Template Sections
This page gives you a Word template and a filled example for writing a key informant interview (KII) guide. For what a KII is and when to choose one, see the key informant interviews entry. Here the aim is practical: a guide you can adapt this week.
What Is in the Template
The template has eight sections. The guided version adds a short note under each heading on what to write there.
| Section | What goes in it | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Interview details | Program, informant group, interviewer, note-taker, date, place, language | Fill it per interview, not once |
| 2. Purpose and informant profile | Why you are interviewing this group, how many, how chosen, who is not eligible | State the confidentiality level here |
| 3. Interviewer notes | Preparation checklist, time plan, reminders for during the interview | Keep to one page |
| 4. Introduction and consent | A script to read aloud, consent questions, a record of the answer | Read it word for word |
| 5. Warm-up questions | Two or three easy questions about the person's role | Skip anything that sounds like a test |
| 6. Interview questions | Five question areas with main questions and probes | Each area maps to an evaluation question |
| 7. Closing | Last question, thanks, what happens next, contact for concerns | Always ask what you missed |
| 8. Note-taking sheet | Record of the interview, notes by section, debrief | Complete within the hour |
Section 6 follows the questions most evaluations need to answer: relevance, implementation, changes and results, coordination and accountability, and sustainability. Swap the area titles for your own evaluation questions. The evaluation matrix is where those questions come from.
Consent Text
Consent Script You Can Adapt
Read this aloud before you start. Replace the bracketed parts and have your ethics reviewer approve the final wording.
Thank you for agreeing to talk with us. We are [names], from [organization]. We are evaluating [program], and we want to learn from people who know it well. This conversation will take about [60] minutes. Taking part is voluntary. You can skip any question and stop at any time, and nothing will change for you or your organization if you decline. We will not use your name in the report. We will write down your answers under a code, and we will not quote you in a way that could point to you. With your permission, we would like to record the conversation so that we get your words right. The recording will be kept securely and deleted after the report is final. Do you have any questions? Do you agree to take part? Do you agree to be recorded?
Record the two answers separately, so that a person can agree to talk without being recorded. If the person cannot read a form, spoken agreement noted by the interviewer is enough where your ethics approval allows it. Do not promise confidentiality you cannot keep: if you must report a risk of harm, say so in the script.
Questions and Probes
Example Questions With Probes
These examples are written in the style of the download's worked example, a made-up mid-term evaluation of a local governance program that interviews council officials. Main questions are open, and probes are ready to use if the first answer is short.
| Area | Main question | Probes |
|---|---|---|
| Relevance | "What were the biggest problems the council faced with planning the budget before the program?" | "Can you give me an example?" / "Who raised that problem?" |
| Relevance | "How well did the program's support match what you needed?" | "What was missing?" / "What did you not need?" |
| Implementation | "Walk me through how the new budget process worked last year." | "Who was in the room?" / "What happened next?" |
| Implementation | "What got in the way when you tried to use the new process?" | "How did you deal with it?" / "Who helped?" |
| Changes | "What has changed in how the council makes decisions since the program began?" | "What makes you say that?" / "Is that because of the program or something else?" |
| Changes | "Tell me about a decision that would have gone differently before." | "What was different about it?" / "Who benefited?" |
| Changes | "Has anything changed for residents that you can point to?" | "How do you know?" / "Who told you?" |
| Coordination | "How do you work with the other agencies that support the council?" | "What works well?" / "Where do things overlap?" |
| Accountability | "How do residents tell the council what they think about services?" | "What does the council do with that?" / "Can you describe a case?" |
| Sustainability | "If the program funding stopped tomorrow, what would continue?" | "What would stop?" / "What would be needed to keep it going?" |
| Sustainability | "What would you tell another council starting a similar program?" | "What would you do differently?" |
| Close | "Is there anything we did not ask that you think we should know?" | "Who else should we talk to?" |
Notice the pattern: questions ask for stories and steps, not opinions on the program. "Walk me through" and "tell me about a time" bring out detail and are harder to answer with a polite generality than "Was the program useful?" The "is that because of the program or something else?" probe keeps you honest about contribution. A single interview does not show cause, so note the claim and test it against other sources.
Probes You Can Use Anywhere
| What you want | Probe |
|---|---|
| More detail | "Tell me more about that." |
| An example | "Can you give me an example?" |
| The order of events | "What happened next?" |
| Clarity | "When you say [word], what do you mean?" |
| A reason | "What makes you say that?" |
| A contrast | "How is that different from before?" |
| Other views | "Would everyone in your office see it that way?" |
| Time to think | A pause of five seconds, then nod |
Avoid probes that suggest the answer, such as "Don't you think the training helped?" Rewrite them as "What difference, if any, did the training make?" Also avoid double questions like "How was the training and was it useful?" Ask one thing at a time. Pilot the guide with two or three people before fieldwork, using the approach in questionnaire pretest vs pilot.
Adapt and Download
Adapting the Guide for Different Informants
The structure stays the same for every informant type. Change the wording and which areas get the most time.
| Informant | Spend most time on | Be careful about |
|---|---|---|
| Program staff | Implementation, what was adapted and why | Staff may defend the program. Ask for examples of what did not work |
| Government officials | Relevance, coordination, sustainability | Official line versus experience. Interview privately |
| Community leaders | Inclusion, who benefits, how complaints are handled | Do not treat one leader as the community. Pair with focus groups |
| Service providers | Quality, workload, referrals | Do not use the interview to appraise their performance |
Two further guides built for staff and community-leader interviews are in the download library: program staff and community leader. When groups of people matter more than individual views, use the focus group discussion guide template. For choosing between methods, see surveys vs interviews vs focus groups.
Download the Template
The set has a guided template with notes under each heading and a worked example for a made-up program. All names and figures in the example are invented.
You can also build a guide online with the KII guide playbook. Review and adapt each file to your own evaluation questions, language and ethics approval before use. After the interviews, organize notes with a qualitative codebook.