Influencing Poverty Reduction Strategies - A Guide

Influencing Poverty Reduction Strategies: A Guide
Influencing Poverty Reduction

Strategies: A Guide
Contents
Introduction.........................................................................................................2
Section one. Background: Participation in Planning and the PRSP process 3
Section two. Participation by Civil Society in Policy Monitoring and
Implementation...............................................................................................7
Participation......................................................................................................7
Section three. Influencing the Content of Policy..............................................7
Influencing policy content: promoting policy choices.........................................7
Influencing policy content: gender and diversity................................................7
How to maximise policy influence.....................................................................7
Section four. Monitoring the Implementation of Policy...................................7
Implementation; critical for the credibility of the PRSP initiative........................7
Monitoring policy implementation: gender and diversity....................................7
Monitoring policy implementation: the role of budgets......................................7
Beyond budgets: monitoring outcomes.............................................................7
Annex one. Influencing Policy Content: Reform debates in low-income
countries..........................................................................................................7
Annex two. Links to other sources of information...........................................7
Introduction
Use of document
This document is intended as a resource for Oxfam staff and for other organisations
concerned with influencing and monitoring national policy making in developing countries
to the benefit of the poor. The document will focus on policy making in low-income
countries, because current donor conditionality demands civil society participation in
planning and in the implementation of plans under the new Poverty Reduction Strategy
Paper programme (PRSP) introduced by the World Bank and IMF. However, many of the
areas covered will be useful to organisations working in middle-income, or even
developed countries.
Structure of this Document

This document is split into four sections.
Section one gives a background and introduction to the increasing opportunities for civil
society to participate in policy formulation and implementation in low income countries,
and in particular the new opportunities created by the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
programme introduced jointly by the World Bank and IMF.
Section two looks at what is meant by the participation of Civil Society organisations in
policy formulation and implementation, and particularly those organisations made up of or
representing the poorest sections of society and women. It gives a definition of the
different levels of participation and what is required to ensure that meaningful
participation is achieved. As such it provides a resource for influencing and assessing the
participatory process in individual countries.
Section three looks at the policy formulation process, and specifically how the content of
policies can be influenced by Civil Society to ensure that they are pro-poor and will
ensure poverty reduction. It therefore provides a resource for Civil Society Organisations
seeking to influence the content of national policies and in particular PRSPs. Annex one
then contains a table of the typical policy reforms mooted for low-income countries and
the arguments for and against.
Section four looks at monitoring of policy implementation. It examines the role Civil
Society Organisations can play in ensuring that pro-poor policies are actually
implemented and the impact on poverty reduction is maximised.
Gender and diversity
In each of the sections there will be a particular focus on the involvement of women and
other marginalised groups in national poverty strategies and PRSPs
Lastly annex two contains useful links to other sources of information on each area and
on PRSPs as a whole.
Section one. Background: Participation in

Planning and the PRSP process
Participation and planning
Developing country governments produce a range of plans to guide development; these
can range from long-term plans such as Vision 2020 (Ghana, Malawi, Cambodia),
National Poverty Eradication Strategy to 2010 (Tanzania)to medium term plans such as
the Ninth Five-Year Plan 2001-5 in Vietnam., or the Socio-Economic and Development
Plan II in Cambodia for 2001-5. Frequently such plans develop wish-lists of projects for
donor funding, rather than prioritising public spending in the short and medium term; most
have addressed poverty reduction as an add-on to a national development strategy. At
present many developing country governments also develop policies at national and local
levels with extremely limited participation of poor women and men, civil society, and also
the legislature. Even within government, in many cases weaker Ministries have limited
influence, with the Ministries of Finance and Planning generally dominating the policy
debate. Much policy design is influenced by the political elite, the wealthy, and by
international financial institutions and donors, particularly the IMF and WB. Donor
influence has been greatly enhanced through adjustment programmes in both low and
middle-income countries, and debt crises of various sorts have deepened such influence
enormously.
It is not just in government policy development where the views of

poor people are rarely heard, the same also applies to policy
implementation in legislation and in practice, or in
sector/programme design and implementation. During the
past decade substantial experience has developed with poor
peoples participation in project design, particularly through
PRA/RRA1 techniques. These approaches have been further
developed into Participatory Poverty Assessments (PPAs),
which have the potential to become an extremely useful tool
for poverty reduction planning and implementation. National
problems are mirrored at decentralised levels, and in many
countries even worsened by decentralisation, since systems
of accountability and minimum standards of practice are
frequently weaker than at central level.
In a key part of this, budgets, where priorities are actually delivered

