Peer Learning Among Last-Mile Government Cadres: A Scale-Up

In Bihar, 1,677 Cluster Level Federations (CLFs) form the apex of JEEViKA's self-help group network, one of the world's largest, serving approximately 16 million women from poor and marginalised households. CLF Presidents carry substantial operational responsibilities but have few structured opportunities to learn from peers across blocks or districts, limiting their effectiveness and the quality of support reaching SHG members.

This project adapts and scales a peer learning model rigorously evaluated through a large-scale RCT with over 7,700 ward members across 2,213 Gram Panchayats in Bihar, implemented in partnership with the Government of Bihar's Rural Development Department (RDD), which also oversees JEEViKA. The RCT demonstrated significant improvements in governance knowledge (+0.12 SD), professional networks (+0.16 SD), and public spending (+4.6%), generating an estimated $9-18 in public goods per $1 spent.

Working with JEEViKA (also known as BRLPS), the intervention will be introduced through a staggered rollout that allows lessons from an initial pilot to inform statewide implementation. In the first phase, up to 600 CLF Presidents will participate in cross-block peer groups of 8-10 members, supported through facilitated meetings, WhatsApp groups, and quarterly calls designed to enable structured knowledge exchange on CLF operations and governance. This pilot phase will be implemented as a randomized evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the peer-learning model and ensure that the intervention is functioning as intended. Based on the lessons from this evaluation, JEEViKA will subsequently scale the program to the remaining CLF Presidents statewide, ultimately covering all 1,677 CLFs in Bihar.