Evaluating social funds : a cross-country analysis of community investments / Laura Rawlings, Lynne Sherburne-Benz, Julie Van Domelen.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 197-208).

Social Funds: An Innovative, Community-Based Tool 1 -- 1. Overview of Social Funds 9 -- General Debates about the Model 11 -- Description of the Six Case Study Social Funds 13 -- The Project Cycle and Implementation Arrangements 15 -- Capacity Building and Coordination with Stakeholders 17 -- Findings from Earlier Studies 18 -- Measuring Workers' Gains 18 -- Expanding Access to Services 19 -- Reaching the Poor 19 -- 2. Methodology 21 -- Evaluation Methodology 25 -- Evaluating Poverty Targeting 26 -- Evaluating Facilities 27 -- Evaluating Household Impact 28 -- Approaches to Impact Evaluation in the Country Case Studies 34 -- Cost Study Methodology 37 -- Analysis of Participation, Perceptions, and Priorities 38 -- Data Sources and Sample Sizes 38 -- Sample Size and Design 45 -- Costs and Time Frame 45 -- Implications 47 -- Operational Recommendations for Evaluation 48 -- 3. Performance in Poverty Targeting 51 -- Research Focus 51 -- Geographic Targeting Performance 52 -- Cumulative Results 53 -- Recent Trends 56 -- Variation in Spending among Districts or Municipalities 58 -- Household Targeting Performance 59 -- Results Based on Poverty Lines 60 -- Results Based on Income or Consumption Deciles 63 -- Results by Type of Project 65 -- Comparison of Targeting by Social Fund and Other Programs 67 -- Geographic Targeting 68 -- Household Targeting 68 -- Targeting within Districts 72 -- Analysis of Potential versus Actual Beneficiaries 75 -- 4. Education 81 -- Impact on Infrastructure 83 -- Impact on the Availability of Equipment, Furniture, and Textbooks 86 -- Impact on Staffing, School Size, and Student-Teacher Ratios 87 -- Number of Students 88 -- Student-Teacher Ratios 89 -- Impact on Educational Outcomes 90 -- Enrollment Rates 90 -- Educational Attainment 94 -- Sustainability 95 -- 5. Health 99 -- Impact on Infrastructure 101 -- Impact on Availability of Key Inputs 103 -- Medical Equipment and Furniture 103 -- Access to Essential Medicines and Supplies 103 -- Staffing 104 -- Impact on Health Outcomes 106 -- Utilization Rates 106 -- Health Outcomes 112 -- Sustainability 114 -- 6. Water and Sanitation 119 -- Water Systems 121 -- Quality and Utilization 121 -- Physical and Operational Sustainability 122 -- Household-Level Impacts 127 -- Sewerage Systems 129 -- Supply and Utilization 129 -- Physical and Operational Sustainability 131 -- Household-Level Impacts 133 -- Latrines 135 -- Quality and Utilization 135 -- Household-Level Impacts 136 -- Water Systems 136 -- Sewerage Systems 137 -- Latrines 138 -- 7. Community Dynamics 139 -- Response to Community Priorities 140 -- How Projects Are Identified 140 -- Findings 142 -- Participation throughout the Project Cycle 145 -- Project Identification 145 -- Design 148 -- Implementation 148 -- Operation and Maintenance 150 -- Does Participation Matter? 151 -- 8. Cost Analysis of Social Funds 157 -- Complications and Caveats 159 -- Comparators 160 -- Education 162 -- Health 167 -- Water and Sanitation 168 -- Water Supply Systems 168 -- Sewerage and Latrines 170 -- Program Efficiency 172 -- Overhead Expenditures 172 -- Speed of Execution 174 -- Leveraging of Community Resources 175 -- Key Design Issues for Social Funds 180 -- Improving Poverty Targeting 181 -- Improving the Impact 181 -- Enhancing Sustainability 182 -- Increasing Cost-Efficiency 183 -- Ensuring Relevance to Community Needs and Active Engagement of Citizens 184 -- Implications for the Role of Social Funds within Poverty Reduction Strategies 187 -- Appendix Methodology for Education, Health, and Water and Sanitation Impact Evaluations 189.