What this actually involves
Reports from a facility say what should be happening. A visit nobody expected shows what is. At a school we count the teachers on the roster against the teachers present, and the classes with pupils against the classes being taught, then look at desks, books, latrines and water. At a health facility we record power, water, basic equipment and a short list of essential medicines seen on the shelf, and ask patients outside how long they waited and whether they were charged. At a water point we time how long it takes to fill a jerrycan and ask how many days it stood broken. The methods follow the school and health assessments used by the World Bank and the World Health Organization, so the results can sit beside national figures.