through the allocation and expenditure of government and
donor resources, poor people have little influence. Again,
with decentralisation, rather than enhancing public
accountability in government spending, the situation is often
worsened, with the centre achieving some level of public
accountability (e.g. publishing the national budget), but
frequently without a similar standard of practice at
decentralised level.
Recent changes
Over the past few years this position has changed slightly. There has been increased
donor emphasis on government ownership and leadership, and on civil society
involvement in the design and implementation of policies and plans.
During the past decade substantial experience has also developed with poor women and
mens participation in project design, particularly through PRA/RRA 2 techniques. These
approaches have been further developed into Participatory Poverty Assessments (PPAs),
which have the potential to become an extremely useful tool for poverty reduction
planning and implementation.
At the same time, partly through the recognition by donors of the failure of structural
adjustment programmes to make sufficient inroads on reducing poverty, and partly
through moves towards linking increased debt relief to poverty reduction (as a result of
the Jubilee 2000 debt campaign), there has been a renewed emphasis on poverty
reduction as the central theme of government action in low-income countries. This move
1
Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)/Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA)
Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)/Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA)
has also been influenced by the widespread agreement to achieve the international
development goals for 2015 (see box below). The goals have been adopted by the
World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the members of the Development
Assistance Committee of the OECD, and many other agencies. They found a new
expression in the Millennium Declaration of the United Nations, adopted by the General
Assembly in September 2000. As such they are the key targets towards which all
development planning should aim.3
International Development Goals
Poverty The proportion of people living in extreme poverty in developing countries

and the proportion of malnourished children should be reduced by at least one half
between 1990 and 2015.
Education There should be Universal Primary Education (UPE) in all countries by

2015.
Gender Equality Progress toward gender equality and the empowerment of women
should be demonstrated by eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary
education by 2005.
Infant and Child Mortality The death rates of infants and children under the age of
five years should be reduced in each developing country by two-thirds the 1990 level
by 2015.
Maternal Mortality The rate of maternal mortality should be reduced by three- fourths
between 1990 and 2015.
Reproductive Health Access should be available through the primary health care
system to reproductive health services for all individuals of appropriate ages and the
spread of HIV/AIDS should have begun to be reversed, no later than the year 2015.
Environment There should be a national strategy for sustainable development, in the

process of implementation, in every country by 2005, so as to ensure that current
trends in the loss of environmental resources are effectively reversed at both global
and national levels by 2015. The proportion of the population without access to an
improved water source should be reduced by at least one-half between 1990 and
2015.
(see appendix: there is no appendix; There are two alternatives: (1) Ask Tony, or, (b) use
the set of indicators circulated by Chris Roche a while ago, which are very nicely
presented), including halving the number of people living in extreme poverty, which arose
from UN conferences during the 1990s.
IMF/World Bank and Poverty Reduction Strategies

In September 1999, the IMF and World Bank, with donor support, agreed to increase the
amount of debt relief on offer to eligible low-income countries through the Heavily
Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative. This was conditional on countries developing a
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), and as a short-term measure, an Interim
PRSP. It was also agreed that PRSPs would be required from all low-income countries 4,
not just the 41 HIPC countries, as a way of increasing the quality and poverty reduction
focus of IMF and World Bank support. The PRSP replaced the PFP (Policy Framework
Further information on the IDT can be found at www.developmentgoals.org
77 countries with 1999 per capita GNP below $885.
Paper), which was supposed to be a joint IMF/World Bank document, but which was
generally written by the IMF and rarely used by the World Bank.
Clearly the approach has been donor led, with the IMF/World Bank deciding that in future
national government should lead in the development of plans. There was no consultation
with developing country governments in the development of this approach. At the same
time, there are numerous problems around the approach, some critics claim that nothing
has changed in IMF/World Bank approaches, and that PRSPs are just an attempt to coat
adjustment in a more human faade. There are numerous concerns around whether
governments are actually in the driving seat, given that PRSPs require endorsement
from the Boards of the IMF and World Bank before these IFIs will provide finance and
other support. Others note that given the substantial influence the IFIs and other donors
have over the decisions made by poor countries, the IFIs help make decisions but have
passed the responsibility and the blame for failure to governments. There are also
problems in that these plans are medium term, and such a short-term planning framework
can easily ignore longer-term issues with regards to achieving the 2015 or similar goals in
a sustainable fashion that also integrates environmental concerns.
Other donor planning adds to the range of processes underway in many countries. In
some countries the UN is attempting to co-ordinate its assistance through the UN
Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), and in many cases has supported the
development of long-term national strategies; other Multilateral Development Banks
(MDBs) such as the Asia Development Bank (ADB), support other planning process, in
Cambodia for instance, the ADB has supported the 5-year plan, while the World Bank has
been demanding a 3-year PRSP, with both MDBs causing confusion and overburdening
the government.
According to the World Bank and IMF the PRSP is based on six core principles:
They should be results oriented, with targets for poverty reduction that are
tangible and monitorable
It should be comprehensive, integrating macroeconomic, structural, sectoral

