  Availability, collection and access to quantitative data, as well as its
limitations, often make qualitative data the resource upon which development
programs heavily rely. Both traditional interview data and social media
analysis can provide rich contextual information and are essential for
research, appraisal, monitoring and evaluation. These data may be difficult to
process and analyze both systematically and at scale. This, in turn, limits the
ability of timely data driven decision-making which is essential in fast
evolving complex social systems. In this paper, we discuss the potential of
using natural language processing to systematize analysis of qualitative data,
and to inform quick decision-making in the development context. We illustrate
this with interview data generated in a format of micro-narratives for the UNDP
Fragments of Impact project.
