Countries across the world are fighting a growing threat of violent extremism. Many have begun implementing Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) interventions to prevent or divert individuals from radicalizing to violence. Such CVE interventions run the gamut from large-scale government counterterrorism operations to smaller-scale online and counter-messaging campaigns.

In measuring intervention impacts, randomized studies are the gold standard in evaluation design, but such rigorous designs have not been used extensively for CVE interventions. The Global Engagement Center at the U.S. Department of State asked RAND to use such trials—as well as innovative methods—to assess the impact of interventions in Nigeria, Indonesia, and the Philippines…