Our Impact

Rigorous Evaluations by Independent Research Firms

We are committed to conducting rigorous research and building a body of evidence for our work through randomized controlled trials (RCTs). RCTs conducted by a third party are the gold standard for evaluation in the social sciences. They more accurately measure impact, ensure attribution, and provide independent validation. When done well, RCT results can influence policy decisions to transform lives.

In 2018, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) completed a large-scale RCT of the Village Enterprise program in Uganda. The results showed a comprehensive and cost-effective impact. Village Enterprise’s program led to increases in consumption, assets, income, and savings, as well as improvements in nutrition, food security, and the subjective well-being of our program participants. Results also showed that the program was highly cost-effective when compared to other programs evaluated by independent RCTs.

IDinsight is currently conducting a second RCT of Village Enterprise’s program in both Kenya and Uganda. The RCT findings will be used to determine the Village Enterprise Development Impact Bond (DIB) outcome payments, the first of its kind for poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa.

Adaptive and Performance Management

In addition to third-party evaluations, Village Enterprise has invested in building a strong internal monitoring and evaluation team that uses state-of-the-art systems to monitor and evaluate our program’s results. Using the TaroWorks mobile app for data collection and the Salesforce database for data management, we track and evaluate our businesses and savings groups’ performance via award-winning dashboards and monitor the implementation of activities and performance of our field staff. We use adaptive management techniques to constantly improve our poverty graduation program and maximize the benefits and impact on our entrepreneurs’ lives. While technology is important, we recognize it is critical to instill a strong high performance culture. Leaders across Village Enterprise invest their energy in creating a culture where data leads the work we do, and decisions we make to ensures our entrepreneurs are successful.

Internal Monitoring and Evaluation

Our comprehensive and rigorous internal M&E systems were highly rated by ImpactMatters (now Charity Navigator). These systems track the implementation of all five components of our programming and baseline and end line outcome data using in-house enumerators equipped with TaroWorks for data collection and Salesforce’s relational cloud-based database for information management.

We routinely monitor all five components of our program to ensure high quality of program delivery; those include digital training attendance forms, digital mentoring forms, business and savings groups progress surveys and spot-checks.

We collect baseline and end-line household surveys to measure program impact based on key indicators, including average increases in household savings, consumption and expenditure, meals per day, and weekly animal protein consumption.