Breakthrough Generation Initiative Mixed-Methods Final Evaluation Report July
Outcomes: Child, Early, and Forced Marriage, Gender‑Based Violence, Women’s Economic Empowerment
View SourceKey Social Norms Take-aways The Breakthrough Generation Initiative demonstrated that systemic shifts in social norms—especially around gender roles, harmful practices, and community collaboration—can emerge from community-led, values-based education. The participatory approach of Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program (CEP) created safe spaces for challenging entrenched beliefs and introduced a process of organized diffusion, enabling widespread norm change beyond class participan…
Objectives To assess the impact of the Breakthrough Generation Initiative (2017–2020) across 150 rural communities in Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Gambia. The evaluation aimed to measure changes in well-being, including governance, education, health, economic empowerment, and the abandonment of harmful practices, with a focus on how social norms evolved.
Methods A mixed-methods internal evaluation was conducted by Tostan. Quantitative data were gathered via a baseline and endline survey (TIBE Survey) and a Situational Analysis Survey (SAS-CMC) among 2,743 participants. Qualitative data included 66 focus groups and 39 in-depth interviews across 25 communities. Analysis drew on social norms theory, using vignettes and grounded coding to trace changes in beliefs, behaviors, and expectations.
Intervention Details Tostan’s CEP was implemented over 30 months in 150 communities, offering participatory classes in local languages focused on human rights, governance, hygiene, literacy, and economic empowerment. The intervention included the creation of Community Management Committees (CMCs), organized diffusion of learnings to others (adopted learners), and community mobilization through events and radio broadcasts. Micro-grants supported local initiatives. The program’s culturally rooted, particip…
Results Communities reported improved social cohesion, reduced violence, increased civic engagement, enhanced women’s leadership, and a dramatic decline in harmful practices like female genital cutting (FGC) and child marriage. Women’s voice in public and private spheres increased substantially. Community-wide behavior change was evident, including improved hygiene, school attendance (especially for girls), birth registration, and shared decision-making.
Conclusions The CEP catalyzed broad social transformation by reinforcing positive norms and challenging harmful ones through community-led processes. The collective shifts in behavior and belief systems—sustained beyond the program’s duration—highlighted the power of participatory, norm-focused education in advancing sustainable development and gender equality.
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