Kalahi-CIDSS Impact Evaluation Third Round Report
This third-round report presents short-term output and longer-term impact findings of a nationwide, government-run, community-driven development (CDD) project in the Philippines: Kapit-bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (“Linking Arms Against Poverty”)—Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS or KC). These impact findings were generated from a randomized control trial implemented by IPA using data collected between 2011 and 2015. The report focuses on the effects of KC in barangays (villages) across the Philippines’ three main island groupings—Luzon, Mindanao, and Visayas—after approximately three cycles of CDD programming. The findings are presented in three main outcome streams or domains: socioeconomic conditions, governance, and community empowerment. The principal goal of this report is to serve as an independent assessment of the impact of KC generally, and specifically of the returns to the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) investment in KC. Simultaneously, the report aims to offer lessons to improve CDD-related policy in the Philippines and beyond, and to contribute to broader research about the impacts of CDD programs.