Webinar Series on Linking Social Protection to Sustainable Employment Organised by Social Protection for Employment Community (SPEC) W E B I N A R - 2 BRAC s Ultra-Poor Graduation Approach: Evidence, Innovations and Intersection with Social Protection Supported by : Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Australian Government German Development Cooperation through the GIZ program Global Alliances for Social Protection BRAC twitter.com/
Moderator: Sally-Anne Vincent, Deputy High Commissioner, Australian High Commission, Dhaka. Currently Australia s Deputy High Commissioner to Bangladesh, which includes the role of Head of Development Cooperation, Sally-Anne Vincent has been with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade since 2007, serving first with the Australian Agency for International Development, AusAID. Ms Vincent has undertaken postings to the Solomon Islands, where she managed governance as part of the Regional Assistant Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), and to Afghanistan as Australia s Head of Development Cooperation. Ms Vincent has worked in Vietnam, Kenya and the Pacific for the NGO, AFAP and in knowledge management with KPMG. Ms Vincent has a Masters in International Development from UNSW. twitter.com/
Presenter: Sadna Samaranayake, Senior Advisor, BRAC Ultra-Poor Advocacy and Advisory Services. Sadna advises BRAC s consulting services and technical assistance to external governments and INGOs related to BRAC s pioneering Ultra-Poor Graduation approach. She leads teams of consultants from BRAC USA and BRAC in the delivery of technical assistance, feasibility assessment, program design, implementation oversight, and knowledge products to several clients. Currently, Sadna is leading teams in the delivery of Graduation programs for the Government of Kenya and the International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD), alongside implementing partners CARE Kenya and The BOMA Project. Other clients include ADB, UNHCR, and the World Bank. Sadna also advises on the creation and dissemination of knowledge products and global advocacy efforts related to the Graduation approach, including outreach and engagement with implementing and funding agencies, immersion training, and speaking engagements. Sadna s work has spanned a variety of development sectors including livelihoods programming, post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation, microfinance, affordable housing and access to finance initiatives. She has worked extensively in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, Tanzania, Brazil and Colombia. twitter.com/
Discussant: Michael Samson, Director of Research, Economic Policy Research Institute (EPRI), South Africa. Dr. Michael Samson is the Director of Research of the Economic Policy Research Institute (EPRI). He has 25 years experience working in social protection, and specialises in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating social cash transfer programmes. He has recently completed policy design projects for social assistance programmes in Malawi, Lesotho, Senegal, Ghana, Rwanda and Kenya, and is currently working on social protection projects in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mozambique, Nepal, the Pacific, South Africa and Uganda. Michael co-ordinates and co-leads the team implementing the impact assessment of the Child Support Grant in South Africa, and has completed previous evaluations of social grants in South Africa and an impact assessment in Mozambique. In 2009 he organised a workshop in Nairobi, Kenya on open source management information systems for social cash transfer programmes. He lectures at policy conferences and training workshops in around the world. He is also a Visiting Associate Professor of Economics at the Williams College Center for Development Economics in the United States. twitter.com/
BRAC s Ultra-Poor Graduation Approach: Evidence, Innovations and Intersection with Social Protection Webinar for SocialProtection.org twitter.com/
PART 1. The Graduation Approach PART 2. The Evidence PART 3. Innovation, Adaptation, Scale twitter.com/
Today BRAC is one of the largest development organizations in the world with 120,000 staff serving 138 million people in 11 countries, including Bangladesh. With an annual budget of $800 million, 80 percent of which come from BRAC's social enterprises. What is BRAC? TUP program has previously taken in approximately 80,000 TUP participants every year (just a fraction of BRAC activities) Countries where we work: Bangladesh, Philippines, Myanmar, Nepal, Afghanistan, Pakistan, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Liberia. twitter.com/
