Evaluation of a Development Program in Guatemala

Trickle Up is a New York-based international development nonprofit that supports people living in extreme poverty by providing livelihood training, savings group formation, and seed capital grants to launch or expand livelihood activities. Trickle Up requested a Capstone team to design and conduct a retrospective evaluation of Trickle Up’s Guatemala program to assess the sustainability of program impacts for former participants, focusing on food security. Collaborating with Trickle Up and partner organization staff, the team conducted in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with women in two communities in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, all of whom had completed the Trickle Up program in the last two to three years. Based on qualitative and quantitative analysis of research findings, the team provided Trickle Up with an evaluation report, outlining key recommendations for incorporating food security themes into its core activities in Guatemala in order to expand the organization’s range of funding, partnership, and programmatic opportunities.