IERC

BRAC

BRAC is a leading development organization in the world, currently operating in 10 countries across Asia and Africa. We act as a catalyst, creating opportunities for people living in poverty to realize their potential. To impact the lives of millions, we specialize in piloting, perfecting, and scaling innovation.

IERC

At Independent Evaluation and Research Cell (IERC), the research wing of BRAC International (BI) and an affiliate of BRAC Institute of Governance & Development (BIGD), we support BRAC programmes by generating research evidence on their relevance and impacts. Administratively, IERC is attached with respective BI countries.

We envision making strategic contributions to BRAC programmes and the international development agenda by influencing the policy actors with research evidence. We aim to generate and disseminate evidence on the relevance, impact, and sustainability of BRAC programmes.

We conduct impact evaluation, operation evaluation, and nationally representative surveys on multi-sectoral topics in diverse contexts across Africa and Asia. The large administrative presence and diversified sectoral platform of BRAC in respective countries provide us with a unique comparative advantage to test and learn before rolling out an intervention at scale. Our multi-disciplinary research team, with its multi-sectoral cross-country experiences, leads us to design and implement rigorous evaluations of a wide range of interventions across diverse contexts.

We collaborate with renowned universities, research institutes, development organisations, and governments to design, test, and disseminate research findings. The Central Team headquartered in Uganda coordinates the Country Research Teams operating in BI countries including Uganda, Tanzania, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Afghanistan.

While quality data with relevant purpose is at the core of the research management, the quality research in search of referable evidence is the top priority of knowledge management. Research management at IERC is governed by a number of administrative and technical protocols, some of which include IERC Research Review Committee (RRC), survey management and data quality protocol, data protection protocol, mobile data collection, and grant management SOP. These generic practices and protocols are often customised to the specific needs of a particular project or survey.


Photo credit: “Uganda -9” is copyright (c) 2013 Swathi Sridharan and made available under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license

IERC Research repository provides access to research findings on the development programmes by BRAC International. To access the content as a guest (button below), contact: ierc.km@brac.net

Impact of the Agriculture Extension Programme in Uganda

Agriculture plays an important role in the Ugandan economy as it accounts for three-quarters of employment and half of households’ income. Yet, agricultural growth has been slow with prevalence of subsistence farming. To enhance livelihoods and food security of poor smallholder farmers, BRAC Uganda initiated the Agriculture Extension Programme in 2008…

Impact of the food security intervention through kitchen gardening and poultry rearing in Sierra Leone and Liberia

Liberia and Sierra Leone both emerged from the 90s conflicts that kept them off track on the delivery of most sustainable development goals (SDGs). The 2014 Ebola outbreak further contributed to widespread poverty in both countries. To enhance the homestead food production of the poor households, BRAC followed an integrated…

Impact of agricultural supports for the poor households under PRO-ACT project in Liberia

Food insecurity in Liberia is a challenge. The dietary consumption of majority population is deficient and unbalanced. Households spend half of their income on food. However, agriculture remains highly underdeveloped. Most of the poultry and livestock products are imported. With the support of the European Union, BRAC Liberia implemented the…

Increasing agricultural and livestock productivity of marginalised smallholder farmers in Tanzania

More than two-thirds of the population in Tanzania live in rural area and high majority of them live on subsistence level agriculture. This limitation of agriculture has been a big challenge to tackle poverty and hunger in Tanzania. Despite huge potential of agricultural and livestock production, different challenges like farming…

The Approach to Enhancing Smallholder Family Nutrition in Uganda

The agricultural sector in Uganda remains underdeveloped despite its substantial role to address the widespread food insecurity and poverty in the country. In combatting these challenges, BRAC used integrated support packages including agriculture, health and financial services to enhance the livelihoods and health outcomes of poor households. With the support…

Impact of the Support to Quality Basic Education Programme in South Sudan

Having been burdened with a history of civil war, more than half of the South Sudanese live under the poverty line. Unlike their neighbors in Western and Eastern Africa, the population has strikingly low access to basic services and education. Despite having only half of all children currently enrolled in…