and social elements
It should be country driven representing the consensus in a country on what

steps should be taken
It should be participatory; all stakeholders should participate in its formulation

and implementation
It is based on partnerships between government and other actors
It is long term; focusing on reforming institutions and building capacity as well

as short term goals5
partly derived from the World Bank Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) 6.
The stated intention of this framework is to balance economic and human development,
the core principles being: the development of a long-term vision and strategy; enhanced
country ownership of goals and actions; more strategic partnership amongst
stakeholders, and accountability for development results. In late 1999, the IMF and WB
agreed the PRSP approach, and key principles:
These six core principles are taken from the World Bank Overview of PRSPs
www.worldbank.org/poverty/strategies/overview.htm#core_principles
6
Developed by the World Bank President, Jim Wolfensohn in early 1999. Currently piloted in West Bank and
Gaza, and 11 countries: Bolivia, Cote dIvoire, the Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kyrgyz
Republic, Morocco, Romania, Uganda and Vietnam.
"The Committee emphasised that the strategies set out in the new Poverty Papers should
be country-driven, be developed transparently with broad participation of elected
institutions, stakeholders including civil society, key donors and regional development
banks, and have a clear link with the agreed international development goals - principles
that are embedded in the Comprehensive Development Framework." 7
Governments are supposed to prepare a national Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) of
some form, for instance, in Uganda, their strategy, which was developed before the PRSP
process was agreed, is called the Poverty Eradication Action Plan, other governments
have other names for their plans and processes. The PRS is supposed to form the basis
of the PRSP, although in many cases the PRS is submitted as the PRSP.
Given that it takes time to develop a PRSP, with accompanying Medium Term
Expenditure Framework (MTEF), the IMF/World Bank agreed that countries could submit
an Interim PRSP in order to allow IFI assistance to continue, or interim HIPC debt relief
to be provided. The Interim PRSP was intended to be a brief document, mainly setting out
a road-map of a process to reach a full PRSP, including necessary participatory
processes. Participation in the development of the Interim PRSP was not an IFI condition.
In practice, most Interim PRSPs have become substantial documents, although of varying
quality, and with limited participation.
IMF and World Bank staff, through a Joint Staff Assessment (JSA) 8 review the Interim
PRSP or the full PRSP, and provide advice to the Boards of the IMF and World Bank as
to whether the strategy provides a credible basis for concessional assistance from the
IMF and World Bank, as well as feedback to the country on the content of the strategy.
Endorsement of the Interim PRSP is a basis for HIPC countries to receive interim debt
relief, and for on-going IMF and World Bank assistance to be provided. This
endorsement is known as Decision Point. Following this, foror HIPC countries, the
endorsement of the full PRSP and one years (?) successful implementation, allows
countries to reach Completion Point whenin HIPC whereby debt relief is irrevocably
provided.
Concerns over the new PRSP approach

