MCA-Philippines needed evidence on whether its KALAHI-CIDSS anti-poverty program was functioning as intended and how it could be improved for sustainability and national scale-up.

The Government of the Philippines, with support from the Millennium Challenge Corporation, launched KALAHI-CIDSS to reduce poverty and improve local governance through community-driven development (CDD). The program targeted the country’s poorest municipalities, aiming to empower citizens to identify and implement projects addressing local needs. Given the complexity of the Community Empowerment Activity Cycle (CEAC) and the scale of implementation across 160 municipalities, MCA-Philippines needed evidence on whether the program’s participatory processes were functioning as intended and how they could be improved for sustainability and national scale-up.

NORC conducted a qualitative process evaluation of KALAHI-CIDSS to assess implementation and identify improvements.

NORC’s comprehensive process evaluation of KALAHI-CIDSS focused on the Community Empowerment Activity Cycle—the program’s core participatory mechanism. Using document review, site visits, 168 key informant interviews, and nine focus group discussions, we gathered insights from national and regional project staff, municipal officials, barangay leaders, and community volunteers across 13 municipalities to assess program structure, implementation challenges and successes, and sustainability prospects of KALAHI-CIDSS. 

Our approach sought to understand implementation barriers and facilitators, women’s participation and equity, and the impact of community engagement in local governance. Findings informed recommendations to streamline processes, strengthen training, improve monitoring systems, and enhance opportunities for women, ensuring that the program could be scaled effectively under the National Community-Driven Development Program.