RIU set to impact on more than 56 million people
17 May 2010
The RIU programme is made up of a portfolio of around 30 experiments, each of which is intended to achieve impact at scale at the same time as generating lessons in putting research into use.
The number of people that are projected to be impacted by these 30 experiments has recently been calculated by the RIU team - and the total exceeds 56 million people in Africa and Asia.
This total includes a very broad range of types and scales of impact.
Some people stand to benefit initially from exposure to information; for example, the 8 million young Kenyans it is projected will be reached by the ShujaazFM multi-media youth communication initiative, funded as one of RIU's Best Bets. Each month ShujaazFM features ideas and information on income generating ideas: topics covered so far include growing leafy green vegetables in containers in urban areas and alternative low-cost feed sources for chickens. Recently announced plans to increase the print run for the monthly ShujaazFM comic, thanks to new support from GTZ could soon see this figure rise to 12 million.
Other impacts are likely to have an even more direct impact on livelihoods and income: for example, in Tanzania under the indigenous poultry commercialization project, 30,000 households are expected to escape from poverty and enjoy significantly increased annual incomes of US$ 1000 a year or more.
Projecting potential impact data is one thing - but RIU also needs to be able to demonstrate actual impact. To achieve this, RIU has just recruited Tim Robertson, an experienced rural development specialist, to serve as Impact Evaluation Coordinator.
Tim brings to RIU 23-years experience working with NGOs, national governments and development partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America in the fields of evaluation, enterprise development, research, governance, social protection/risk reduction and policy reform.
Tim aims to unravel the real impacts behind the 'more than 56 million people' headline number. He will also consider a broad range of types of impact, including poverty, social, process, capacity and policy level impacts.
17 May 2010
The RIU programme is made up of a portfolio of around 30 experiments, each of which is intended to achieve impact at scale at the same time as generating lessons in putting research into use.
The number of people that are projected to be impacted by these 30 experiments has recently been calculated by the RIU team - and the total exceeds 56 million people in Africa and Asia.
This total includes a very broad range of types and scales of impact.
Some people stand to benefit initially from exposure to information; for example, the 8 million young Kenyans it is projected will be reached by the ShujaazFM multi-media youth communication initiative, funded as one of RIU's Best Bets. Each month ShujaazFM features ideas and information on income generating ideas: topics covered so far include growing leafy green vegetables in containers in urban areas and alternative low-cost feed sources for chickens. Recently announced plans to increase the print run for the monthly ShujaazFM comic, thanks to new support from GTZ could soon see this figure rise to 12 million.
Other impacts are likely to have an even more direct impact on livelihoods and income: for example, in Tanzania under the indigenous poultry commercialization project, 30,000 households are expected to escape from poverty and enjoy significantly increased annual incomes of US$ 1000 a year or more.
Projecting potential impact data is one thing - but RIU also needs to be able to demonstrate actual impact. To achieve this, RIU has just recruited Tim Robertson, an experienced rural development specialist, to serve as Impact Evaluation Coordinator.
Tim brings to RIU 23-years experience working with NGOs, national governments and development partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America in the fields of evaluation, enterprise development, research, governance, social protection/risk reduction and policy reform.
Tim aims to unravel the real impacts behind the 'more than 56 million people' headline number. He will also consider a broad range of types of impact, including poverty, social, process, capacity and policy level impacts.
| Interview with Rob Burnet from Well Told Story, Eric Muthoda and Paul Peter Kades from the ShujaazFM production crew. January 2010. |
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Related information
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Projected direct impact of RIU programmes and projects on households Showing a potential reach of 56 million people Author: Keith Sones April 2009 (PDF 60KB) |
