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
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
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Status: Completed
Researcher(s): Denise Ferris
Publisher: The Review of Economics and Statistics
Date: 2022
Author(s): Fishman, Ram; Smith, Stephen C.; Bobic, Vida; Sulaiman, Munshi
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
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
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Date: 2021
Author(s): Bassi, Vittorio; Muoio, Raffaela; Porzio, Tommaso; Sen, Ritwika; Tugume, Esau
Topic(s): Economic Development
Publisher: African Journal of Reproductive Health
Date: 2021
Author(s): Musoke, Jenipher T.; Mugirwa, Patrick; Nakimuli, Eva
Topic(s): BRAC Programs
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
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
Publisher: Health Policy and Planning
Date: 2021
Author(s): Chowdhury, Reajul; McKague, Kevin; Krause, Heather
Topic(s): BRAC Programs
Publisher: Social Science Research Network
Date: 2020
Author(s): Abman, Ryan; Garg, Teevrat; Pan, Yao; Singhal, Saurabh
Topic(s): BRAC Programs
Publisher: UNESCO
Date: 2020
Author(s): Bandiera, Oriana; Buehren, Niklas; Goldstein, Markus; Rasul, Imran; Smurra, Andrea
Topic(s): BRAC Programs, COVID-19, Social Transformation
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
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