Governments and donors interested in measuring long-term change in the future must take data storage
and accessibility into consideration. It is axiomatic that effective policy making and planning
rely heavily on reliable data. Yet many countries, including Nepal as the focus of this study, still
lack a central archive bringing together routine large-scale surveys (undertaken by central statistics
agencies and/or other government agencies) and other surveys and studies relating to development
(undertaken by government, nongovernment, international nongovernmental organizations as well
as local organizations, university, and research institute agencies and organizations).
An effective archiving and storage system for data which makes data available and accessible at
the most disaggregated level to any interested parties is thus critical for the ability of other researchers
in the future to look in detail as well as in broad terms at long-term change. Equally the establishment
of data standards and indicators and variables of change commonly agreed upon and
universally applied in all related data collection, whether program focused or long-term indicators,
would have a significant positive impact on the ability of researchers and policy makers in the future
to understand change and implement policy from a string evidence base. This equally applies to
other settings and should be seriously considered by governments and donors.