ABSTRACT
This chapter presents several case studies from Nepal and Ghana illustrates the benefits of using the Reality Check Approach at different stages of monitoring and evaluation around interventions. The first describes how it was used in a mixed methods longitudinal evaluation in Nepal as a means to provide a theory of change based on people's perspectives and insights to better inform the design of survey instruments. The second demonstrates how the approach is being used alongside annual conventional quantitative surveys to complement and enrich the findings in evaluations in Nepal and in Ghana. The third example illustrates a more unusual use of this style of work, as the only primary data element of a mixed method retrospective study in Nepal to assess the impact of development aid. Reality Check Approach studies intend to channel these voices into policy dialogue so that future policy and practice is better geared to real needs and the local context.