There are a number of concerns being expressed by critics about the new PRSP
approach, some of which are listed below:
It has been a donor led process from its inception. The concern with national
ownership and participation still largely comes from the donors, not the governments
themselves.
Many feel that this is no real change from the previous Structural Adjustment
approach and is more an attempt to coat those policies in a more human faade9
There are concerns over whether governments are really in the driving seat given
that PRSPs require endorsement from the boards of the WB and IMF
Also there is a concern that given the substantial influence IFIs and donors continue
to have over decisions made by poor countries, PRSPs offer little more than a chance
to pass the responsibility and the blame for failure to governments.
World Bank Development Committee Communiqu, September 27th, 1999.
All JSAs are published, and are available on the IMF and WB websites together with a number of other
country documents.
9
This fear is increasingly being validated as full PRSPs are beginning to be completed. For all PRSPs there has
been minimal change in terms of the macro-economic policy core, which continues to mirror the PRGF
arrangement held with the IMF.
There is also the problem that there is not a clear link in many cases between the
PRSP process and existing processes of national planning. The links are often
cosmetic and duplication of effort is a genuine concern.
Lastly there is a concern that the short/ medium term cycle of PRSPs undermines
commitment to longer term planning and especially the development of National
Sustainable Development Plans that mean that longer-term environmental concerns
are being avoided.
Policy advice and lending from the IMF and World Bank are supposed to be derived from
the country owned PRSP. This alters the design of IMF and World Bank support.
IMF support
Policy advice and lending from the IMF and World Bank are supposed to be derived from
the country owned PRSP. This alters the design of IMF and World Bank support. The IMF
renamed its concessional lending facility, from the Enhanced Structural Adjustment
Facility (ESAF), to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). The PRGF has
seven key features:
Broad participation and greater ownership
Embedding the PRGF in the overall strategy for growth and poverty reduction
Budgets that are more pro-poor and pro-growth
Ensuring appropriate flexibility in fiscal targets
More selective structural conditionality
Emphasis on measures to improve public resource management/accountability
Social impact analysis of major macroeconomic adjustments and structural reforms 10
Loans under the PRGF are for three years, and carry an annual interest rate of 0.5
percent, with repayments made semi-annually, beginning five-and-a-half years and
ending 10 years after the disbursement
The IMF is currently carrying out a review of the 35 PRGFs in place to date. Independent
assessments have shown that although there has been some progress in areas such as
streamlining conditionality (reducing the number of conditions attached to PRGFs) the
overall core of macroeconomic prescriptions remain unchanged. There has been virtually
no entertaining of alternatives or choices in terms of macro-economic policy in the PRGFs
to date11 The fact that most PRGFs have now been negotiated in advance of full PRSPs
does not help this, and rather than following the PRSP, the opposite seems to be more
the norm with the PRSP macro-economics policy in most cases mirroring the PRGF.The
IMF is committed, for instance, to supporting:
broad participation and ownership;
embedding the PRGF in the overall strategy for growth and poverty reduction;
budgets that are more pro-poor and pro-growth;
ensuring appropriate flexibility in fiscal targets;
more selective structural conditionality;
emphasis on measures to improve public resource management and social impact
analysis of major macroeconomic adjustments and structural reforms.
10
'IMF Lending to Poor CountriesHow does the PRGF differ from the ESAF?' IMF, April 2000
11
PRGF Stocktaking Exercise on behalf of DFID Adam, C and Bevan, D Department of Economics Oxford
University October 2001
Loans under the PRGF are for three years, and carry an annual interest rate of 0.5
percent, with repayments made semi-annually, beginning five-and-a-half years and
ending 10 years after the disbursement
World Bank support:

The World Bank will continue to define its assistance in the Country Assistance Strategy
(CAS), which is intended to be a medium-term business plan for the World Bank, and be
derived from the PRSP. The World Bank will continue to provide Structural Adjustment
(SAL), Sector Adjustment Loans (SECAL) and project loans; however the World Bank is
presently developing guidelines for Poverty Reduction Support Credits (PRSCs) which
could become a major route for increased adjustment lending, and which have already
been developed for Burkina Faso, have already been provided PRSCs to Uganda and
Vietnam. These loans are provided from the International Development Association (IDA
of the World Bank), and are provided with no interest, with a small service charge, a
grace period of ten years, and then repaid over forty years. As such, almost 70% of these
loans are, in effect, a grant.
The institution is also revising its Operational Directive on Adjustment Lending and
revising it into an Operational Policy/Bank Procedure (OP/BP) format, and will consult
with civil society on these changes. Lessons from current PRSCs will feed into the new
OP. According to the draft Guidelines on PRSCs12, the PRSC would be presented to the
Board of the World Bank simultaneously with or shortly after the PRSP/I-PRSP, JSA and
CAS.
Opportunities and challenges for civil society created by PRSPs

The agreement of the IMF and WB to provide assistance through a PRSP offers
numerous opportunities for Oxfam and other civil society organisations NGO to influence
policy-making at the national level and to strengthen the civil society networks, However,
at the same time it also time that presents real challenges for them to be proactive. It also
means running the risk s of getting engaged with nothing else than rhetoric. It is up to
Oxfam and its partners to evaluate the field of opportunities and maximise their impact.
Content: Increased poverty focus

