Living Goods is implementing a best-in-class, large-scale, randomized control trial (RCT) to assess the impact of our operation. Randomized evaluations are considered the “gold standard” in evaluation design. RCTs are most commonly used by medical researchers in clinical trials and are increasingly used in social science to measure the impact of a program or intervention. A randomized evaluation determines the extent of impact of an intervention by comparing the outcomes of communities or individuals who received the program with those who did not. Living Goods study is being administered by a leading independent researcher – Professor Jakob Svensson, an affiliate of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, and professor of economics at the International Institute for Economic Studies at Stockholm University. Baselines for the RCT evaluation were taken in 2010. This study will allow us to measure our primary objective of reducing under-5 child mortality and morbidity. J-PAL is also fielding a behavior tracking survey designed to provide directional input on our progress toward our ultimate objective of under-5 child mortality. The behavior tracking surveys also use a randomized control design but focus on a smaller subset of indicators that Living Goods can track more frequently.

Results from the RCT evaluation will be available in late 2012.