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arXiv · 2602.20009

A Mixed-Method Framework for Evaluating the Social Impact of Community Cooperation Projects in Developing Countries

Giorgia Sampò·Saverio Giallorenzo·Zelda Alice Franceschi
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Abstract

Why do some community-cooperation projects catalyse participation through durable, resilient collaboration networks while others result in negligible impact and leave the local social fabric unchanged? We argue outcomes hinge on participation architecture: simple, visible routines -- onboarding help, templated tasks, lightweight contribution/benefit tracking -- that create easy ``entry portals'' and route work across clusters without heavy hierarchy. We introduce Project Intervention Response Analysis (PIRA), a mixed anthropological-network-analysis framework that compares observed community networks with counterfactual networks absent from project-induced ties. PIRA also adds a new egocentric metric to detect ``architectural alters'' -- latent facilitators and boundary spanners. We begin validating PIRA in a three-month field study in Pomerini, Tanzania, where NGOs coordinated citizens, associations, and specialists. Findings indicate that sociotechnical participation architectures -- not charismatic hubs -- underwrite durable coordination. PIRA offers a reusable method to link organizational design mechanisms to formal network signatures.

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Giorgia Sampò, Saverio Giallorenzo, Zelda Alice Franceschi. 2026-02-23. A Mixed-Method Framework for Evaluating the Social Impact of Community Cooperation Projects in Developing Countries. https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.20009

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