Guidance for People Reached Counting and Reporting
Accurate reporting of people reached is essential for project and programme management, advocacy efforts, resource mobilisation, and maintaining accountability to donors and other stakeholders. This guide provides instructions for measuring and reporting the number of primary stakeholders, indirect stakeholders and people reached through campaigning.
Each project is required to report annually on the following three reach indicators:
REACH 001 Number of people reached by the project activities / involved in the project (primary stakeholders)
REACH 002 Number of people reached indirectly by the project activities (indirect stakeholders)
REACH 003 Number of people reached through campaigning and mass communication (campaign audience)
The three indicators answer three different questions. REACH 001: Who did the project work with directly? REACH 002: Who benefits through them, or through what the project strengthened, without taking part? REACH 003: Who saw or heard the project’s messages? Each indicator is reported separately. REACH 001 and REACH 002 never include the same person. REACH 003 can include people who are also counted in REACH 001 or REACH 002, because campaign audiences cannot be identified by name.
To ensure people reached are counted consistently and precisely across projects, HELVETAS has developed this guidance for its country offices and cooperating partners. This guidance offers instructions for measuring and reporting direct engagement, indirect reach and campaign reach, enabling better oversight of project outcomes and impacts.
Key Definitions
Primary Stakeholders (REACH 001)
Sometimes referred to as direct beneficiaries, primary stakeholders are individuals whom HELVETAS or its implementing partners work with directly. They take part in a project activity (for example a training, a committee, a dialogue or a counselling session), or they directly receive something from the project (for example an item, cash, a service, or access to a water point or a road the project built). For example, in a livelihood improvement project, primary stakeholders include members of households receiving agricultural training and inputs.
A simple test: could the project, at least in principle, write this person’s name on an attendance list, a distribution list or a register? If yes, the person is a primary stakeholder. People who only benefit through someone else, or through an institution the project strengthened, are indirect stakeholders (REACH 002). People who only saw or heard a message are counted in REACH 003.
Typical activities:
trainings, workshops, coaching
committees and groups
dialogues
counselling and legal aid
distributions and cash
infrastructure, including WASH
face-to-face awareness sessions with attendance lists
How it is measured: Primary stakeholders are counted from participant records, attendance sheets, distribution lists and registers, ideally with unique IDs to avoid double counting. When the household is the target (see exception 2) and household members are not registered individually, multiply the number of households by the average household size.
Three exceptions
In three cases, people are counted as primary stakeholders although the project does not work with each of them in person. These people are the main target group of the activity, and the support reaches them in a direct and predictable way.
Pupils and attendees of supported schools and VSD providers. Pupils of schools and attendees of TVET or VSD providers supported by the project are primary stakeholders, even when the project only trains their teachers, instructors or school management. Count the new pupils and new attendees of the reporting year (see BED 2.1.2 and VSD 2.2.1). Their household members are indirect stakeholders.
Household members, when the household is the target. When support is given to the household as a unit, all household members are primary stakeholders. Examples: household distributions (food, seeds, tools, family hygiene kits), cash transfers and cash-for-work, shelter, household water and sanitation, household nutrition support such as kitchen gardens, and land titles issued to the household. When support is given to one person (for example a training, a VSD course, business coaching, counselling or committee membership), only that person is a primary stakeholder; household members who benefit are indirect stakeholders.
Example (household size 4.5): 200 people trained = 200 primary stakeholders. 200 households receiving seeds and tools = 200 × 4.5 = 900 primary stakeholders.Users of infrastructure built by HELVETAS or its implementing partners. People who gain access to a road, bridge, water supply, sanitation facility or irrigation system that HELVETAS or its implementing partners built or rehabilitated are primary stakeholders (for example BAR 1.4.1 and WSG 1.1.1). If the same kind of infrastructure is built by an institution the project supported, for example a municipality after training, the people with access are indirect stakeholders (BAR 1.4.2).
Indirect stakeholders (REACH 002)
Indirect stakeholders, sometimes referred to as indirect beneficiaries, are individuals who benefit from the project without directly engaging in project activities. The benefit reaches them in one of three ways:
Through a primary stakeholder: for example household members of someone who completed a vocational training, or employees of a business owner the project coached.
Through an institution, business, authority or group the project strengthened: for example users of better public services, clients of a supported business or financial institution, residents served by improved municipal waste collection, or people with access to a road built by a supported municipality.
Through wider changes in their area: for example people living in a watershed with better water management, people protected by flood protection measures, or people who benefit from a policy change or better governance.
