The Intervention
Familias en Acción is one of three programmes run by the Colombian government as part of the RAS (Red de Apoyo Social or Social Support Network) and is financed by a loan from the World Bank and the IADB.
It is a Conditional Cash Transfer programme, very similar to the Mexican PROGRESA/Oportunidades, consisting of cash transfers to poor families conditional on children attending school and meeting basic preventive health care requirements. Targeting children's health and education is the essence of the long-term poverty alleviation objective of CCT programmes. Such transfer programmes are also aimed at the short-term reduction of poverty, through the provision of immediate funds to indigent households.
The Evaluation
The evaluation of Familias en Acción started in 2002 with the design of the survey and choice of the treatment and control samples. The baseline survey was conducted in 2002, and includes 11,500 households living in 122 rural towns, just under half of which were targeted by the programme. Two follow-up surveys have since been completed, in 2003 and 2006.
The baseline survey is described in detail in the baseline report (see below for a link to the English and Spanish versions). Impact evaluation results are reported in the evaluation report below (in Spanish) and in a number of briefing notes and summary reports (see below).
The datasets, questionnaires and documentation relating to this evaluation are available online.
