Operational Performance of the Safety Net Transfer Modality Research Initiative

1. Operational Performance of the Safety Net Transfer Modality Research Initiative Akhter Ahmed, Esha Sraboni, and Fiona Shaba International Food Policy Research Institute Stakeholder Workshop 3 December 2013, Dhaka

2. Transfer Modality Research Initiative • TMRI with 5 arms: • Only cash • Only food • Food + cash • Nutrition behavior change communications (BCC) + cash • Nutrition BCC + food • WFP implements TMRI; IFPRI evaluates it • Implemented in 5 upazilas in north-west, 5 upazilas in south

3. Transfer amounts • The value of transfer per household is the same for each of the 5 transfer modalities: 1,500 taka ($18.75) per household per month • Cash: transferred to beneficiaries within the first week of every month through mobile phone money transfer service • Food: 30 kg of rice; 2 kg of mosur (lentil) pulse; and 2 kg of micronutrient fortified cooking oil • Food-cash combination: total transfer is a combination of 50% food (15 kg of rice; 1 kg of mosur pulse; and 1 kg of cooking oil) and 50% cash (750 taka)

4. TMRI Participants and control households • For the pilot test evaluation, we use 50 clusters (villages) and 10 households per village for each treatment arm and the control. Thus, each treatment and control includes 500 households • 3 transfer modalities, nutrition BCC + cash, and control in the Northern region: 250 clusters (villages) and 2,500 households • 3 transfer modalities, nutrition BCC + food, and control in the Southern region: 250 clusters (villages) and 2,500 households (10 households per cluster) • Total sample size: 500 clusters and 5,000 households • 4,000 beneficiaries and 1,000 control households

5. TMRI upazilas in the northwest and the southern regions

6. IFPRI Process Evaluation of TMRI • In October 2012, IFPRI carried out a quantitative survey household survey of TMRI participants and non-participant control households : randomly selected 1,000 households from the baseline sample • Conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with TMRI participants, non-participants, community members and implementing partners (WFP and ESDO) Page 6

7. Implementation

8. Implementation structure • To maintain the integrity of the research initiative, it is essential that beneficiaries receive their due transfers in a timely, error-free manner • The transfers and activities must remain standard across all TMRI participants (beneficiaries), and the influence of external confounding factors must be minimized. • WFP has a strong field presence and a dedicated team for the TMRI to ensure that the activities are carried out to plan and meet the expected standard. A detailed implementation plan ensures timely delivery of the food and cash transfers and nutrition BCC to the participating women, each of whom were issued a participant card and an identification number. • The TMRI activities are undertaken at the field level through the Eco-Social Development Organization (ESDO). WFP also takes measures to sensitize and build the awareness of local government, participants, and other stakeholders about the TMRI in order to ensure smooth implementation.

9. Implementation structure (2) • WFP is responsible for procuring the appropriate food commodities and ensuring their appropriate packaging, storage, and quality control. Food is packaged individually, and each food entitlement includes a 15 kilogram (kg) bag of rice, 1 kg bags of lentils, and 1 liter bottle of cooking oil. Individual packaging makes for a more streamlined distribution process. • For cash transfers, mobile phone technology has been introduced with the expectation that it would provide a more secure, efficient, and transparent modality to distribute cash entitlements and reduce the opportunity for leakage. WFP introduced this technology via ESDO and an authorized bank, Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited. • To preserve the integrity of the research, all 4,000 participants as well those in the 1,000 control households under the TMRI received a basic mobile handset (Nokia 1280) valued at approximately US$21 and a Banglalink SIM card, even though the mobile is only required for the participants receiving cash.

10. Successes • Since the intervention began in May 2012, participants have received their monthly entitlements (including food, cash, and/or nutrition BCC training sessions) on time, and no incidences of leakage or loss have occurred. • The pilot of mobile phone cash transfers was rolled out beginning in July 2012. • ESDO staffers mentioned that they had noticed a stark difference between participants who received nutrition BCC training and those who did not. One ESDO staffer said the participants in training sessions tended to be less superstitious; “The doors to their brains,” he said, “are open.” • Another success ESDO workers noted was that participants in the BCC training sessions adapted more promptly to mobile phone cash transfers, presumably because this group of participants was more accustomed to training. • Eventually, all TMRI participants adopted the mobile phone cash transfer system quite well.These findings indicate that it is incorrect to assume the very poor women cannot adopt mobile phone technologies.

11. Challenges • The content and delivery of the nutrition BCC training sessions were inadequate in their initial weeks. In June 2012, more community nutrition workers were hired and trained, supervision tools were revised, and refresher courses were mandated for existing community nutrition workers. Subsequently, the nutrition BCC component has continued to show improvements each month. • The mobile phone networks used for some of the TMRI cash transfers were not always accessible during distribution times, so beneficiaries had to wait to receive their entitlement. • Initially, ESDO field staffers encountered certain problems related to the experimental nature of the TMRI. Unlike other safety net programs, union council chairmen and upazila administration were not involved in the selection process at all. This led to some backlash from people who were not selected, wanting to know why they could not receive the much-needed assistance provided by the TMRI despite being as poor as those who were chosen to participate.

12. Distribution Process

13. Most beneficiaries were happy with the location of the distribution center: those receiving food were slightly less satisfied

14. Transport costs to and from distribution center • Transport costs are more for participants in the South • Transport costs are more for those receiving food • However, it is evident that transport costs are not too high to discourage participants from coming to collect transfer

15. Transport time to and from distribution center is roughly the same for participants in the North and South:justaround an hour

16. The average waiting time at the distribution center is around half an hour

17. Cash transfer through mobile phones

18. BCC Training

19. BCC training

20. Number of participants usually present in one session Page 20

21. Who is present in the training sessions for influential community members? Page 21

22. Use of Transfer

23. Percentage of participants who consumed all of the rice in transfer Page 23

24. Percentage of participants who consumed all of the pulses in transfer Page 24

25. Percentage of participants who consumed all of the cooking oil in transfer Page 25

26. Preference for transfers and other aspects

27. Most participants expressed a preference for the transfer type they were receiving

28. Participants reporting a reduction in private transfers owing to TMRI participation

29. Percentage of participants who feel resentment from those in the community not receiving a transfer Page 29