Firstly it provides the PRSP provides a framework to prioritise poverty reduction in the
policy of all all low-income countries. In government, but also IFI, and donor, policy and
programming and in all areas, from setting poverty reduction targets, to macroeconomic and structural reform, the issue of pro-poor growth and redistribution, budgets,
gender equity, to social sector provision, agriculture, industry, poverty monitoring and
governance.
The PRSP also requires the development of greater efficiency, transparency and
accountability in public expenditure management (PEM).an MTEF - essentially a three
year rolling budget. The focus is on targeted and costed policies, and as such on
implementation and measurable impact. Prioritisation of the budget, public spending and
monitoring, and efficiency of spending are all important areas highlighted in the PRSP
approach.
As such the PRSPThis offers Oxfam and other NGOs major opportunities to influence
policy and practice at local, national and international levels, both at the formulation and
the implementation stages.
12
Interim Guidelines for Poverty Reduction Support Credits, World Bank, April 10th 2001
http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/html/eswwebsite.nsf/PRSC/Guidelines+PRSC
Process: Increased participation

It is a requirement of the PRSP process that the strategy is drawn up by Government
together with a broad range of national stakeholders including civil society. This
obviously offers the potential for the further development of institutional obligations
towards increased civil society participation. While this process of change is fraught with
problems, it provides substantially improved access for civil society to policymaking and
implementation. The PRSP process potentially offers particular opportunities and
challenges for marginalised groups, including women and ethnic minorities, who have
historically been left out of the policy making process. There is a need to make the most
of this opportunity to maximise the amount of civil society input to the policy process in
these countries, to get the more marginalised voices at the table, and to institutionalise
this involvement so that it becomes the norm in all future policy debates.
The following sections look in further detail at these opportunities and challenges. The
first section looks at participation, and the following two sections look at influencing policy
formulation and policy implementation.
10
Section two. Participation by Civil Society in

Policy Monitoring and Implementation
Participation
Oxfams view is that poor women and men have a right to be heard and that voice
poverty, the denial of peoples right to influence the decisions that affect their lives, and
the lack of accountability of decision-makers, are central causes of impoverishment and
suffering in the world. We have three central concerns:
Where people living in poverty are systematically excluded from institutions, decisionmaking processes, and resource allocation decisions, they are less likely to benefit
from development investments.
Systematic denial of peoples right to participate erodes the accountability and

effectiveness of organisations, institutions, companies, and governments, making
these much more prone to poor decision-making, and the corruption, malpractice and
malfeasance that exacerbate poverty.
The exclusion of women and marginalised groups from policy making leads to an
imbalanced perspective on development priorities, and to exclusion from the benefits
of development for significant sectors of the population.
The World Bank also highlights voicelessness and powerlessness as one of the four
main dimensions of poverty, as defined by the poor themselves:
those materially deprived feel acutely their lack of voice, power and independence. This
helplessness subjects them to rudeness, humiliation, shame, inhumane treatment, and
exploitation at the hands of the institutions of state and society 13
This lack of voice can only be countered by empowering the poor women and men to
participate and become involved in influencing the structures and institutions that have
power over them.
The World Bank defines participation as
The process through which stakeholders influence and share control over
priority setting, policy-making, resource allocations and access to public
goods and services.14
It also notes that PRSPs should:
Be developed transparently with broad participation of elected institutions,
stakeholders including civil society, key donors and regional development
banks 15Development Committee Communiqu, September 27th, 1999).
13
World Bank World Development Report 2000-2001: Attacking Poverty.
14
Organising Participatory Processes in the PRSP, S.Tikare, D.Youssef, P.Donnelly-Roark, P.Shah, World
Bank, April 2001
15
Development Committee Communiqu, World Bank September 27th, 1999. Both these definitions can be
used as tools to challenge the Bank/ IMF and Governments when participation does not achieve these levels
11
Participation, Gender and Diversity

It is often assumed within the official literature that Civil Society is homogenous and
naturally in agreement. This idea that Civil Society naturally has one voice has rightly
been criticised by a number of commentators, especially those who are examining the
process from a gender perspective: male dominated NGOs, trade unions or professional
associations are unlikely to prioritise the gender interests of poor women. Instead it is
likely that speaking with a single voice would mean subordinating womens gender
interests to mens16.
Oxfam and other CSO groups have a responsibility to do their utmost to ensure the
participation of women and marginalised groups in the PRSP processeses. There needs
to be a constant awareness of the particular constraints faced by these actors in getting
involved and strategies developed to overcome these. Often these groups face particular
barriers, e.g. lack of resources, lack of time, lower levels of economic literacy and
unequal power relations.
Lastly, in assessing the level of participation, there needs to be a constant awareness of
the importance of involving women and marginalised groups in policy debate. The
following section gives suggestions on concrete ways in which participation can be
assessed.
Assessing Levels of participation

