DFM Guideline: Scoping report structure

Each DFM research team will produce a report at the end of the scoping phase of research. This should include the following:

• Executive summary (3 pages)
• Introduction - Short summary of purpose of the research, structure of the report
• Methods section - including a map/s that identify all major fieldwork sites, explains the scoping approach adopted, and summarizes number interviews by value chain segment, actor type and gender
• Literature review - brief review of secondary sources and existing datasets, paying particular attention to historical sources, data on dried fish consumption and, if considered reliable, data on dried fish production/trade
• Results - These should be presented by segment and contain subsections on (at a minimum) fishing, processing, wholesale and retail. If there are multiple value chains with very different characteristics (e.g. fermented fish, dried marine fish, dried freshwater fish) it may be appropriate to have a separate section of the report on each chain.
• Conclusion - summarizing key findings, policy implications, missing information and implications for future research
• Illustrative photographs of activities and issues in each value chain segment (throughout text)

Results section

For each value chain segment, the report should provide detailed information on the following:

1. Details of the main types of actor in the segment, including their social, cultural and economic characteristics (religion, ethnicity, wealth, political power, etc.)
2. The structure of the segment (the main geographical locations where the segment exists; estimates of the number of the main types of actor in each segment)
3. Details of the main products produced or traded in each location studied (including estimates of volumes)
4. Details of the activities conducted by the main types of actor in each segment (Buy, Make and Sell)[1] for enterprises, and work performed by labor
5. Crosscutting attention to:
   • Gender roles and relations;
   • Labor arrangements, working conditions and migration;
   • Perceptions of health and nutritional aspects;
   • Food safety issues;
   • Credit relations;
   • Governance (formal and informal);
   • Wellbeing experienced and expressed by actors in the chain;
   • Influence of historical and cultural context in shaping interactions and preferences;
   • International trade in dried fish products;
   • Implications for fisheries ecology;
   • Change and drivers of change in the social economy of dried fish