The Community Cohesion Initiative aimed to increase resilience in areas vulnerable to insurgent exploitation by strengthening ties between local actors and the government and building cohesion among and between communities. This important program to counter violent extremism (CVE) included small grants, community events, small infrastructure projects, and technical assistance.
Goal
Maximize learning opportunities of CCI in the review of program achievements and challenges, monitoring, and strategic approaches.
Activity
Working with IDS Hamkaar, SI:
- Deployed evaluators to 11 representative districts in Afghanistan
- Conducted 263 in-depth interviews with local stakeholders, implementing partners, beneficiaries, and USAID staff
- Led 33 focus group discussions
- Conducted desk review of 41 key strategy documents and reports
Results
The final evaluation report found that CCI programming made important contributions to the political and security transitions in Afghanistan and that a mid-program adaptation was critical to the program’s overall success. The evaluation also provided valuable lessons for OTI and USAID/Afghanistan.
Resources
USAID/OTI
Contact: projects@socialimpact.com