Resources

In 1999, in response to a number of critical pressures, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) re-introduced poverty reduction as a major element of policy making, and Poverty Reduction Strategies were born. Since that time ActionAid offices have actively embraced the potential of these new spaces and processes for interaction in policy making - processes which had previously been closed This brief is drawn from a seven country review of ActionAid's engagement with World Bank/IMF policies, with particular focus on Poverty Reduction Strategies. The review itself analyses the extent to which AA was able to facilitate the participation and involvement of marginalized and vulnerable groups in the PRS debate, the impact this engagement has had on social, economic and political rights, pro-poor policy-making and budgetary allocation with the seven selected countries. This brief summerises the four major findings and eight recommendations and then goes on to ask what has changed in the content of PRSs. It also asks has the paradigm of the Washington consensus lifted, and goes on to summerise the experience of participation and process, key elements of PRSs but requiring immense effort by civil society organisations and other actors. Finally the brief looks at the question of country ownership of these processes.

This training workshop was designed to introduce participants to appraisal techniques suitable for use in a Participatory Poverty Assessment study being conducted in Ghana by the World Bank. Written by one of two trainers, the report covers only the rural appraisal methods. The Darko field work section describes in detail the PRA methods, including sequencing, materials used and findings. Gender issues underlie the lively analysis: eg the wealth and well-being ranking shows how differently men and women tackled the activity. The report includes a list of topics covered in the theoretical sessions, comments on logistical problems on the course, and finally highlights the methodological innovations made (well-being ranking being superimposed on wealth ranking and the frequency distribution health matrix).

This article presents a critique of an agency study which used rapid research methods to investigate the role and consequences of structural adjustment programmes and the introduction of a multi-party system in Tanzania. The authors compare the findings of the agency study to their own village-level studies. They argue that the genuinely poor were not included in the analysis by the agency study team, thereby casting doubt on the study's provisional findings that 'trade liberalization has been good for rural people'. They suggest that special efforts need to be made to ensure that 'the unseen and unknown' come to the fore when using rapid research methods.

This report presents the preliminary results of a participatory study of urban poverty and violence in Jamaica carried out during September - October 1995 using a Participatory Urban Appraisal (PUA) methodology. It describes findings from 5 poor urban communities in Jamaica on local perceptions of poverty and violence, and the causal relationships that produce and reproduce violence. The PUA began by eliciting local people's conceptions of poverty and vulnerability as an "entry-point" to discuss the sensitive theme of violence. The study clearly identified that violence in the selected communities erodes two key assets - labour and social capital - which are vital for reducing poverty, and ends with conclusions of specific relevance to the design of the Jamaican Social Investment Fund.

This paper makes the case for conducting Participatory Poverty Assessments (PPAs) and sets out a methodology for conducting them. PPAs have the following principal elements: a poverty profile (which analyses the depth, social and cultural nature, gender disparities and geographic spread of poverty); a review of current government policies relating to poverty; an overview of NGOs and community-based organisations working towards the alleviation of poverty; an analysis of the safety nets (both government programs and sociocultural mechanisms) in place; and, based on the above, a suggested country strategy of priority measures the government should take to reduce poverty. The section on methodology discusses interviews, focus groups, participant observation, institutional assessment, mapping, ranking and triangulation as important techniques. The paper concludes with a timetable for setting up and conducting a PPA.

This working draft traces the process by which the Bank has attempted to understand and make better use of methodologies, and also examines the current status of participatory efforts within the Bank, based on the Participation Action Plan endorsed by the Board of Directors in 1994. It gives a history of the use and trends in participatory methodologies in the Bank and is a good source to review the World BankÆs participatory experiences.

This is a letter written to Mr. Wolfensohn as a comment on a talk delivered at the professional Bankers Association. The letter specifically refers to an issue raised on not judging by volume, but by results. This is in connection with the way the World Bank judges effectiveness as part of the change management process. According to this letter, judging effectiveness of work in the Bank should be linked to the key question ôwhose reality counts?ö The letter says that the Bank has predetermined indicators for monitoring and evaluation of its operations from its own perspective. In order for the Bank to understand its effectiveness in alleviating poverty, it should try to understand its own biases and to offset them by putting the views of the poor first. In conclusion, the letter says that indicators for monitoring and evaluation should not be determined by the Bank, but by the stake holders. The indicators should remain part of an on-going negotiation process because perceptions change.