In influencing PRSP processes, the aim is to maximise the level of participation,
particularly by groups that are most often excluded from policy formulation. There are
often significant differences as to what different stakeholders mean by participation, and it
is important that Civil Society Organisations are clear on what level of participation they
expect and also that they assess what level actually is the case.
It is essential that Civil Society Organisations have the tools to give a comprehensive and
critical assessment itself of how participatory the process has been. This is particularly
true given that the Guidelines for the Joint Staff Assessment currently do not require
IMF/WB staff to assess the quality of the participatory process in producing a PRSP, only
to describe it.
The following sections outline first the four levels of participation, and then go on to look
at specific criteria that need to be fulfilled if we are to reach the higher levels of
participation during PRSP processes. Both can be used as resources when calling for
greater participation or giving an assessment of how good participatory processes should
be.
Varying levels or intensities of participation in policy and practice can be described in the
following way17:
Information sharing:
A basic requirement for participation and increased transparency, but limited in many
contexts from access to information regarding a World Bank loan to government
budget analysis. A key issue is when access to information is given in the policy
formulation stage? As access to a draft? Or after the event? Another question is
whether the information is accessible, for instance, a budget that is over 1,000 pages
long will be hard for civil society groups to access. If those in power are serious about
(i.e. most cases to date).

16
Engaging with the World Bank and the IMF: a report for the Gender and Development Network Terry,
Geraldine 2001
17
Participation in Poverty Reduction Strategies: A synthesis of experience with participatory approaches to

policy design, implementation and monitoring, R McGee and A Norton IDS Working Paper 109, 2000.
12
sharing information, then it should be accessible to an informed reader, in relevant

languages, and with clear summaries.
Consultation:
The next level up, whereby those in power ask for views. The key issue with regards
to consultation, and the difference between it and full participation, is that generally
there is no obligation to listen to the views of others or to incorporate those views.
Consultation can merely mean consult and ignore, and is often used to legitimate
the actions of the powerful. Unless consultation is meaningful, it can be a waste of the
scarce resources of civil society organisations, and an additional burden on poor
women and men in balancing their productive and household roles. Another problem
is whether those consulted, CSNGOs or Parliamentarians, are adequately
representing the views of those they work with, or represent. Specific methodologies:
Participatory Poverty Assessments; Surveys and Public fora are required to ensure
that the voices of women and marginalised groups are adequately represented.
Joint decision-making:
Whereby those consulted have some rights with regards to decision-making. In
national policy making this is extremely rare, and where it takes place, is likely to be
an ill-defined process. As clearly joint decision-making is related to power, donor
stakeholders frequently have substantial power with regards to government decisionmaking, and thus can be involved in joint decision-making. For civil society
organisations and particularly for women and marginalised groups, this is much more
difficult, but strong civil society advocacy and campaign platforms, or close relations
with Parliaments can help considerably to increase the voice of these groups (civil
society) in decision-making. The creation of government sector working groups, an
overall poverty reduction working group, womens caucuses etc. are structures where
civil society should be present, and where joint decision-making can develop.
Empowerment- initiation and control by stakeholders:

In a sense, an ultimate objective with regards to poor women and mens influence
over initiatives, but within the Poverty Reduction Strategy process, very rare, since
the whole process is led by government. There are unlikely to be policy initiatives fully
initiated and controlled by Civil Society, although it is possible, for example an
organised campaign for abolishing cost recovery in health could well have an impact.
Overall this level of participation is more likely to occur in terms of Civil Society
monitoring of policy implementation. Developing independent monitoring initiatives
gives Civil Society the chance to really take control over the process. However, strong
and well-founded civil society initiatives, for instance to push for a free basic health
care package, could be advanced at the time when civil society has some leverage,
for instance when endorsement of the PRSP is required. It should be remembered,
as some commentators have noted, that the right to a voice is not the same as a
vote. In most countries, there are democratic processes whereby people are
represented through an electoral process, where the executive is held accountable by
the legislature, as such, participatory processes should not undermine legitimate
political mechanisms. Similarly, womens groups have succeeded in influencing
policy by establishing independent monitoring of the gender impact of specific
policies.
13
18
Below is a checklist19 that contains some issues that should be addressed within any
participatory process20. It provides a basic resource to assess participation in policy
formulation, implementation and monitoring. Given that all processes will be context
specific, it will be important to look beyond this list to issues that may be relevant in a
particular national context.
Expectations: Ensure that stakeholder expectations are clearly defined and

reconciled, that level of participation is clear, and that timetables for decision-making
are transparent.
Appropriate time frame: ensure that the process has an appropriate time frame to
ensure adequate participation.
Transparency: ensure different stages of policy development, including decision

