Increased Income

The indicator measures the extent to which the provided assistance helped the target households to increase their overall income.

Collect the following data by conducting individual interviews with the heads of a representative sample of the target households:

RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTION (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)

Introduction: In this survey, we are asking people about their household income. We do not want to know the specific amounts, we just want to understand whether people’s income has changed in the past [specify the period]. The information you tell me is confidential and I will not share it with people living in this area. May I proceed with the interview?

Q1: If you compare your household’s existing financial income with the income the household had [specify the time before you provided assistance – e.g. a year ago], would you say that the household income has increased, decreased, or remained the same?

A1 select one of the following:

1) increased

2) decreased

3) remained the same

4) does not know

5) does not want to say

(ask the following question only if the previous answer is “increased”)

Q2: In your opinion, what were all the main reasons why your household managed to increase its income? (keep probing: “Were there any other reasons?”)

A2 select one of the following:

1) project assistance was mentioned

2) project assistance was NOT mentioned

To calculate the indicator’s value, divide the number of people who reported increasing their income as a result of the project assistance by the total number of interviewed respondents (exclude those who refused or were not able to answer). Multiply the result by 100 to convert it to a percentage. 

Disaggregate the data by the households’ location and type of income generating activity.

1) The main reason why the methodology for this indicator does not ask about the exact household income is simply because many people – most likely including you - are uncomfortable telling others about their exact income. Respondents may evade questions or give inaccurate answers (for various reasons, such as lack of trust, fear of being excluded from receiving external assistance, or taxation-related concerns). That is why the survey only asks about approximate changes in people’s income, not about exact amounts.

2) If the supported income generation activities are prone to seasonal differences in the levels of generated income (e.g. as is the case of agricultural activities), ensure that the baseline and endline data is collected at the same time of year.

3) If people responded that they managed to increase the household income as a result of the provided assistance, you might be interested in how big the increase was. In such a case, you can ask an additional question:

Q3: Now I would like you to compare your household’s existing monthly income with the monthly income it had [specify the time before you provided assistance – e.g. a year ago]. How much more are you able to earn now in an average month?

When asking this question, ensure that the enumerators do not ask about the household’s actual income – they should just focus on by how much the income (on average, per month) has increased. Make sure that you pre-test asking this question. If you sense that people are reluctant to give an accurate answer, consider asking whether the monthly income has increased, for example, by less than 20 USD, 20 to 50 USD, by between 50 and 100 USD, by 100 USD or more, etc. – people might be more willing to answer if they do not have to state the exact amount.