2022 – This guide was published by UNICEF and developed with The RISE Institute in response to requests to from countries and regional and international agencies for guidance on how to conduct effective research on the status of early childhood intervention (ECI) systems and their services. Little published research exists on the status of national ECI systems. National institutions struggle to secure essential data for planning their national ECI systems and for improving, expanding and developing ECI services in public institutions and civil society organizations. Knowing that the RISE Institute conducts primary research that is required to prepare national ECI Situation Analyses, UNICEF invited the institute to prepare this Methodological Guide and subsequently help to implement it in Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo. Further lessons learned from the implementations have been incorporated into the guide.