Uganda has one of the highest prevalences of intimate partner violence (IPV) globally. Research suggests community leaders can promote behavioral change, thereby reducing IPV. In Uganda, researchers conducted an impact evaluation of a faith-based couples counseling program called Becoming One. To attract a wide audience, Becoming One does not directly address violence, focusing instead on improving couples' relationships and shifting decision-making power. A year later, the program reduced IPV by 12 percent and shifted power within the relationship towards women, while also improving intimacy and communication.

Maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality are persistent challenges despite increasing rates of deliveries within health care facilities over the last decade. Especially in low-resource contexts, improving infrastructure in facilities through access to reliable electricity may enable healthcare workers to provide higher-quality obstetric and newborn care. Where large investments in infrastructure are likely to be unsustainable in these settings, solar energy for health care facilities may provide the essential lighting needed to deliver quality care. In Uganda, researchers are evaluating the impact of the “Solar Suitcase” designed specifically for maternity care facilities on the reliability of light, quality of care, and health worker satisfaction.

Many local bureaucrats operate in settings with weak institutions and limited oversight, resulting in poor service delivery. A growing number of initiatives and studies seek to address this by empowering communities to monitor front-line service providers directly. This study tests another avenue: Empowering local politicians, who have the mandate but often lack the tools to monitor local bureaucrats, who in turn oversee front-line service providers. In particular, this study evaluated the impact of putting location-specific, fine-grained budget and expenditure information into the hands of local councilors on their efforts to monitor the bureaucracy. This information, coupled with training on government rules and procedures, improved local politicians’ oversight efforts, but only in areas where some degree of party competition existed.