About the

In 2002, the BRAC Development Institute developed a poverty graduation program in Bangladesh with an innovative and holistic approach called Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction / Targeting the Ultra Poor (De Montesquiou et al., 2014). Approximately 400,000 people, mostly women heads of households, participated in this program (Fundación Capital and DPS, 2015). Building on this experience, the CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) and the Ford Foundation implemented ten pilot graduation programs between 2006 and 2014 in eight countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Pakistan, Peru, and Yemen), benefiting around 5,000 people, mostly women (Fundación Capital and DPS, 2015).

The Learning and Evaluation Platform for the Graduation Program in Latin America is an initiative to evaluate graduation programs in the region. Currently, various Graduation programs have been or are being implemented by the governments of Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, and Honduras. The integration of these programs into public policy by governments marks a significant distinction from the first generation of Graduation programs and constitutes the main focus of this research.

The evaluation is conducted by the Faculty of Economics at the University of Los Andes (UNIANDES) through the Center for Economic Development Studies (CEDE), which coordinates the platform in partnership with local implementing partners in the countries or regions where the programs are implemented. The platform is funded by and collaborates with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Ford Foundation, Fundación Capital—serving as the technical advisor for the evaluated Graduation programs—and the governments of each country.