Findings

Cross-Cutting Findings

Since its founding, iDE has focused its main impact on increasing the annual household income of clients, as reflected in our organization’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Through our long history of interactions with households in a variety of countries and the different indicators we use on a project-by-project basis to judge iDE’s effects, we know that these households have their own visions of impact that go far beyond income alone. iDE has often conceptualized its mission of reducing poverty as creating spaces for people to thrive on their own terms - essentially allowing them to prosper in the ways that are important to them (5).

But how do our clients define prosperity? In examining stories from 249 individuals, it is evident that prosperity can be defined in almost as many different ways. Each individual’s conception of prosperity in the data was shaped by their individual life experiences, cultural aspects, socioeconomic factors, and a myriad of other considerations. Nevertheless, there were still common themes that emerged between stories and across countries.

5. Input from Stu Taylor. August 2023.

Top Themes in Stories

Over ninety recurring themes were identified across stories, representing the diversity of goals storytellers had for the future. Of these, the top 10 broad themes, pictured in Figure 2 by the percentage of total stories where they appeared, were: Agriculture, Finance, GESI, WASH & Productive Water Use, Nutrition, Education, Housing, Health, Labor & Employment, and Markets. Details of how themes were defined, as well as details in code prevalence and application across stories are included in the Codebook in Annex B. Although these themes in the stories are critical to our understanding of key areas of focus, the MSC Method is focused on the themes resulting from selection committees. The selection committees represent the analysis process usually conducted during the course of an evaluation. Therefore, selection committee themes encompass the shared values within those communities and also represent a diverse range of local stakeholders.

While finances - including income - are undeniably important to visions for the future, the range of themes confirms that our clients define their prosperity beyond income alone. 78% of storytellers mentioned Finance, a theme second only to Agriculture in prevalence across stories. Income was mentioned explicitly by 41% of storytellers. But many other aspects of life were also mentioned by the same clients, from personal relationships to health, education, livelihoods, and even intangible outcomes such as status, pride, happiness, dignity, and connection to others.

Figure 3 shows the top five themes present across countries. The distribution of themes was influenced by prompts within the interviews for story collections that differed across countries, as well as differences in the sectors in which iDE works in various regions. For example, themes of Plastic Waste / Circular Economy and Markets are most common in Vietnam due to the current Plastics With Purpose Project, whereas Zambia has the largest percentage of Agricultural themes, due to the data collection happening within the Her Time To Grow agricultural client populations.

Story themes also differed across genders. While the top four broad themes of Agriculture, Finance, WASH & MUS, and GESI were consistent between men and women, there were differences across genders within these broad themes which are further explored in the Sector Findings section. Education, Health, and Labor & Employment were also high priorities for both men and women. Women respondents more frequently mentioned Nutrition, Housing, and Intangible Outcome themes, whereas men more frequently focused on themes of Markets, Land, and Environment.

Top Themes in Participatory Selection Committees

One of the key criteria Selection Committees across countries chose when deciding which stories were more representative of that locality’s experiences were stories that discussed achieving changes that had an impact on the broader community. Beyond specific sector-related discussions in Agriculture and WASH, Selection Committees valued visions for the future that seemed realistic, achievable, relevant to the local context, and relatable to their communities. Selection Committees were moved by stories in which people fostered positive change and had a clear vision for their community. In some cases, committees resonated with how people leveraged knowledge and linkages from iDE projects to create a sustainable business model that fostered positive change in their community beyond connection to iDE. Figure 5 shows the top themes that emerged in Selection Committees across all countries. More information on each country’s selection process is included in the Country Findings section of the report.

Prosperity Across Domains of Change: Households, Businesses, and Communities

To capture the dimensions of prosperity across different facets of people’s lives, the MSC prompts asked people about changes they wished to see in their households, work lives, and communities. These three areas (referred to as Household, Business & Entrepreneurship, and Community) are considered domains of change. Examining the stories, it became clear that most respondents talked about these domains of change as interconnected. For example, when someone’s income increases, they may invest money into their household or the education of their children. If that money is put into their farm or business, it could lead to the employment of family members or other members of the community. Additionally, many entrepreneurs whom iDE partners with view their business not only as a means to improve the quality of life for their households but also as a vehicle to promote positive change in their communities. One female business owner in Vietnam exemplified this finding, explaining, “.... an entrepreneur must be a person who creates value for the community and society. I think a business that wants to develop sustainably must have factors such as ensuring jobs for employees, a good working environment, and protecting natural resources.” The relationship between Community, Business, and Household domains of change across these stories is further described in Figure 6.

While the connection between income, entrepreneurship, and other dimensions of prosperity has always been integral to iDE’s work, data from the stories explicitly detailed connections across additional themes and dimensions that are newer to IDE’S work. Figure 7 illustrates overlaps and connections between various story themes, such as Health, GESI, and Agriculture, while also showing the domain that change occurred within. For example, if someone shared, “I wish to see a community with access to safe drinking water and electricity,” Figure 7 would show connections between WASH & Productive Water Use, Electricity, and Community. These interconnected themes and domains suggest storytellers see prosperity as a holistic concept and one that is not necessarily achievable by income increases alone.

Themes within stories differed based on the domain of change they occurred within. The top 5 themes in each domain of change are shown in Figure 8. At the community level, top themes included WASH & MUS, Agriculture, GESI, Labor & Employment, and improved infrastructure for Transportation, Education, and Health.

At the household level, improved education for family members emerged as a top priority, mentioned by 45% of storytellers. Additionally, household assets, including improved Housing, Land, and Personal Transportation emerged as important dreams and uses for increased income. 21% of respondents expressed aspirations relating to Land, including the expansion and purchase of land. The significance of land was particularly emphasized in Cambodia's selection processes, as committee members felt that respondents expressing an aspirations to expand their land resonated with many community members. In addition to Land, assets related to Personal Transportation were highlighted by 12% of storytellers across several countries, including bikes, motorbikes, and trucks.

Themes of productive and household assets often overlapped. In addition to Transportation and Land access, respondents identified diverse subtopics around business assets, such as properties for rental income, livestock, technology, infrastructure, and equipment for processing, indicating a broad spectrum of economic priorities for enhancing their livelihoods. This overlap between familial and business interests is illustrated by this quote from a woman in Cambodia, “In the next five to ten years, I want a brick house and a vegetable delivery truck, and I want my children to be able to get a higher education and high paying job. These are important to me because I want to make my family happy. All of these made me feel prosperous because I can earn from growing vegetables and support my children to finish their education.”

Page updated

Report abuse