EEP/shiree is a challange fund supported by UKaid from the Department for International Development (DFID) in partnership the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) to lift 1 million people out of extreme poverty by 2015. Harewelle International Ltd and PMTC Bangladesh Ltd manage the fund in consultation with EEP/shiree consortium partners including the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) at Bath University, the British Council and Unnayan Shamannay.  EEP/shiree is one in DFID’s portfolio of projects designed to reduce extreme poverty and vulnerability in Bangladesh.

The EEP/shiree Challenge Fund is worth £65 million British Pounds (around USD$130M) and is being disbursed over a period of 8 years (2008-2015). It is also referred to as shiree (the Bangla word for steps and an acronym  for "Stimulating Household Improvements Resulting in Economic Empowerment") reflecting the aim of providing households ways out of extreme poverty.

EEP/shiree provides resources to national and international NGOs working in Bangladesh through two main funds: the Scale Fund and the Innovation Fund.  The former provides NGOs opportunities to increase the outreach of existing programmes and the latter to design innovative approaches to reducing extreme poverty in urban and rural areas in Bangladesh.

The EEP/shiree Challenge Fund works with NGOs which have interesting ideas and demonstrate the skills and abilities needed to implement their ideas.  In addition, we network with other relevant actors within Bangladesh to develop learning platforms on extreme poverty. 

Households who have incomes of less than roughly Tk 1500 per month are considered by DFID to be within the bottom 10% of  the poorest population in Bangladeshi society, and as such those most in need of shiree assistance. Often, these households suffer from multiple deprivations and have limited or no assets (such as land, livestock or shelter), secure employment opportunities, social or political capital, ability to withstand or recover from shocks, access to health, education and other services.

DFID has recommended a definition (primary indicator) of poverty and extreme poverty that can be used to evaluate the impacts of DFID programmes. These indicators are based on the 2005 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) data which is updated for inflation and which accounts for regional differences.

The extreme poor are people whose average per capita expenditure for 2007 is below Tk. 22 per day, depending on the region. This is equivalent to US $0.23 - $0.32 per person per day, at current market exchange rate.

The poor are people whose average per capita expenditure for 2007 is below 27-33 Tk per day, depending on the region. This is equivalent to US $0.39 - $0.48 per person per day, at current market exchange rate.

There are six regions in Bangladesh and the regional thresholds should be used in practice. The table below sets out the definitions of extreme poor and poor by region.

Regional Definitions of Poverty and Extreme Poverty

The levels above are updated annually to take into account inflation and are to be revised at the time of the next HIES.

The concept of a Challenge Fund is relatively new to Bangladesh. DFID is already operating the Remittances and Payments Challenge Fund (www.rpcf.org) as well as other similar types of initiatives within the Chars Livelihood Programme (CLP) (the Market Development Fund). The shiree Challenge Fund acts as a competition amongst NGOs, selecting the most appropriate NGOs to implement activities as mutually agreed with shiree. Those NGOs that are able to show that they have the best ideas, skills mechanisms and proven track records in lifting (and keeping) households out of poverty will be provided grants to implement their ideas.

shiree provides funding to NGOs via two funds. The Scale Fund supports larger projects which apply proven methods to reducing poverty and the Innovation Fund which supports smaller projects using innovative approaches.

The Innovation Fund considers novel, undocumented and even un-tested approaches which address the socioeconomic needs of the extreme poor. This includes innovative ideas, processes, systems and technologies which are likely to generate assets, improve incomes, decrease dependency and vulnerability, increase food security and provide sustainable pathways out of poverty.

An example of technological innovation includes the cultivation of a new variety of seed.  A process innovation could be the improvement in marketing channels which transfer a product or system innovation  which may serve to enhance women's participation in decision making.  

The Innovation Fund supports initatives which i) promote the sustainable economic empowerment of the extreme poor; ii) enhance sustainable livelihood options for the extreme poor including female-headed households; iii) work with adivasis and people located in geographically remote or environmentally vulnerable areas; iv) apply action research findings inform their project; v) increase resilience and adaptability to climate change; vi) and develop pathways out of poverty that are clearly attributable to the project and replicable on a larger scale.

The Innovation Fund contributes to achieving shiree's goal of lifting at least 1 million people in rural and urban areas out of extreme poverty and achieve sustainable livelihoods by 2015. This fund is designed to finance smaller scale projects that develop creative, innovative and largely untested approaches to lifting people out of extreme poverty.

Many NGOs in Bangladesh apply a micro-finance component and are largely self-financing. There has been much debate to as whether micro-finance helps the poorest and DFID is supporting efforts which try to make this approach more appropriate for this group (such as PKSF and BRAC.) To avoid duplication with other efforts, as well as to try and assist the most excluded and marginalised, shiree has been designed to look at non-micro-finance approaches to poverty alleviation.