December's Comment of the Month winner Jill Scantlan from Portland commented on Sarah Standish' post Researching Better Ways to End Poverty. She points out that community involvement is crucial to an aid program's success. She further argues that success should be measured both qualitatively and quantitatively. For her efforts, we will make a $25 donation to a project of her choice on Global Giving. Here's her comment:

This story brings up a lot of important issues concerning development projects. What is the most cost-effective way to improve literacy? Should we invest in providing lap tops for children or a mid-day meal program? How do we measure this?

I have spent a substantial amount of time observing and talking with NGOs in India who wrestle with these same issues. On the one hand, NGOs are usually bound to a government scheme, and on the other to an international aid agency. They have to prove that their projects are working and be able to measure that success in various forms of deliverables. In the end, some NGOs are successful and some make very little impact. What is the distinguishing factor?

What I have noticed is that the NGOs who use community participation in all (or most) of the stages of a project and who make the project fit the community (and not the other way around) are the most successful. In some cases, these approaches are not easily quantifiable.

J-PAL relies purely on quantitative measurements where a mixture of quantitative and qualitative would be more appropriate. A randomized sample, though statistically sound, can only tell you so much. Assessment and success goes beyond meeting targets and quotas. It is usually found in the attitudes and behavior of a community, which cannot be measured by numbers alone.

Keep writing in and share your though-provoking comments for a chance to win $25 towards the well-deserving charity of your choice!

* Lest anyone think $25 is not a lot, consider these figures from our affiliate Mercy Corps: $25 delivers clean, safe drinking water to 50 people in one of eastern Congo's sprawling displacement camps. $25 provides seeds to farmers in cyclone-devastated areas of Myanmar to plant five acres of rice. $25 gives traumatized children in Darfur 12 weeks of activities and psychological care to help them heal.

Social entrepreneur Steven Redgrave gained renown by winning gold medals in rowing in five consecutive Olympics from 1984 to 2000. After retiring from competition, Redgrave was knighted in 2001, launched a line of men’s leisurewear and started a charitable trust focusing on educational and social needs in the UK.

In 2005 he visited Africa, and was moved to action by the poverty he observed. With the help of a major British retailer, Redgrave relaunched his clothing line, FiveG (short for "Five Gold"), as a 100-percent fair-trade enterprise.

In this video diary, produced by Fairtrade Foundation, we follow Redgrave as he visits a rural farming community in Mali that produces cotton for his products.

Thanks to fair trade, not only do these rural farmers receive a higher wage, but their community as a whole benefits as well. The video explains how the community receives what is called a "social premium" that is used for community development projects, including a new health center and a primary school.

For an in-depth look at fair-trade cotton, check out this analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies in our archives.