Evaluating a boat modernisation scheme five years on

What is shaping fishing

Fishing connects coastal communities, processors and exporters in a supply chain where freshness, ice and timing decide value. Livelihoods depend on seasons, regulation and access to cold chain.

• Seasonal fishing bans and weather drive income cycles
• Cold chain and processing determine export quality
• Welfare schemes and cooperatives support fisher families

A central government programme, working in Tamil Nadu & Karnataka. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.

Organisation

A central government programme

Sector

Fishing

Team engaged

Market Research

Services

Government research, Quantitative research, Qualitative research

A scheme had subsidised engines and equipment for traditional boats. The programme needed an independent evaluation of whether beneficiaries were better off and what had worked or not.

• Deliver on the brief: evaluating a boat modernisation scheme five years on.
• Understand the views, needs and behaviour of households.
• Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
• Give the client evidence it can act on within 12 weeks.

The work focused on 1,800 households.

• households1,800

Audiences we typically reach in fishing

Fishers and boat ownersFish traders and auctioneersProcessors and exportersSeafood consumersCooperatives and scheme officials

Coverage: Tamil Nadu & Karnataka. Market: India.

• India

A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.

1. 1Brief
2. 2Beneficiary and comparison surveys
3. 3Case interviews
4. 4Insight

We surveyed beneficiaries and a comparable group of non-beneficiaries in the same villages, collecting income, catch, fuel use and safety information. Case interviews explored how equipment was used, maintained and financed.

Government researchQuantitative researchQualitative research

households

1,800

• Respondents were selected across Tamil Nadu & Karnataka using quotas set in advance for each location and respondent type, so no single area or group dominated.
• Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.

case interviews

40

• Trained local-language interviewers conducted interviews in person, supervised in the field.
• Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.

• Back-checks on a share of completed interviews
• Time and location checks on field interviews
• Supervisor accompaniment in the field
• Recordings and transcripts for every session
• Re-screening of qualitative recruits
• Logic and range checks on the final data
• Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures

• Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
• Significance testing on the differences that mattered
• Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
• Journey and decision mapping

• Beneficiaries reported longer fishing trips and better safety, but maintenance costs strained some households.

Comparison groups and honest case stories together give a fairer picture of impact than either alone.

• Build on the core insight: comparison groups and honest case stories together give a fairer picture of impact than either alone.
• Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: beneficiaries reported longer fishing trips and better safety, but maintenance costs strained some households.
• Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.

• The programme added maintenance training and spare-part access to the next phase.

What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.

• Insight report and management presentation
• Cleaned data file and data tables
• Interview summaries and key verbatims
• Evaluation findings with programme recommendations

• Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
• A natural follow-on question: how aware are fishers of welfare schemes?