Knowledge Hub
PublicationGraduation Programming in Concern
Concern has adopted a Graduation Approach in a number of countries since 2008 (Bangladesh, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Malawi, Rwanda, Somalia, Zambia), as a means of achieving social and economic inclusion for those living in extreme poverty.
Graduation programmes provide an integrated and sequencing package of support - combining social protection, livelihood promotion, social empowerment and financial inclusion to create pathways out of extreme and chronic poverty. For more information on Concern’s Graduation programme please see: https://www.concern.net/what-we-do/livelihoods.
The following resources have been developed to support the design of programmes:
Guidance materials
Learning documents
Other publications
We have also produced two special issues of the Knowledge Matters publication on Concern's experience with the Graduation Approach. The first from 2014 focuses on the early successes and challenges of the graduation programmes and the second in 2021 focuses on learning and experience seven years on. Resources can be accessed here:
Knowledge Matters - Graduation
Knowledge Matters - Graduation Learning and Experience
We are committed to producing high quality learning and has invested in operational research to better understand the effectiveness of programme approaches and the barriers faced by particular groups in escaping extreme and chronic poverty.
For more information on our research in Rwanda and Burundi (in partnership with the UK’s Institute of Development Studies) please see: Research from the Graduation Model
For more information on our research in Malawi (in partnership with TIME (Trinity Impact Evaluation Unit) at Trinity College Dublin please see: The Graduation Model and Gender Empowerment research project in Malawi