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Community-driven development, governance, and collective action: Overview of the evidence

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  • Leight, Jessica
  • Clark, Anne Angsten
  • Reynolds, Katherine

Abstract

As foreign aid declines, which interventions should we prioritize? Advocates of community-driven development (CDD) have long argued that we should ask this question of the communities and people whom aid is meant to serve. CDD provides village-level grants and facilitation that support communities in choosing and implementing the projects they consider local priorities, including basic health and education services, local infrastructure, income-generating activities, or other community priorities. In recent years, a growing body of evidence has begun to document and assess the effects of this approach. This brief and a companion brief1 synthesize findings from a range of rigorous evaluations to describe what we know about the multidimensional impacts of CDD in low- and middle-income contexts and highlight gaps that should be addressed in future research. Here, we focus on the effects of CDD on governance and collective action.

Suggested Citation

  • Leight, Jessica & Clark, Anne Angsten & Reynolds, Katherine, 2026. "Community-driven development, governance, and collective action: Overview of the evidence," Project notes 182189, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    • Handle: RePEc:fpr:prnote:182189
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    7. Casey, Katherine & Glennerster, Rachel & Miguel, Edward & Voors, Maarten, 2023. "Long-Run Effects of Aid: Forecasts and Evidence from Sierra Leone," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt2qk20435, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
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