Participatory Development in Fragile and Conflict-affected Contexts: An Impact Evaluation of the Tuungane 2 Program

Community Driven Development (CDD) is a bottom-up model of development that aims to put the people in the driver’s seat. To date, a number of CDD programs have been conducted and evaluated, but the evidence as to its effects remains inconclusive. This report presents findings from an evaluation of the Tuungane 2 program, a major CDD program in Eastern Congo, funded by the UK government and implemented by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) between 2011 and 2014. The Tuungane 2 (T2) program was carried out in 1,025 Village Development Committee areas (VDCs) in the provinces of South Kivu, North Kivu, Maniema and Katanga, representing an estimated beneficiary population of around 1.7 million individuals. Participating communities underwent a 36-month community mobilization program, including the selection of an infrastructure project, followed by the democratic election of VDC representatives, and a six-month project implementation period. A key aspect of T2 was the focus on governance processes, with an explicit theory of change that emphasized the strengthening of capacity on both the supply side (e.g., duty bearers) and the demand side (e.g., the general population), as well as creating opportunities for productive interface between the two (IRC, 2010).