The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established a vision of a world free of poverty and inequality by 2030. Unfortunately, progress towards the SDGs is at great risk. The international community has struggled to reach the most pressing goals, including SDG 1, ending poverty in all its forms. As we enter the Decade of Action, the … Continued
Focusing on assistance that includes improving health, teaching financial skills, and providing vocational support, BRAC invented the Graduation approach in 2002 to address hopelessness and help the world’s poorest escape extreme poverty. BRAC’s Graduation model offers a transition to greater self-sufficiency, autonomy and dignity.The Graduation approach was pioneered by BRAC’s Ultra-Poor Graduation (UPG) programme (formally … Continued
In November 2018, BRAC International, with funding from the Dutch Postcode, began the targeting process and launched the Liberia Graduation pilot in March 2019 to provide targeted support to 750 ultra-poor households across three Branch Office locations; Kakata and Gbarnga counties and Unification Town (250 households per branch).
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) cites the Graduation approach as a leading innovation for families beyond the reach of traditional development programs (March 2011). Syed M. Hashemi and Aude de Montesquiou (March 2011)
Aude de Montesquiou Tony Sheldon with Frank F. DeGiovanni and Syed M. Hashemi (September 2014) This Technical Guide provides a “how-to” roadmap for practitioners wishing to implement programs based on the Graduation approach, an integrated, five-step methodology aimed at transitioning extremely poor populations into sustainable livelihoods. The Guide draws on the lessons learned over the … Continued
Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, Nathanael Goldberg, Dean Karlan, Robert Osei, William Parienté, Jeremy Shapiro, Bram Thuysbaert, Christopher Udry (May 2015)
Oriana Bandiera, Robin Burgess, Narayan Das, Selim Gulesci, Imran Rasul, Munshi Sulaimany (March 2016) We study how women’s choices over labor activities in village economies correlate with poverty and whether enabling the poorest women to take on the activities of their richer counterparts can set them on a sustainable trajectory out of poverty…
Wameq A Raza, Ellen Van de Poel (April 2016) Evidence shows that ultra-poor households are typically unable to participate in mainstream poverty alleviation programmes. In response, an international NGO called BRAC in Bangladesh implemented the Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction: Targeted Ultra-Poor (CFPR: TUP) programme that explicitly targets those living below…
Clare Balboni, Oriana Bandiera, Robin Burgess, Maitreesh Ghatak and Anton Heil (March 2020) There are two views as to why people stay poor. The equal opportunity view emphasizes that differences in individual traits like talent or motivation make poor people choose low productivity jobs. The poverty traps view emphasizes that access to opportunities depends on … Continued
This case study explores BRAC’s experience evolving the graduation approach over the last 20 years, paying special attention to the lessons for governments and NGOs alike that have emerged from the most recent periods of implementation. Specifically, this case study looks at how, since the program started in 2002, BRAC has sought to ensure high … Continued