Evaluation of an Implementation of Graduation Approach by The/Nudge Institute in North Karnataka” is a baseline assessment conducted by GRAAM to understand the initial status of ultra-poor households in the districts of Bidar and Kalaburagi. The Graduation Approach, globally acknowledged for its holistic strategy to eradicate extreme poverty, integrates multiple interventions like linking participants to social protection schemes, providing income-generating assets, livelihood training, financial literacy, and community engagement. The/Nudge Institute, having implemented this model in Jharkhand, initiated a customized version of the program in North Karnataka, targeting 710 ultra-poor households. The study uses a quasi-experimental Difference-in-Difference (DiD) design to compare the progress of an intervention group with a control group, aiming to assess the impact over time. It employs a mixed-method approach, with quantitative surveys conducted at both baseline and endline stages and qualitative assessments through interviews and FGDs at the endline.The study is located in the districts of Bidar and Kalaburagi in North Karnataka—regions identified for high levels of multi-dimensional poverty. Project accomplishments at the baseline level include the successful collection of comprehensive demographic, economic, and social data from 403 households, comprising 294 from the intervention group and 109 from the control group. 

Objective

• To document the baseline and endline levels on the key outcome indicators pertaining to the various programme dimensions such as livelihood and poverty reduction, financial inclusion, social protection/linkage to social entitlements, food security, nutrition and health, and social and gender empowerment.
• To assess the extent to which outcomes of the programme have been achieved with respect to the various programme dimensions.
• To assess the changes that have happened in the lives and livelihoods of the ultra-poor beneficiaries in the selected locations as a result of the programme.
• To trace and document the processes and ways in which the programme has brought about changes in the lives of the targeted ultra-poor, and the contextual factors shaping the programme implementation in the selected locations of North Karnataka.