What is the Graduation Program? In 2002, BRAC pioneered the TUP program in Bangladesh to improve the resilience of the ultra poor and effectively address the worst forms of poverty. Since then, enrolling roughly 80,000 new participants each year, BRAC has scaled the Graduation approach, as it is now known, graduating 1.7 million households (6.8 million people) with a projected reach of 2 million households by 2020. BRAC TUP pilots have been conducted in Afghanistan, Pakistan, South Sudan, and will expand to Uganda and Tanzania. twitter.com/
Who Are the Ultra Poor? The World Bank estimates 902 million people live in extreme poverty (2015). $1.90/day The ultra poor are the poorest subset of the extreme poor, living on significantly less than $1.90/day. MULTI-DIMENSIONAL CONSTRAINTS FACING THE ULTRA POOR Chronically food insecure, eating less Live in geographically isolated, than 1,800 calories where the minimum is hard-to-reach areas 2,000-2,500 based on gender, despite spending 80% or more income on food Disconnected from mainstream government services such as school feeding and public works programs Underserved by markets and unaffected by economic policies Lack community acceptance, confidence, support systems Most vulnerable to health shocks and natural disasters Disproportionately female-headed households, often in communities with restrictive social norms twitter.com/
Intersection with Social Protection twitter.com/
Graduation Components twitter.com/
Step 01 Targeting BRAC relies on a triangulated targeting approach, including a participatory wealth ranking exercise, poverty mapping, and household surveys. twitter.com/
STEP 02 Asset Transfer for Income Generation & Livelihoods Following an in depth market analysis, participants work with their coach to select an enterprise for which they receive a package of assets such as cows, goats, chickens, etc. twitter.com/
STEP 03 Consumption Stipend To allow the client breathing room and time to start earning income from her assets, she receives a consumption stipend and in some cases a food item to supplement her diet. twitter.com/
STEP 04 Savings As food consumption stabilizes, clients are encouraged to begin saving, even if only in small increments, either semi-formally through self-help groups or formally with a financial institution. twitter.com/
STEP 05 Technical Skills Training Upon selecting her enterprise, each client receives technical training in how to care for her asset and generate income from running her business. twitter.com/
STEP 06 Life-Skills Coaching Regular visits from a coach provide clients with ongoing training, consistent progress monitoring and support, as well as vital selfconfidence to succeed. twitter.com/
STEP 07 Healthcare Coaches act as the first line of defense in identifying potential health needs and connecting clients to available resources. twitter.com/
STEP 08 Social Integration Clients increase their social standing and receive guidance on integrating better with their community. Here, a village poverty reduction committee, organized by BRAC, conducts a regular monthly meeting, after clients have graduated, to help clients address various issues they face. twitter.com/
Food Security and Nutrition Access to nutritious meals (2/day) Economic Resilience Multiple sources of income (3) Increased value of assets (doubled) Improvement in home condition Improved Hygiene Practices Use of sanitary latrine and clean drinking water Social Inclusion and Empowerment Engagement in household decision- making Attends community events Positive Behavior Change School enrollment for children Absence of under-age marriage Use of family planning Graduation Criteria Graduation occurs when households achieve economic and social advancement over the course of 24 months. twitter.com/
1.7 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS AS OF 2016 In Bangladesh, roughly 95% of participants achieve graduation at the end of the two year period with the majority maintaining those improved conditions 7+ years later. International pilots by CGAP and the Ford Foundation demonstrate similarly high graduation rates for participants meeting country specific criteria. twitter.com/
PART 2 Evidence in Graduation twitter.com/
What are the Long Term Impacts? The Results RCT of 21,000 households conducted with follow ups at 4, and 7 years after intervention Occupational change allows ultra poor women to access higherpaying and less volatile earning streams. Large transfers of capital and skills connect the ultra poor to labor activities that place them on a sustainable path out of poverty. twitter.com/
