LEARNING QUESTIONS

TIP SHEET & CHECKLIST

This resource is intended for use by USAID staff and implementing partners as they develop or review learning
questions during monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) planning processes. For more resources about learning
questions and how to address them, see the USAID Collaborating Learning and Adapting Toolkit section on Learning
as well as the USAID Monitoring Toolkit and the USAID Evaluation Toolkit.

● Ask about ‘need to know’ issues in

order to be most effective
● Ask about ‘nice to know’ issues ● Seek information that can inform
decisions and clearly links to
DON’T INSTEAD programming
EXAMPLES:

How can the donors in this sector share knowledge and What are pathways for bridging indigenous justice systems with
lessons? the formal justice sector? Which are the most effective? What
Are Government of Country X’s investments in this sector set of interventions are most effective in increasing youth
effective? employment in Country X? Why?

With limited resources, it is best to focus on questions that can directly inform programming choices or affect decisions.
Answering learning questions should help us be more effective and contribute to evidence-based decision making.

⏱ Timeout | Remember to ask yourself:

Does the question have clear use/applicability in our work? (Consider using the Use Case Canvas)
Will the question be answered in a timely manner so that answers inform our decision-making and management processes?

● Be more specific about what

aspects of the development
hypothesis or theory of change
● Ask forms of ‘What is our need exploration in order to make
Theory of Change?’ sure we are on the right track
● Ask questions that test
DON’T INSTEAD assumptions or explore risks

What are common challenges encountered in encouraging

EXAMPLES:

equitable growth in Country X?

Which interventions will lead to improvements in health How do gender dynamics within a household affect energy
outcomes?
choices that consumers make?
Did we achieve our objectives under Project X?
Which interventions are effective in increasing citizen
confidence in public institutions? Why?
 Theories of change are usually just that--theories, or best guesses about how a set of interventions or activities might work
together to produce a result. Strong learning questions attempt to explore aspects of the theory of change or development
hypothesis that we need more information about, or where there is little or no existing evidence. The assumptions or risks that
are identified in drafting a development hypothesis may also need further exploration through learning activities.

⏱ Timeout | Remember to ask yourself:

Is the question clear? (Make sure the question is understood similarly by multiple people. Define key terms that could have
multiple meanings or varied interpretations.)
Will the question, when answered, help us be more effective?

● Use the existing technical

evidence base to inform your
theory of change and
● Explore questions that have
programming decisions
already been answered
● Explore identified gaps in
DON’T INSTEAD knowledge, related to the
development hypothesis

Who are the two percent of children in Country X who never

EXAMPLES:

Which interventions are most effective at preventing enroll in primary school?

tuberculosis? What are the barriers that prevent them from enrolling?
How can USAID Leverage diaspora community resources to What context-specific factors drive effective engagement with
achieve development objectives? the private sector to deliver services to targeted/high risk
populations?

Development hypotheses and theories of change should be informed by existing evidence, but often, we do not have information
about how certain activities will work together, how they are affected by the context, or how they might impact various
populations differently. Always check to see if your question has already been answered by someone else to avoid spending
unnecessary time and money. Within your organization, check shared drives and intranets or ask colleagues.You can also search
the Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) or Google Scholar (for academic articles and books), and general Google
search for grey literature.

⏱ Timeout | Remember to ask yourself:

Is this question still unanswered?

● Explore issues that can’t be ● Ask questions that are

addressed in the timeframe in answerable, in a timeframe
which we need the answers which aligns with decision
making
DON’T INSTEAD

What type of workforce development interventions are the

EXAMPLES:

most effective in short to medium term job placement for

How can farmers adapt to climate change? youth in Country X? Why?
How does the context influence interventions? What is an effective livelihood approach or combination of
approaches for reducing forest dependency and enabling
women’s empowerment and inclusive participation?
Some questions may require an extended period of inquiry, or require an impact evaluation. If the question can only be answered
after key decisions are made, then pursuing it has less utility. Additionally, the learning activities required to answer some questions
may involve extensive effort or resources. In those cases, staff should consider whether the benefits of pursuing the question
outweigh the costs.

⏱ Timeout | Remember to ask yourself:

Is the question answerable?
Do we have the resources to answer this question?
Do the anticipated benefits of answering the question outweigh the effort required?

It is beneficial to develop your learning questions and identify learning activities in an inclusive manner. For every question
asked, there are individuals responsible for carrying out learning activities to answer the question and those who we hope use
the answers to inform their work. Often we fail to collaborate with those stakeholder groups, reducing the likelihood that
answers to learning questions will be used to adapt and improve programming.

⏱ Timeout | Remember to ask yourself:

Has the question been developed with and/or reviewed by those who will be answering it?
Has the question been developed with and/or reviewed by those who we expect will use the answer in their work?