How it is measured: To count the outreach of indirect stakeholders, estimates based on household size, service-user numbers, population data and methods such as surveys and community-level assessments are used. Estimates should be conservative. For household members of people supported individually, use: participants × (household size − 1). This is not used for households already counted as a unit in REACH 001.
Example (household size 4.5): 200 people trained: 200 × 3.5 = 700 indirect stakeholders. 200 households receiving seeds and tools: 0 indirect stakeholders, because all household members are already in REACH 001.
Importantly, indirect stakeholders should not be counted if they are already recorded as primary stakeholders or if they are potential future beneficiaries (direct or indirect) beyond the project timeframe. Hearing or seeing a project message is not enough to be counted as an indirect stakeholder; such people are counted in REACH 003.
Only count people for whom a real benefit is likely. Population data alone shows how many people could benefit, not how many actually do. This matters most when the benefit comes from a change in a system, such as better public services for survivors of violence. Before counting people as indirect stakeholders, check (a) whether they actually use the improved service, and (b) whether it helps them. A survey is usually the most practical way to do this: it gives the share of people who use the service and find it helpful, and you multiply that share by the population of the area (see VIC 3.1 for an example).
People reached through campaigning (REACH 003)
People reached through campaigning are people who were exposed to a project message through mass communication, without personal contact with the project and without being identified by name. Typical channels are radio and TV, social media, SMS, posters, billboards and leaflets, town criers, and public events without registration.
REACH 003 counts exposure, not benefit. We do not know whether the message changed anything for these people. This is why REACH 003 is kept apart from REACH 001 and REACH 002.
How it is measured: REACH 003 is estimated with audience data from broadcasters, online platforms or SMS lists, or with census data for the area covered. It always counts individuals (the unique audience), without household extrapolation.
Rule of thumb: if an awareness activity is face to face and there is an attendance list (for example a community meeting, a hygiene session or a school awareness session), the participants are primary stakeholders (REACH 001), even if the activity is called awareness raising. If there is no list and no personal contact, the people reached are counted in REACH 003. All social media reach is counted in REACH 003, including people who like, comment or share.
The same person may attend a training and also hear a radio spot, so REACH 003 can overlap with REACH 001 and REACH 002. This overlap cannot be removed. In project reports, logframes and databases, the three indicators are therefore always kept separate. In HELVETAS-wide communication, REACH 003 will be added to REACH 001 and clearly labelled, for example “62,000 people reached, thereof 50,000 through campaigning”.
Data collection, Estimation, and Reporting
Accurate and reliable reporting of project participant data is essential for programme management and to accountability towards our stakeholders. Each project must report on the total and disaggregated numbers of primary stakeholders, indirect stakeholders and people reached through campaigning reached within the reporting year (REACH 001, REACH 002 and REACH 003). It is essential not to aggregate different performance indicators, as primary stakeholders may appear in multiple indicators within the same project logframe. Keeping these categories distinct prevents inflation of beneficiary numbers due to overlapping indicators.
To ensure the reliability and accuracy of beneficiary data, project teams must implement systems that prevent double counting. This requires robust systems capable of tracking and verifying unique beneficiaries. Once each activity is completed, project teams and/or country office programme teams document the number of beneficiaries assisted and adjust for overlaps and recurring beneficiaries to estimate the total "unique" beneficiaries.
Overlap Considerations
Across Projects: When aggregating beneficiary counts across multiple projects, it is assumed that people reached are unique to each project. However, geographical overlaps or interconnected activities may lead to the same individuals being involved in multiple projects. Where several projects of a country office work in the same area, use a shared primary stakeholder database or at least compare participant lists to reduce this overlap.
Between REACH indicators: A person is counted in REACH 001 or in REACH 002, never in both. When estimating REACH 002, always subtract the people already counted in REACH 001 (for example by using household size minus the participant). REACH 003 is not checked against REACH 001 and REACH 002, because campaign audiences cannot be identified.
Estimating Indirect Reach (REACH 002)
Indirect stakeholders gain from the project through their connection to primary stakeholders, through supported institutions, or through wider changes in their area. These individuals typically benefit from improved access to services, markets, infrastructure, or governance reforms. Indirect stakeholders may include household members of primary stakeholders, employees, service providers, users of supported institutions, or entire communities. Unlike primary stakeholders, indirect stakeholders are usually estimated rather than directly counted through routine monitoring processes.