Impact of the Girls Education Challenge Project in Tanzania

Despite the overall educational system in Tanzania being similar across the mainland, there are persistent regional differences in school attendance and learning outcomes. Gender role beliefs often push young women to teen marriage and early pregnancy which keep them away from schooling. BRAC follows a community- and need-based approach within…

Impact of the Education Programme in Uganda

With the primary school in Uganda being free, it is no surprise that the enrollment is above 90%. Things, however, change as the students move to higher levels – secondary school enrollment is at around 20% of whom only a quarter finish it and about 5% enroll in tertiary education. To…

The Economic Lives of Young Women in the Time of Ebola: Lessons from an Empowerment Programme

Declining poverty rates across the world substantially reduced gender inequality and strengthened women’s agency by increasing access to education and labour markets. Yet, a range of persisting disadvantages puts these hard-earned gains in peril of being swiftly erased or even reversed by external shocks, as evidenced during the 2014 Ebola…

Impact of Livelihoods and Life Skills of Adolescent Girls in Liberia

Young girls in Liberia are particularly vulnerable to a number of challenges as opposed to their male counterparts. The long-lasting war until early 2000 further exposed them to the violation of their rights and increased their livelihood insecurity. To create a conducive learning environment and empower them economically and socially…

Impact of Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment in South Sudan

Decades of civil war have left South Sudan severely impoverished, underdeveloped and at the tail of the human development indicators. Today, it is one of the countries with a high percentage of youth under 25 with only about half of them being employed. Lack of decent job prospects makes young…

Impact of the Adolescent Development Programme in Tanzania

Many African countries are undergoing through a demographic transition with a high share of youth in the population. However, their healthy transition into adulthood faces multiple challenges of education, employability, and sexual and reproductive health. Tanzania is one of the struggling countries. BRAC injects both financial and non-financial interventions into…

Impact of the Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescent Programme in Uganda

Uganda has progressed at a slower pace in socio-economic empowerment of women compared to developed countries. Violence against women is more prevalent as they have limited control over their bodies. The majority of girls marry and have their first child at a young age. To contribute to their socio-economic empowerment…

Assessment of Reproductive Maternal Neonatal and Child Health in Liberia

Liberia is one of the low income countries in West Africa. Its Health and Demographic Survey 2013 reported few of the lowest health indicators even in Africa comparison – the life expectancy 53 years, under five mortalities 94 deaths per 1,000 live births, and maternal mortality 1,072 per 100,000 live births…

Impact of the Community Health Promoters Model in Uganda

Uganda has a high number of under-five mortalities (U5M) due to severe shortage of health workers which is why a growing number of governments and NGOs see community health promoters (health promoters) as a viable strategy for extending primary health care to underserved rural areas. Based on a community approach…

Impact of Microfinance Plus Programmes in Uganda

More than three fourth of the population in Uganda lives in rural areas and a large number depends on subsistence farming. Although the percentage of the poor has decreased, their absolute number did not change accordingly because of the population growth. BRAC’s development model followed an integrated approach to maximize…

Impact of the Ultra Poor Graduation Programme in Uganda

Uganda has made great strides in reducing poverty in recent years; yet, almost a quarter of the population still lives below the national poverty line. Three-fourths of the population lacks sanitation and potential avenues for meaningful livelihoods. To facilitate the sustainable livelihoods for the ultra-poor, BRAC applied an integrated approach…

Journal Article

Can Agricultural Extension and Input Support be Discontinued? Evidence from a Randomized Phaseout in Uganda

Publisher: The Review of Economics and Statistics

Date: 2022

Author(s): Fishman, Ram; Smith, Stephen C.; Bobic, Vida; Sulaiman, Munshi 

Report

Women’s Leadership in VSLAs in Uganda: Findings From a Cross-Sectional Survey

Publisher: BRAC International, Care Uganda, Makerere University, The Africa Centre, The Association of Volunteers in International Service, Village Enterprise

