PROGRAMME FOR LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH ENHANCED GOVERNANCE
AND GRASSROOTS EMPOWERMENT IMPACT EVALUATION BASELINE SURVEY
(PLEDGE-IE: 2014 - 2015)

Client: World Bank; Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA)
Funding Source: World Bank
Contract duration: 2014 - 2015
Sample Activities: computer-assisted personal interviewing; baseline survey; social and environmental safeguards; enterprise and livelihood development

The Programme for Local Economic Development through Enhanced Governance and Grassroots Empowerment (PLEDGE) is envisioned to increase the income of individuals and households in target areas by providing assistance to the start-up, expansion and longevity of community enterprises, and to the generation of employment. The project beneficiaries come from barangays located in ten provinces within the six BDA regions. PLEDGE is being implemented by the International Labor Organization in cooperation with the BDA. The Baseline Survey will gather information on pre-determined indicators that will be later used to assess the effectiveness of PLEDGE.

The Baseline Survey was undertaken in 23 randomly selected ‘control barangays’ and ‘treatment barangays’. Skill set, employment and entrepreneurial potential, and poverty and vulnerability indicators were considered in the selection of ‘treatment barangays’. The survey was conducted through computer-assisted personal interviewing using tablet computers, and involved over 2,500 individual respondents. The survey was pre-tested using pen-and-paper and CAPI methods.

The survey was designed to allow the use in the future of a ‘difference-in-difference’ analysis of PLEDGE impacts. Recommendations from the impact evaluation will be used to enhance program effectiveness and contribute to a growing body of international evidence on the effectiveness of livelihood programs.