Report on a site visit to Indonesia

Country report, attached to a special evaluation (PD-AAJ-293), covers the period 10/78-5/81 and is based on a site visit to the subcontractor, the Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The East Java Multiple Round Survey (EJMRS) is well designed to meet A.I.D. requirements and is expected to provide Indonesia with policy-relevant data. Although CBS personnel are experienced in administering demographic surveys, POPLAB/UNC assisted in designing the survey and a representative random sample, completing fieldwork, producing data, and preparing a manual for the editors of the EJMRS. All aspects of data production were carefully planned and POPLAB/UNC prepared manuals and memoranda to guide discussions and guarantee the quality of the results. The East Javan branch of the CBS trained 700 interviewers, managed the fieldwork, and coded and edited data. The demographic survey capabilities of the Indonesians have improved as a result of working with POPLAB/UNC staff. Additional time required for data entry and processing has delayed the project by 6 months. Data analysis, which had just begun at the time of the evaluation, has not been carefully planned - no division of labor between participating entities has been specified, no outline of topics to be covered written and no list of tabulations prepared. These shortcomings are the result of POPLAB/UNC's failure to prepare a manual of technical recommendations for data analysis. It is recommended that planning for data tabulation and analysis be improved; that the CBS subcontract be examined to determine whether changes in forward-funding procedures are merited; and that POPLAB/UNC reconsider whether it should administer a broad survey in Indonesia if funds for such a project become available.