J. Francis Centre for Rural Development University of Venda HOUSEHOLD VULNERABILITY INDEX: Postgraduate Research with the University of Venda

Justification: Fears that application of HVI would compromise participation and ownership thereby disempowering stakeholders especially grassroots communities Key Questions Does application of the HVI as a targeting and programming approach in development work reduce the level of stakeholder participation? Does low level of stakeholder participation in the HVI process result in ineffective and inefficient targeting and programming? Study 1: Assessment of level of stakeholder participation in the application of HVI as a targeting and programming approach in development work

Justification Evidence from programme evaluations shows that targeting remains a concern in development initiatives Lack of reliable household level data for informed decision making Current targeting methods (Proxy Indicator approaches) are weak: high inclusion & exclusion errors Key Question The HVI approach reduces errors in targeting and programming better than the proxy indicator approach. Study 2: Comparative analysis of Household Vulnerability Index (HVI) and Proxy Indicator approaches to targeting and programming for development work

Justification Limited resources and need for reaching the most vulnerable Not achieving the desired impact [who are the most vulnerable (empirical evidence)? High inclusion & exclusion errors] Many approaches used in targeting and programming - but what would be the best approach & applicable under what circumstances?) Key Questions What determines the choice of targeting and programming approaches? What are the comparative advantages of the HVI over community-based approaches? [Accuracy, reliability, validity] Study 3: Comparative Analysis of Determinants and Accuracy of HVI and Community-based Approaches in Targetting & Programming of Development Work

What products within the next 3 years? Masters & PhD degree conceptual frameworks & research proposals Working papers Masters and PhD theses – contribution to human resource development Conference/workshop papers Publications in refereed journals

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