This book published for the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex presents the findings of a team of researchers based in the UK, Uganda and Nigeria. It sets out to examine the processes by which policies for poverty reduction are made and implemented, and assesses to what extent policies provide for positive change in the lives of poor people. The project advocates a policy process that is radically different from the traditional linear model; one that departs from structural adjustment exigencies of external conditionality to one in which actors, knowledge and policy spaces interact in policy making. Strategies are generated and owned locally and the poor are understood as active participants in their own development. The book argues that if political systems and the policy processes through which they are enacted are to be democratised, then so should the knowledge base that feeds those policy processes. This means working by a deliberative process not only to produce knowledge, but also to incorporate knowledge of different kinds; differentiating between respective roles and powers of discourse, and reconstituting the prevailing cultures of legitimacy and representation. Although based on evidence from Uganda and Nigeria, the book is conceived to have application to the struggle against poverty more widely.

This publication contains a collection of proceedings of the Development Partnership Forum, organised by the OECD Development Centre in December 2000. This forum discussed ways of integrating civil society organisations into development policy formation in developing countries, and sought to identify obstacles to such involvement. Findings included that civil-society participation in policy making not only enhances efficient implementation of poverty reduction measures, but also contributes to the creation of more pluralistic and democratic political systems.

During The World Summit For Social Development, Held In Copenhagen In March 1995, Unesco Organised A Round Table, In Collaboration With Crop — The Comparative Research Programme On Poverty, Set Up By The International Social Science Council (Issc) — To Discuss The Problem Of Promoting Participation Of The Poor In Civil Society. This Book Carries The Proceedings Of That Round Table Edited By Dr. Yogesh Atal And Professor Else Oyen Who Jointly Convened That Round Table. The Holding Of The Round Table, And This Publication Of Its Proceedings, Constitute One Of The Several Contributions Made By Unesco To The World Summit Process. In View Of The Fact That The Decade Of 1997-2006 Has Been Declared By The United Nations As The International Decade For The Eradication Of Poverty The Publication Of The Proceedings Of This Round Table Is Timely And Important. What Was Deliberated At The Round Table Should Help Develop An Agenda Not Only For Research And Reflection, But Also For Affirmative Action.

This desk review provides an update on practice and experiences of civil society participation in the development of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). It was commissioned by Department for International Development (DFID) and conducted from August-October 2001 by the Participation Group at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) in the UK.