making, implementation and monitoring are visible to stakeholders.
Access to information: ensure that stakeholders have access to timely and

adequate information in a form that is relevant and understandable (language,
content), and which allows proper time for preparation of views. Within national
processes, ensure use of media for dissemination of issues. Ensure access to
alternative views and analysis.
Meaningful capacity for engagement: ensure that civil society has the capacity,
resources and support required to ensure that it can engage in an informed and
constructive constrictive (I think Tony means constructive) way in participatory
processes. Participation must be realistically viewed as a costly and time-consuming
process.
Meaningful capacity for choice: ensure that participants are presented with
options, are able to discuss the impacts and trade offs between various choices, and
have the opportunity to express preferences. Use independent facilitators/advisors
where relevant to promote more equal discussion of issues. Promote capacity
building of Civil Society to develop alternatives.
Comprehensive: ensure that all stakeholders have at least the opportunity to

participate throughout, with specialist groups involved at relevant stages. However,
care should be taken to ensure targeted involvement that will maximise Civil Society
input and minimise chances of participation fatigue.
Accountability: ensure that the process is procedurally and periodically answerable

to different groups, and by who; that inputs are recorded, decisions on whether inputs
have been taken on board are made explicit, including broad rationale for final
decisions.
Who participates? Ensure process of selecting participants is based on a

transparent rationale, rather than individual preferences, and ensure that
18
From Oxfam experience and numerous sources: Participation in Poverty Reduction Strategies: A synthesis of
experience with participatory approaches to policy design, implementation and monitoring, R McGee and A
Norton IDS Working Paper 109, 2000 (which pulls together many sources and is available on the net- see
annex two for links); Uganda Debt Network, Malawi Economic Justice Network, Tanzania Coalition on Debt and
Development, Maarifa/Tanzania Education Network, NGO Forum in Cambodia, ASONOG in Honduras, CCER
in Nicaragua, and Jubilee 2000 in Bolivia.
19
From Oxfam experience and numerous sources: McGee/Norton (which pulls together many sources);
Uganda Debt Network, Malawi Economic Justice Network, Tanzania Coalition on Debt and Development,
Maarifa/Tanzania Education Network, NGO Forum in Cambodia, ASONOG in Honduras, CCER in Nicaragua,
and Jubilee 2000 in Bolivia.
20
Given that all processes will be context specific, it will be important to look beyond this list to issues that may
be relevant in a particular national context. However, these give a basic starting point for reference.
14
marginalized groups the poor, women, remote groups (unable to access the capital
easily), ethnic minorities, children are represented. Selection of participants should be
participatory. Because of their importance, outreach and influence, religious groups
(e.g. Churches) should particularly be involved.
Recognising Diversity There is a mistaken perception that Civil Society will or can
speak with one voice. This threatens to cut out the voices of marginalized groups
such as women. True participation, while always seeking consensus, must recognise
the diversity of civil society and civil society opinions.
Institutionalise participation: in the medium and long term, and resulting from
mutual trust building, improved participation in policy-making should become an
institutionalised and irreversible process with legal obligations. It is then sustainable
in the long-term, rather than reliant on good will, or donor pressure etc.
Non-alienation: ensure that participation is designed in an inclusive, non-threatening

and meaningful way. This can often mean organising processes where government is
absent and where views etc. are fed back to government in other fora.
Economic literacy: of NGOs and of CSO will be crucial to understand the macroeconomic framework for PRSPs, and will be fundamental for developing a proactive
engagement in policy-making. It will help also to build a common language for
engaging into a substantive dialogue with other sectors in society.
Experience to Date
Currently participation in PRSPs has generally ranged between mixed and poor, and Civil
Society Organisations around the world have raised this as a major issue21. This is due to
a number of reasons.
Firstly the time frame, and in HIPC countries, the carrot of debt relief, has meant that
many countries have gone through the process extremely quickly. This is partly
influenced by the nature of existing reforms and policy-making approaches; where
governments believe that substantial progress has been made previously then they have
felt able to move forward quickly.
Secondly, contrary to the initial guidance given by the IMF and World Bank on the nature
of Interim PRSPs, numerous governments have developed substantial interim
documents. Given that IPRSPs did not require participation, the end result in some
countries has been that substantial policy-making has been undertaken with no
participation at all, and the opportunities to modify the IPRSP and develop the full PRSP
have now become severely constrained in many countries.
Thirdly, many civil society organisations have been ill prepared for strong engagement in
the development of PRSPs; in many countries, Parliaments have also played a marginal
role.
Lastly these above reasons are further compounded for womens groups and those civil
society organisations concerned with gender. They have found it particularly difficult to
be involved in the PRSP formulation processes, and the PRSPs currently completed a
very poor in terms of addressing gender in policy planning and formulation 22.
Despite these problems, the PRSP still represents an opportunity for policy influence by
civil society, however small. Civil society should commit to doing its utmost to exploit this
opportunity whilst continuing to push for greater participation and involvement at all times.
The following section looks at how to maximise the use made of this opportunity to
influence policy formulation and implementation.
21
See for example Ignoring the Experts Christian Aid October 2001 (available on the internet- see links in
annex two)
22
Gender in PRSPs: A Stocktaking World Bank PREM August 9th 2001
15
16
Section three. Influencing the Content of

