The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is participating in randomised controlled trials to compare its traditional approach to that of GiveDirectly, an organisation that gives cash to poor people with no strings attached. USAID spent about $13 billion on projects last year so the results could redirect a lot of money to interventions that are more efficient.

Daniel Handel, Senior Advisor on Aid Effectiveness for USAID, heard about GiveDirectly while on assignment in Rwanda. He was intrigued by the concept and wondered if other approaches to tackle poverty in Rwanda could be compared to unconditional cash transfers to see which intervention does the most good.

To compare their approaches with cash transfers, USAID programs are participating in cash benchmarking studies led by independent economists. Two of the programs being tested in Rwanda are Gikuriro, a project aiming to improve hygiene and sanitation behaviour, and Huguka Dukore, one that is working to create job opportunities for young adults.

Recently released results comparing Gikuriro with cash transfers from GiveDirectly show that, in the short-term, neither intervention helped with nutrition but the cash transfers helped people cut down debt by 76% and increase production assets like livestock and iron roofs.