Date: 2021

Author(s): Buitrago, Catalina; Nabulumba, Christine; Serra, Danila; Sikoti, Doreen; Namisango, Eve; Bjorvatn, Kjetil; Sulaiman, Munshi; Mpiira, Robert; Chowdhury, Shymal; Mulyampiti, Tabitha

Topic(s): Economic Development, Social Transformation

Journal Article

Factors Associated with Educational and Career Aspirations of Young Women and Girls in Sierra Leone

Publisher: Development in Practice

Date: 2021

Author(s): Allmang, Skye; Rozhenkova, Veronika; Khakshi, James Ward; Raza, Wameq; Heymann, Jody 

Topic(s): Education, Skills and Jobs

Working Paper

Achieving Scale Collectively

Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research

Date: 2021

Author(s): Bassi, Vittorio; Muoio, Raffaela; Porzio, Tommaso; Sen, Ritwika; Tugume, Esau 

Topic(s): Economic Development

Journal Article

Pathway and Interaction Analysis of IMCHA Model: An Initiative of Implementation Research in Uganda and South Sudan

Publisher: African Journal of Reproductive Health

Date: 2021

Author(s): Musoke, Jenipher T.; Mugirwa, Patrick; Nakimuli, Eva 

Topic(s): BRAC Programs

Working Paper

Credit Constraints and Demand for Remedial Education: Evidence From Tanzania

Publisher: Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Date: 2021

Author(s): Burchardi, Konrad B.; Quidt, Jonathan de; Gulesci, Selim; Sulaiman, Munshi 

Topic(s): Skills and Jobs, Social Transformation

Working Paper

A Stepping Stone Approach to Understanding Harmful Norms

Publisher: Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Date: 2021

Author(s): Gulesci, Selim; Jindani, Sam; Ferrara, Eliana La; Smerdon, David; Sulaiman, Munshi; Young, Peyton

Topic(s): Social Transformation

Journal Article

How Workers Respond to Social Rewards: Evidence From Community Health Workers in Uganda

Publisher: Health Policy and Planning

Date: 2021

Author(s): Chowdhury, Reajul; McKague, Kevin; Krause, Heather 

Topic(s): BRAC Programs

Journal Article

Agriculture and Deforestation

Publisher: Social Science Research Network

Date: 2020

Author(s): Abman, Ryan; Garg, Teevrat; Pan, Yao; Singhal, Saurabh 

Topic(s): BRAC Programs

Case Study

Do School Closures During an Epidemic Have Persistent Effects? Evidence from Sierra Leone in the Time of Ebola

Publisher: UNESCO

Date: 2020

Author(s): Bandiera, Oriana; Buehren, Niklas; Goldstein, Markus; Rasul, Imran; Smurra, Andrea 

Topic(s): BRAC Programs, COVID-19, Social Transformation

Working Paper

Development Policy Through the Lens of Social Structure

Publisher: London School of Economics and Political Science

Date: 2020

Author(s): Bandiera, Oriana; Burgess, Robin; Deserranno, Erika; Morel, Ricardo; Rasul, Imran; Sulaiman, Munshi

Topic(s): BRAC Programs, Governance and Politics

Journal Article

Women’s Empowerment in Action: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial in Africa

Publisher: American Economic Journal

Date: 2020

Author(s): Bandiera, Oriana; Buehren, Niklas; Burgess, Robin; Goldstein, Markus; Gulesci, Selim; Rasul, Imran; Sulaiman, Munshi

Topic(s): BRAC Programs, Skills and Jobs

James W. Khakshi

Programme Coordinator

Patrick Olobo Okello

Research Fellow

Denise Ferris

Research Fellow

Kristina Kotiščak

Award and Knowledge Manager

Elijah Kipkech Kipchumba

Senior Research Associate

Julietha Komba

Research Associate

Christine Nabulumba

Research Associate

Esau Tugume

Research Associate

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