Since the 1990s, BRAC's targeting the ultra-poor approach has helped millions improve their standard of living. Why have ultra-poor targeting programmes been effective, and what is the future of these programmes?
In this episode of VoxDevTalks, Tim Phillips speaks with Shameran Abed, Executive Director of BRAC International, about the ‘Graduation approach’: a pioneering intervention model developed by BRAC in Bangladesh to help the ultra-poor build sustainable livelihoods and escape extreme poverty. More than 20 years after its inception, the approach has been replicated across the globe. Abed reflects on its origins, effectiveness, evolution, and scalability.
Identifying the ‘invisible poor’
The Graduation approach emerged from a realisation in the late 1990s that BRAC’s existing programmes were failing to reach the very poorest.
“There is a group of people who are so vulnerable, they’re so marginalised that they’re almost invisible. Unless you go looking for them, you can’t find them easily.”
These households, often headed by women left to support children alone, were not benefiting from traditional interventions. BRAC recognised the need for tailored programming that addressed the severe social and economic exclusion these families faced.
Building a community-based model
Originally called the Targeting the Ultra Poor (TUP) programme, the initiative was built around accurate identification and intensive support. A key innovation was involving communities in the targeting process.
“Instead of BRAC staff deciding who the poorest people within those villages and those communities are, it was the village and the community itself that was doing the selection.”
This participatory approach not only improved accuracy but also helped generate local support for the selected households, building community buy-in from the outset.
Moving from drip support to transformative investment
Unlike typical social protection programmes that provide small, regular stipends, the Graduation approach offers a concentrated investment over a fixed period.
“This drip allows you to survive, but doesn’t allow you to change the course of your life.”
Basic needs support ensures families can make ends meet until their new livelihood generates sufficient income. Participants receive a large ‘big push’ asset–often livestock, small trade, or a skill–accompanied by wraparound services such as training, savings facilitation, and coaching. This package is designed to set families on a path to long-term resilience and income generation.
Measuring long-term success
Evaluation and evidence are central to BRAC’s scaling strategy. Abed stresses the importance of asking tough questions about impact, relevance, and effectiveness.
“We continuously ask ourselves: are these programmes having impact? Are we reaching the right people? Are we doing the right things, and are we doing them in the right way?”
The results have been strong: participants not only show improvements during the two-year programme but also continue to progress afterwards.
“What we see is the vast majority of graduates continue to progress.”
Understanding who benefits most
The Graduation approach works best for those who are able to take up and maintain livelihoods, though it has also been effective among disabled and older participants in some cases.
“You need people to be able to work hard and get themselves out of this programme over time.”
However, for individuals who are unable to work due to illness, severe disability, or age, more traditional safety nets may be more appropriate.
Adapting to context and changing needs
The programme structure is flexible and evolves to meet changing contexts. For example, in early versions in Bangladesh, participants received a monthly stipend. That component has since been replaced with savings-matching schemes.
“We don’t do that cash transfer anymore because the situation is not the same anymore… What we later started doing is savings matching.”
Different settings require different designs. For instance, urban programmes, must adapt to space constraints and insecurity.
Scaling with quality and sustainability
While interest in the Graduation approach is growing globally, Abed notes that real impact depends on scaling while maintaining programme integrity.
“The bigger question for us right now is, are they scaling? Are we seeing the same kind of impact, and are they being taken to scale?”
Cost is a factor–approximately $1,000 per household over two years–but Abed argues this is a worthwhile investment.
“If we wanted to take 100 million families out of ultra-poverty… $100 billion potentially could solve this problem.”
He also points out that governments already spend substantial sums on poverty programmes; these funds could be more effectively used by applying Graduation principles.
A global public good with no intellectual property barriers
Although created by BRAC, the Graduation approach is openly shared and freely adapted by others.
“We might have created it, but it's gone way beyond BRAC now, and we have no IP (intellectual property) rights. It’s not proprietary. It's something that we as a global community now are working to improve and scale, and in that effort, we continue to work with others.”
This openness has enabled governments and NGOs across the world to incorporate Graduation elements into their own poverty interventions. But Abed cautions against loosely applying the label.
“There are lots of programmes around the world that have taken one or two elements of Graduation and then renamed their programmes a Graduation programme.”
He advocates for a global community of practice to uphold quality and protect the integrity of the approach, without gatekeeping innovation or adaptation.
What qualifies as a Graduation approach?
To qualify as a Graduation approach, Abed emphasises several core components:
“We’ve got to make sure that we’re targeting the right people. The element of a big push investment is extremely important… There has to be a bunch of wraparound services. There has to be an element of coaching… and ultimately, it has to be a programme that is for a specific amount of time.”
Without these essential elements, he suggests, a programme cannot deliver the kind of sustained transformation that Graduation aims to achieve.
Facing future challenges in funding and implementation
In a shifting global aid environment, traditional sources of funding are under pressure.
“We’re entering a time where the traditional government, bilateral donor-funded programming work will significantly reduce in size, and that’s just the reality.”
Abed calls for diversification of funding sources and a stronger commitment from national governments to fund and implement proven approaches like Graduation.
“Ultimately, I feel that whether you’re a government donor or a private donor, you want your money to have impact… What the Graduation programme represents is one of the best returns on investment.”
If you enjoyed this episode of VoxDevTalks, consider listening to this policy conversation between Shameran Abed and Esther Duflo at the 2024 PSE-CEPR Policy Forum.