EDIAIS :Conference papers

Since January 2002, BRAC has started a new program targeted at the extreme poor, called 'Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction: Targeting the Ultra Poor' (CFPR/TUP). The Program seeks to 'push down' the reach of development programs through specific targeting of the ultra poor who have suffered relative neglect from the conventional service delivery based development programs. CFPR/TUP Program focuses on human capital, and the structure and process that disempower the poor, especially women, and constraints their livelihood and Program precisely recognizes without achieving socio-political asset ultra poor can't break away the cycle of poverty that is embedded structurally.

CFPR/TUP Program is an experimental program seeking to address new groups of poor and a new set of constraints. This calls for a relatively challenging methodology like Process Documentation Research (PDR) to monitor and evaluate the impact of the program along with using other traditional methods and techniques. PDR is a social science research technique that provides systematic recording of activities and interactions of various groups involved in the field level implementation of a program. PDR is a factual chronicle of the learning process that can contribute to prepare a historical documentation of the program. Moreover PDR represents an on going monitoring thereby has a scope to improve the program by necessary policy changing in the interim period. Thirdly, PDR can generate future research topics relevant to program development. Through PDR it is possible to capture the complexities encountered when implementing a program.

Before the intervention, BRAC's Research and Evaluation Division (RED) conducted a large-scale survey among the ultra poor populace covering nearly 13000 households. The general assumption is after certain period of time another survey like this exposure in intervention area would provide the impact assessment. But relying only on this method would not contribute to understand the dynamics of everyday interactions between program and participants and expectantly would miss the continuing process of the program. PDR has emerged in CFPR/TUP program to take hold of this missing link that can't be revealed by the out come intended conventional Impact Assessment strategy. In addition BRAC has successfully realized that getting the findings of impact assessment after certain period of time is not very useful in policy restructuring. Day to day data and prompt response needs something more.

From the starting phase of the CFPR/TUP Program TUP Research Unit employed 4 Anthropologists to document the various process of selecting ultra poor households. There was constant suspicion among the Program Staffs about their mission. Sometimes field researchers were called as 'detectives'. PDR team prepared a final report based on their reports and circulated it among the concern persons of BRAC. Now PDR team has been engaged in documenting everyday activities of Program Organizers (PO) and the participation of members. Apart from this we have arranged a series of Seminars and Research Dialogues with both policy makers and grass-root staffs. We have gotten live response from different corners and mixed of reactions. Somebody feels slightly uncomfortable to hear those because nobody wants to be a subject of research. But as a whole Program takes our findings seriously and is thinking for further policy changing. Advocacy Unit of BRAC has taken an issue, raised by PDR team, for advocacy campaign. In one hand we are getting the results but on the other hand facing challenges in applying a new mode to evaluate the performance of Program.

This paper is about the challenges of setting a relatively new impact-monitoring methodology accepted within a development organization. In that sense the paper is a documentation of the experiences of doing process documentation.

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