1 Towards intergenerational graduation: unpacking children’s trajectories in Burundi Keetie Roelen 1 and Carmen Leon-Himmelstine 2 August 2018 Abstract Graduation model programmes offer a comprehensive set of support, combining regular cash transfers, asset transfers, training and coaching to ‘graduate’ people out of poverty. Programmes have been found to positively impact household economic outcomes, but little is known about the extent to which and how children stand to benefit. Positive impacts at household level may not necessarily translate into beneficial outcomes for children; demands on economic resources and time from within the household as a result of programme participation can disadvantage children and thereby undermine a process of intergenerational graduation. This paper contributes to filling the knowledge gap by investigating children’s and their families’ trajectories during and after participation in Concern Worldwide’s Graduation Model ‘Terintambwe’ programme in Burundi using a longitudinal mixed methods approach. We find that the combination of economic strengthening, in-kind support and training and coaching greatly improves child wellbeing, particularly in contexts of extreme poverty. Positive effects are largely eroded as a result of large covariate shocks, although increased knowledge, skills and experience as well as prioritisation of children’s needs contribute to harnessing some elements of improved child wellbeing, most notably diversity of diets and schooling. We don’t find evidence for children’s wellbeing being undermined by increased demands on economic resources and time. Gendered divisions of care responsibilities mean that children living with female programme recipients are more likely to have greater levels of wellbeing in times of affluence and adversity. 1. Introduction Despite progress towards poverty alleviation in recent decades, child poverty remains a widespread problem. Sub-Saharan Africa represents the region where child poverty is most prevalent, with one in five children experiencing extreme poverty (UNICEF and World Bank, 2016) and two-thirds of all children living in multidimensional poverty (OPHI, 2017). Poverty is particularly prevalent among children in Burundi; 69 percent and 78 percent of children live in monetary and multidimensional poverty respectively (De Neubourg et al. 2018). This presents a challenge at present and into the future. Children are more susceptible to the negative effects of poverty and adverse consequences can have harmful and irreversible impacts into later life (Boyden and Cooper, 2009). The eradication of child poverty is vital for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 1 stipulating the eradication of all forms of poverty for everyone, and for breaking the transmission of intergenerational poverty. Graduation model programmes have gained considerable momentum in recent years in the fight against poverty. Graduation model programmes offer a comprehensive set of support, often combining regular cash transfers, asset transfers, training and tailored coaching in a bid to ‘graduate’ people out of poverty in a sustainable way. An expanding evidence base points towards the programmes’ powerful impacts on income generation, living conditions, food security, among others (Banerjee et al. 2015; Devereux et al. 2015). However, various knowledge gaps persist. Firstly, the majority of evidence reflects the situation of the household as a whole with limited consideration of 1 Research Fellow and Co-Director of Centre for Social Protection, Institute of Development Studies, UK 2 Senior Research Officer, Overseas Development Institute, UK