{"id":2140,"date":"2011-11-30T00:21:31","date_gmt":"2011-11-30T08:21:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unituslabs.org\/?page_id=2140"},"modified":"2012-03-26T14:55:42","modified_gmt":"2012-03-26T21:55:42","slug":"pnp-case-study-overview","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/unituslabs.org\/projects\/ultra-poor-initiative\/pnp\/pnp-case-study-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"PnP Case Study: Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Executive Summary<\/h2>\n

In recent decades, the growing, frustratingly persistent and complex problem of global poverty has attracted the focused attention of a wide variety of individuals and institutions\u2014nonprofits, for-profits, academics, policy makers and even large corporations\u2014all interested in developing interventions to tackle this societal encumbrance once and for all.<\/p>\n

Through frequent interactions with the poor in their own communities, practitioners have found increasing evidence that poverty is far from a homogeneous phenomenon. Even among the poor, some households live in relatively more stable circumstances while others struggle day in and day out to meet their basic needs. For this latter group\u2014often referred to as the \u2018ultra poor\u2019\u2014many experts recommend<\/a> administering a subsidy-driven intervention, in which, over the course of 18-24 months, a series of services such as food grain provision, healthcare, and basic skills training are provided in order to help beneficiaries meet their most critical needs. Such a \u2018safety net\u2019 intervention ends with the transfer of a productive asset\u2014such as a cow, or a pair of goats\u2014so that the beneficiary is left with a livelihood and the means to generate income to sustain this more stable, improved quality of life.<\/p>\n

This case study examines the experience of a small non-profit, Partners in Prosperity Society (PnP)<\/a>, between 2009-2011 as it endeavoured to replicate the safety net methodology in order to help guide 400 households in Dehradun, Uttarakhand<\/a> (located in northern India) out of extreme poverty. The PnP team experienced both high and low points during the course of the pilot, which are detailed herein, but by far the most important lesson learned was that future interventions should start, not end, with livelihood activities for their ultra poor beneficiaries. Introducing income- generating opportunities at the very outset would have more quickly stabilised households\u2019 circumstances, allowing for increased participation in other interventions such as financial literacy training and healthcare.<\/p>\n

Other critical takeaways from PnP\u2019s first Ultra Poor Program pilot include the following:<\/p>\n