The Council for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) launched a cash transfer pilot in 2013 in Prasat Bakong district, Siem Reap, to support pregnant women and children under five living in poverty. The pilot aimed to reduce financial barriers to health and nutrition services, stimulate demand for basic care, and improve child well-being.
Our Role
We undertook a formative, independent, and learning-oriented evaluation of the pilot to assess the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability, and equity of the programme’s design and delivery, while providing actionable recommendations to inform scale-up and the design of Cambodia’s national cash transfer programme.
- A key methodological aspect of this evaluation was its participatory and learning-oriented nature. A mixed methods approach was followed, combining extensive quantitative and qualitative primary data collection (a beneficiary survey, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions) with a secondary review of project documents.
- A cost-effective analysis was also undertaken, along with a comparative assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the Cash Transfer Pilot Project versus other cash transfer interventions in Cambodia, such as those implemented by the World Bank and Save the Children.
- The tools are aligned with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/Development Assistance Committee (DAC) evaluation criteria, gender, equity, and human rights considerations.
Impact
The evaluation reached 240 households and interviewed a total of 343 individuals across national, district, commune, and household levels. Random sampling among beneficiaries helped minimise bias.