7 Years After the Intervention Key Research Conclusions and Implications Significant increases in work productivity and household assets Access to more stable and secure employment leading to positive expansion of occupation choice Reduction in economic inequality vis à vis the non poor Builds resilience and enables faster recovery from shocks Promotes social cohesion and gender empowerment Source: London School of Economics, University College London, Bocconi University, and BRAC When viewed from a long-term perspective, costs are not necessarily prohibitive if impacts grow and are sustainable. 7 years later, ultra poor continue to escape poverty at a steady rate. twitter.com/
Impact on Nutrition and Children Poor maternal & reproductive health + child malnutrition = intergenerational poverty Severely hampers the new generations ability to perform well in school and earn a sustainable living as adults. twitter.com/
Impact on Nutrition and Children Evidence and spillover effects from Bangladesh covering 26,997 households and panel data over four years. Research shows positive reduction in child malnutrition 1. Children under 5: reduction of wasting by 8% and likelihood of being underweight by 19%. 2. Children 6-19: reduction of likelihood of thinness by 4%, and likelihood of being underweight by 10%. 3. Increase in duration of exclusive breastfeeding by 73 days (75% over baseline), while spill over effect to other-poor is 52 days (49% over baseline). 4. Probability of a child receiving a vitamin A supplement increases more by 26% by ultra poor and 20% by other-poor 5. Greater food security (at least two meals/day) increases by 14% for ultra poor and 6% for other-poor twitter.com/
PART 3. Innovation, Adaptation, Scale twitter.com/
A Global Graduation Movement twitter.com/
What Drives Complexity and Cost? twitter.com/
What Drives Complexity and Cost? Real costs vary widely depending on context, organizational infrastructure, terrain, population density, markets and other factors Can vary from approx. $500 per hh/ 2 years in West Bengal to nearly $2000 per hh/ in Haiti s Central Plateau Stipend TUP - Asset Grant Asset Transfer In Bangladesh, interventional + operational costs in 2 years: For OTUP, approx. 300 USD Health Care Support For STUP, approx. 500 USD Community Mobilization Technical and Life Skill Training Projections estimated 01/2016. Based on 2016-2020 intake, 564,139 participants Amounts subject to currency fluctuations. twitter.com/
What Drives Complexity and Cost? Cost Arguments are Simplified Cost is at the household and not per capita level At par with large scale livelihood interventions and possibly cheaper than cash transfer programs when all in costs are factored Better long term proven outcomes Cost benefit calculations 5.4 dollars to every dollar invested For NGOs and social protection agencies with strong programming that needs to be integrated these are marginal costs/tradeoffs for potentially much stronger impacts twitter.com/
Graduation Innovations BRAC s Next Chapter in Graduation Innovation through direct implementation in Asia and Africa Advocacy and knowledge dissemination around the Graduation approach Technical Advisory Services to NGOs, MFIs, multilaterals and Governments. Testing Graduation programming that reduces complexity and cost Cash versus Asset Transfers Reducing/ modifying home visits Group coaching for certain elements of the training Group v. individual interventions Application of technology in high cost activities (home visits, monitoring, transfers) twitter.com/
Graduation Innovations Testing with New Target Populations Working in refugee communities Differently-abled populations Climate change and conflict affected Youth populations New Delivery Agents and Arrangements Working through government social protection agencies, potentially the most promising agents of scale Inter-ministerial coordination and delivery arrangements Consortium approaches twitter.com/
Graduation s Big Push Eradicating extreme poverty and meeting the SDGs requires a comprehensive approach that is multifaceted, adaptable and tailored to the constraints faced by the world s poorest. twitter.com/
Join us in the movement to end ultra poverty. Visit www.ultrapoorgraduation.com. Contact ultrapoorgraduation@bracusa.org BRAC USA 110 William Street, 29 th Floor New York, NY 10038 USA twitter.com/
BRAC's ultra-poor graduation approach: evidence, innovations and intersection with social protection 7 February 2017 Michael Samson msamson@epri.org.za Economic Policy Research Institute BRAC s graduation approach: Does it work? And why? (and what does this mean for social protection?) twitter.com/
Policy context on the role of graduation in social protection programmes A graduation approach can enhance social protection impacts Policy-makers increasingly demand the a graduation approach, with demand strengthened by a growing evidence base The graduation approach can reinforce intersectoral coordination and can also strengthen cross-sectoral impact twitter.com/
