Ecuadorian project wins regional impact assessment competition

The Human Development Grant awarded by the Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion is an advance on the monthly installments of the Human Development Bonus, a monthly conditional transfer that normally amounts to USD 50, intended to promote productive initiatives by individuals and households in vulnerable situations.

The project consists of assessing the impact of a pilot program that will introduce reforms to the current Human Development Grant program, on indicators related to welfare of users and household members (work income, welfare index, employment conditions and consumption patterns) and on variables related to the creation of entrepreneurial ventures (time of operation of the enterprise, number of employees, investment level, formalization of the business, etc.)

In this context, and in order to formalize the collaboration between institutions, Berenice Cordero, Minister of Economic and Social Inclusion, and Bernardo Requena, director-representative of CAF in Ecuador, signed a memorandum of understanding that describes the scope of the cooperation and ensures the commitment and feasibility of the evaluation in the long term.

During the signing of the MOU, Cordero explained that the impact assessment will improve the design of the program and monitor its progress. She also highlighted the work of the national government to provide support throughout the program with the Toda una Vida Plan.

Bernardo Requena underscored the role of CAF in promoting and strengthening public institutions in Latin America, and the importance of these types of assessments to learn useful lessons for public policy management, and for establishing a learning culture that promotes continuous improvement in institutions.

Under the context of this agreement, CAF will offer technical support to MIES for an end-to-end implementation of the impact assessment of the Human Development Grant pilot program. This study will provide rigorous evidence on the program’s effects on its beneficiaries.