The indirect stakeholders should be disaggregated by gender. This disaggregation can be informed by baseline data collection, administrative records, or other relevant sources. In the absence of specific data, applying national or regional gender ratios can provide a reasonable estimate.
Household-Level Estimation
When household members are considered the indirect stakeholders, and the actual household size is unknown, the average household size for the country or region should be used to estimate reach. Subtract the primary stakeholder, who is already counted in REACH 001: number of participants × (average household size − 1). This data can be obtained from public records, national statistics offices, or measured during baseline surveys.
Example: 200 young people complete a VSD course, and the average household size is 4.5. REACH 001 = 200. REACH 002 = 200 × (4.5 − 1) = 700. If instead 200 households receive seeds and tools as a household, REACH 001 = 200 × 4.5 = 900, and nobody from these households is added to REACH 002.
Income and household members. When an activity aims at higher income for one person (for example a VSD course, business coaching, or a value chain training for one farmer), the household members are indirect stakeholders, because the income reaches them through the trained person. Household members who receive project support themselves, for example because the household as a whole received inputs, are primary stakeholders. This follows the practice of most comparable organisations (see Annex D).
Institutional and Business-Level Estimation
Indirect stakeholders can also include employees, service providers, or users of institutions or businesses that have been strengthened by the project. These people experience indirect benefits through improvements in institutional performance, such as enhanced service delivery or business operations. Estimating reach for this group involves determining the size of staff or number of service users associated with the supported institutions, as well as identifying additional stakeholders influenced by improved organisational capacity.
Typical examples are residents served by a municipal waste collection service the project strengthened, clients of a supported financial institution, farmers served by a supported input supplier or extension service, and people with access to a road built by a supported municipality (BAR 1.4.2). Use the records of the supported institution (client lists, connected households, service statistics) wherever possible.
Community-Level Estimation:
Entire communities or specific segments of communities can be counted as indirect stakeholders when they benefit from broader improvements, such as improved infrastructure, better water management, or governance reforms. Estimating indirect reach at the community level requires using reliable data sources like population data, census information, baseline survey, or community surveys or impact assessments to gauge the number of people affected by these changes.
When conducting community-level estimations, it is essential to use up-to-date population data, which can typically be sourced from national censuses, local government records or from the project’s baseline survey. This data will help assess the number of people living in the area who may benefit indirectly from the project’s outcomes.
Although the intervention may potentially benefit a whole community, only a subset of the community may benefit in practice. For example, a reform on gender-based violence mainly benefits women and girls, and a minority rights reform mainly benefits the minority group; only count these groups (and verify whether they really benefit, often there is a mismatch between the formulation of a law and its adaptation/application). For more accurate estimation, community surveys can be an effective tool for assessing how many people indirectly benefit from a project. Surveys should be designed to capture information on how community members are benefiting from improved services or infrastructure. For instance, a survey might ask how a new water management system or road impacts their daily lives, allowing you to estimate the reach based on the number of people reporting benefits.
A further alternative is to use community-level impact assessments. These assessments involve a more in-depth review of the project’s broader impacts on the community, often conducted through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, or direct observations. The information gathered provides qualitative and quantitative insights into the community-wide effects of the project. For example, by measuring how a governance reform has led to improved service delivery, you can estimate how many people in the community are benefitting indirectly.
When estimating the number of indirect stakeholders, it’s essential to take a cautious approach to avoid inflating the project’s perceived impact. Large numbers may not always reflect the true benefit to individuals, as indirect reach is often estimated rather than measured precisely. Conservative estimates help ensure that the reported figures are credible and provide a realistic view of the project’s scope and effectiveness. This approach maintains data accuracy, supports transparency, and ensures accountability to donors and stakeholders.
Estimating Campaign Reach (REACH 003)
Estimate REACH 003 from the best available data for each channel, and document how you did it:
Radio and TV: use audience data from the broadcaster or a media survey. Do not multiply by the number of times a spot was aired; report the average audience for the whole broadcast period.
Social media: use the number of unique people or accounts reached, not impressions or views, which count the same person many times. Include people who like, comment or share.
SMS: count the unique phone numbers that received the message.
Posters, billboards, leaflets, town criers and events without registration: estimate the number of people living in or passing through the area, using census data, visitor counts and reasonable assumptions about exposure.
Do not count second-hand recipients (people who heard about the message from someone else). When several channels reach the same area, do not simply add up their audiences; use the largest single audience or a conservative estimate of the combined reach. Disaggregate by gender where the audience data allows it.