What is graduation? Different stakeholders define it in varying ways Exogenous exit: a fixed time schedule for benefits Endogenous exit: re-targeting based on socio-economic success criteria (with or without re-entry points for those suffering shocks) Graduation into sustainable livelihoods approach: combining social protection, livelihoods development, and access to finance to protect participants in the short-run while promoting sustainable livelihoods for the future. Developmental graduation Graduation as a sustainable exit from extreme poverty and a path towards deepening household development with exit from social protection programmes a secondary consequence of the sustainable escape from poverty twitter.com/
percent Successful graduation "Graduation" from rates for BRAC s three ultra-poor STUP cohorts programme 93% 93% 100% 86% 92% 82% 74% 75% 50% 25% 0% Dec. 2008 Dec. 2009 June 2010 Dec. 2009 June 2010 Dec. 2010 2007 cohort 2008 cohort 2009 cohort SOURCE: EPRI (2012) independent AusAID/DFID review team analysis of BRAC CFPR MIS data twitter.com/
Occupational change allows ultra poor women to access higher-paying and less volatile earning streams. Large transfers of capital and skills connect the ultra poor to labor activities that place them on a sustainable path out of poverty. The Results What are the long-term impacts? Decrease low-paying, volatile wage employment by 170 hours (26% reduction relative to baseline) Increase hours of self-employment by 388 hours, including 25% more days worked (92% increase relative to baseline) Increase earnings by 37% Increase per capita household expenditure by 8% Increase savings 9-fold twitter.com/
At 7 years, wealthy classes spend 1.5x more than the ultra poor on durables compared to 1.7x at baseline; and 4x more than the ultra poor on non-durables compared to 7x at baseline. 8 7 Relative Gap between Ultra Poor and Non Poor 6 5 43% reduction in gap 4 3 Baseline 7 Years 2 1 0 Durable Expenditures Non-Durable Expenditures twitter.com/
At 7 years, the ultra poor save at near parity with the wealthy classes compared to less than a tenth at baseline. 12 Relative Gap between Ultra Poor and Non Poor 10 8 6 4 90% reduction in gap Baseline 7 Years 2 0 Durable Expenditures Non-Durable Expenditures Savings twitter.com/
At 7 years, the ultra poor own livestock valued at near parity with the wealthy classes compared to one-fourteenth at baseline. 16 14 12 10 8 6 Relative Gap between Ultra Poor and Non Poor 93% reduction in gap Baseline 7 Years 4 2 0 Durable Expenditures Non-Durable Expenditures Savings Livestock Value twitter.com/
At 7 years, the gap in productive asset ownership between the ultra poor and the wealthy classes has fallen by two-thirds 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 Relative Gap between Ultra Poor and Non Poor 67% reduction in gap Baseline 7 Years 0 twitter.com/
At 7 years, the gap in productive asset ownership between the ultra poor and the wealthy classes has fallen by half 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Relative Gap between Ultra Poor and Non Poor 51% reduction in gap Baseline 7 Years twitter.com/
7 years after the intervention, the ultra poor continue to escape poverty at a steady rate. Key Research Conclusions and Implications Significant increases in work productivity and household assets Access to more stable and secure employment leading to positive expansion of occupation choice Reduction in economic inequality vis à vis the non poor Builds resilience and enables faster recovery from shocks Promotes social cohesion and gender empowerment Source: London School of Economics, University College London, Bocconi University, and BRAC From long-term investment perspective, the costs represent excellent value-for-money as impacts grow sustainably the social and economic rates of return are high. twitter.com/
Why is BRAC successful? Many reasons: let me discuss two of them Integrated and comprehensive approaches: moving out of silos and building bridges across sectors Learning-by-doing: building bold and risky interventions even letting them fail, but learning-by-doing with honest and substantial M&E that learns and actions the lessons of failure and hence enables remarkable outcomes. twitter.com/
Key messages 1. 2. Social protection globally has focused on its provision role, which sometimes has limited its developmental impact households risk falling back into poverty when they exit assistance-based programs Social protection with a graduation approach like BRAC s has the capacity to enable and empower the poorest households and strengthen resilience meeting broader social protection objectives 3. Social protection with this kind of graduation approach embedded within a cross-sectoral developmental policy framework can help achieve inclusive social development and equitable economic growth twitter.com/
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