Solving the scaling challenge: CARE’s evidence-based approach to sustainable impact

Decision-maker’s challenge

When promising development programs work at a small scale, the next step seems obvious: do more of what works. But CARE, one of the world’s largest INGOs operating in over 100 countries, tried to tackle a harder reality. Most innovations that succeed in pilot projects fail when organizations try to expand them. Government partners lose interest. Costs balloon. What worked in one district doesn’t necessarily translate to another. CARE needed a partner who could help them figure out not just what works, but how to make it work at scale using an evidence-driven approach.

Impact opportunity

CARE’s portfolio includes dozens of successful interventions, such as village savings groups that empower women to build financial independence and take control of their economic futures. But even CARE’s most widely implemented programs typically have varying levels of reach; from tens to hundreds of thousands of people per project. The opportunity: identify which innovations have genuine potential to reach sustainable scale through government, private sector, or civil society partnerships beyond CARE’s direct implementation footprint, and build the evidence base those partners need to invest and scale the program. Get this right, and millions of people in Asia and Africa gain access to better health services, financial tools, and protection from gender-based violence.

Our approach

Since 2021, IDinsight has worked as an embedded research and strategy partner to CARE’s Impact@Scale unit, a dedicated team that identifies solutions with potential for transformational reach. 

Our approach is practical and partnership-driven. For each innovation in CARE’s pipeline, we start by asking: what would it actually take to scale this? We map the political relationships, funding mechanisms, and operational requirements needed. We conduct rapid research to test key assumptions and hypotheses, like whether village savings groups can realistically finance household sanitation improvements in rural Zambia. We design lean monitoring systems that government partners can actually use. And we document what we learn in formats that help the broader development sector avoid reinventing the wheel.

The results

• Evidence-based scaling pathways developed: Working across CARE’s portfolio of innovations, including citizen-driven accountability tools, farmer field business schools, gender-based violence prevention, and rural sanitation, IDinsight helped identify which interventions have viable pathways to sustainable scale through government, private sector, and civil society partners.
• CARE’s organizational strategy shifted: Through years of embedded partnership with Impact@Scale, our collaboration informedCARE’s new organizational strategy, which now centers on three pillars: impact, cost-effectiveness, and sustainable scale.
• Sector-wide knowledge shared: Joint publications, “Scaling What Works is Hard to Do” and the CARE Scaling Playbook, raised the profile of evidence-based scaling challenges, providing practical lessons for the broader development sector.