Evaluating the Impact of a Community-Driven Reconstruction Program in Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, the IRC partnered with the Government, other NGOs, and researchers from MIT and Harvard University in a large-scale impact evaluation of Community-Driven Reconstruction programming. The results suggest that the introduction of this government-led program led to significant improvement in villagers’ economic wellbeing as well as in their attitudes towards the government. Apart from a change in perceptions and attitudes, the program also leads to an improved security situation in the long run. These positive effects on attitudes and security, however, were not observed in districts with high levels of initial violence.