BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

THEORY OF CHANGE IN DEVELOPMENT: A MICRO LEVEL EVIDENCE FROM BANGLADESH

Author: Mahfuz Kabir, Chowdhury Golam Klbria

DOI Link: https://www.doi.org/10.56888/BIISSj2016v37n1a4

ABSTRACT

Theory of change as a research tool is adopted considerably to comprehend the socio-economic changes resulted from development interventions. The main objective is to understand whether, to what extent and in which areas the interventions have brought significant changes. Bangladesh is widely known as a ‘social laboratory’ where thousands of programmes and projects are being implemented to bring about positive economic and social changes. In the present study, ‘theory of change’ has been operationalised for assessing Empowerment of the Poor through Integrated Agriculture (EPIA) programme adopting quantitative method in the implementation area. The empirical findings suggest that the EPIA programme has brought about significant changes among its beneficiaries located at Bauphal upazila in Patuakhali district which is a backward coastal area of Bangladesh. The results reveal that considerably positive changes took place in income and asset building of the beneficiaries in a quite short period of time in a rural coastal area where the problems of multiple natural hazards like cyclone and salinity are recurrent phenomenon. The positive outcomes and lessons can be learnt through further in-depth study in the programme area, scaled up and replicated widely in other backward areas of the country through necessary customization.