We use evidence—and keep testing.
We designed our program using research on psychosocial approaches that have reduced violence and reoffending in other settings. We are now adapting and testing that approach with partners in Colombia.
Evidence from related programs—
What the research has found.
Most of this research looks at cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): structured group sessions that help people notice how their thoughts shape their feelings and actions, and practice responding differently. These studies evaluated other programs, not ACTRA. Open any study to read what it found.
Meta-analysis · 58 studies Cognitive-behavioral programs and reoffending
Across 58 studies, cognitive-behavioral programs reduced reoffending by 25% on average. Reductions were larger in well-implemented programs serving participants at higher risk.
Read the meta-analysis → Blattman et al. · Liberia Effects that lasted ten years
In Liberia, reductions in antisocial behavior persisted ten years after an eight-week cognitive-behavioral program. The strongest long-term results came from combining the program with a cash grant.
Read the Liberia study → Heller et al. · Chicago (Becoming a Man) Fewer violent-crime arrests in Chicago
Two randomized evaluations of Chicago's Becoming a Man program found 45–50% fewer violent-crime arrests while participants were in the program.
Read the Chicago study → Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Prevention spending in Latin America
An Inter-American Development Bank review identified skills-based prevention programs as among the most promising uses of public security spending in Latin America.
Read the IDB review →Selected from research and refined through practice.
ACTRA combined findings from several bodies of research to select five practical skills. Research on cognitive-behavioral programs informed emotional regulation, metacognition, and conflict management; long-term planning drew on the Liberia research; and agency drew on research on youth psychosocial interventions delivered by non-specialist facilitators. We continue to refine how these skills are taught through each implementation.
Agency
Recognize personal strengths, see change as possible, and take purposeful action.
Research basisYouth psychosocial interventions delivered by non-specialist facilitators
Emotional Regulation
Recognize and manage intense emotions before responding.
Research basisCognitive-behavioral programs
Metacognition
Notice, question, and reframe automatic thoughts.
Research basisHeller et al., Chicago's Becoming a Man program, which trains participants to slow down and re-examine automatic thoughts
Conflict Management
Navigate disagreement, communicate needs, and de-escalate conflict.
Research basisCognitive-behavioral programs
Long-Term Planning
Turn long-term goals into concrete steps and anticipate the consequences of different choices.
Research basisBlattman et al., Liberia
Testing and learning in Colombia.
Since 2025, we have completed three implementation cycles, including two in-house cluster randomized pilots. The results are exploratory: they show how much implementation quality and program dosage matter, and they have helped us improve the curriculum and choose more suitable delivery settings.
Pilot results by outcome
Bars show how much each outcome changed for participants compared with a control group, in standard deviations (SD), a common unit for comparing change across different measures. Solid bars are statistically significant at the 5% level (p<0.05). The striped bar reached only p<0.10, which is not significant at 5%. Faint bars are not statistically significant. Bars to the right show improvement compared with the control group. Where less is better, such as impulsivity, we reversed the sign of IPA's estimate so every bar reads the same way.
Pilot 1 measured outcomes under limited conditions—nine sessions, without the full curriculum dosage. Two effects were statistically significant: a decline in emotional regulation and a decline in CBT knowledge scores; life satisfaction also declined but was not statistically significant. Pilot 2 found a statistically significant gain in life satisfaction. Emotional regulation showed a positive signal on an adjusted subscale, but did not reach significance at conventional levels (p<0.05). Of the other ten outcomes, eight moved in a favorable direction and two in an unfavorable one (mental health symptoms and high-risk peers); none was statistically significant. High attrition in both pilots led us to close this implementation setting and sharpen our partnership criteria for what comes next.
A decline in self-reported emotional regulation is a known pattern in psychosocial interventions: participants become better at recognizing when they are struggling, and rate themselves more critically as a result.
What early cost-effectiveness estimates suggest.
Our estimate
We compare our program with direct cash transfers, a widely used benchmark for cost-effective giving. Our internal model suggests that, once delivered at scale, the program could be around 20 times as cost-effective as cash transfers. This is a modeled projection, not an observed result.
Where the modeled value comes from
Cost per participant
The 2025 figure is calculated; the others are estimates or projections. All in US dollars.
Our estimates suggest that cost per participant could decline as more delivery is embedded in partner systems.
DALYs (disability-adjusted life years) count years of healthy life gained or lost. WELLBYs (wellbeing-adjusted life years) count changes in life satisfaction: one WELLBY is a one-point change on a 0–10 life satisfaction scale, for one person, for one year.
Request the full methodology →External estimates
Two outside organizations have looked at this question in different ways. The IDB compared types of security programs; the Happier Lives Institute (HLI) modeled ACTRA itself.
Cost-benefit ratio of multiple security programs
The IDB compares security interventions using benefit-cost estimates and reports strong ratios for cognitive-behavioral programs, especially those serving adolescents. This is evidence about the type of intervention, not an evaluation of ACTRA.
Chart built by ACTRA from IDB data — the IDB did not publish this as a graph. Source: Mejor gasto para mejores vidas, Inter-American Development Bank, 2018, p. 244.
Happier Lives Institute
Happier Lives Institute gave ACTRA an Honourable Mention based on a preliminary model of its potential cost-effectiveness, estimating 37 WELLBYs per $1,000 donated, or $27 per WELLBY. The estimate is promising, but remains sensitive to assumptions about future delivery and impact.
HLI describes this analysis as a shallow, predictive estimate: a first model of what ACTRA could achieve at scale, not a measurement of results.
Read HLI's report on ACTRA →
Reports and methodology.
Reports from each of our programs, and the methodology behind our cost-effectiveness estimates.
Program reports
Acción Interna
Testing and refining the curriculum with formerly incarcerated adults in Bogotá.
En La Buena
Our two cluster randomized pilots of a violence and crime prevention strategy in community settings, with the Cali Secretariat of Justice.
Oficina de Convivencia Escolar
A mental health and violence prevention program for children and youth in Bogotá's public schools, with the Secretary of Education.
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The assumptions, data sources, and calculations behind our cost-effectiveness estimates. Requesting it also subscribes you to our monthly newsletter.
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Help us strengthen the evidence.
We welcome funders, research partners, and implementers who want to help us test, improve, and responsibly scale the program.