Policy
The PRSP process offers an unprecedented23 opportunity for Civil Society to influence the
policy process and to push for policies that are pro-poor.
The policy process (formulation and implementation) is a complex and most importantly
intensely political matter 24. It involves many competing interests vying for the distribution
of scarce resources. This point seems obvious, but instead the tendency in many official
documents is to see the process as a far more rational and apolitical one where the most
rational policy choices make themselves evident through open debate and dialogue.
Although this may well be the ideal to which we all aim, it is very important when seeking
to influence policy to have a more realistic view of the way the policy process works.
In terms of formulation, this means that it is only by giving a realistic appraisal of the
different interests and power being exercised in the process of drawing up policy that we
can maximise the influence we can have over its content.
Civil Society, and particularly marginalized interests such as women or the poor have
traditionally had minimal access to the policy circle25 and as such minimal power in the
formulation of policy. The development of PRSPs in low-income countries are an
opportunity to begin to address this imbalance and institutionalise participation of Civil
Society in the development of national policy-making and implementation, and there is a
range of understanding around what makes for good participation and how this is judged
(see above).
However, while creating an environment for participation is one thing, what civil society
says is another. The challenge for civil society is to enter the debate not just with
criticisms, but with proposals too. Developing proposals requires consultation within civil
society, coupled with research and analysis if necessary. Taking proposals forward
requires an advocacy strategy to maximise the impact of proposals and to undertake all
measures to ensure they are adopted. Ultimately the development of a national
development plan, or a poverty reduction strategy, is a political process. Aside from
political action, civil society can help to influence the political debate by mobilising public
campaigns to show to political representatives of the people that there is genuine public
concern around public policy-making.
In this section there is a discussion of the need to generate genuine discussion over
genuine policy choices, followed by a discussion of how policy content can be influenced
to reflect concerns around gender and diversity. The rest of the section is then made up
of a series of tips and suggestions on how to influence policy content.
Influencing policy content: promoting policy choices

National policy in low-income countries has in the past rarely been openly debated, and is
often very much the product of the preferences and priorities of the major donors. The
PRSP process offers the potential to change this and to begin to generate genuine
discussion over genuine policy choices. Central to this is calling on the major donors
23
The opportunity is indeed unprecedented, but nevertheless a very long way from ideal.
24
Governance, Administration and Development: Making the State Work Turner, Mark and Hulme, David 1997
London Macmillan.
25
Ibid.
17
and country governments to carry out assessments of the policy options available and
their potential impact on poverty.
In recent years the bank and the fund have come under increasing pressure to agree to
carry out Poverty and Social Impact Assessments (PSIA): these are assessments of the
social and poverty impacts of policy reforms they are proposing.
These assessments can be backward looking (ex post) where they assess the impact of
previous reforms, and also importantly they can and should be forward looking (ex ante)
where they examine the possible impact on poverty of reforms that are being proposed.
They can be carried out by the donor directly, or by governments and/ or civil society with
donor support. The important point is that any major policy reform should be openly
debated and more than one option entertained.
The commitment to carrying out and supporting PSIA by the World Bank and IMF can be
used when advocating around particular policy reforms in your country. They have
committed to carrying these out and as such they can be asked when and how they
intend to do them and how they will involve all stakeholders 26.
In addition there is a range of other studies that the Bank and Fund already carry out
when assessing a country and devising policy prescriptions. They have a number of
models which they use both at a macro-economic and a sectoral level. A forthcoming
paper by the Bretton Woods Project will detail this process and the entry points for
advocacy. The overall point is that if you can influence the content of official studies you
are more likely to have an impact, whether through influencing the terms of reference,
who carries out the study and in what ways.
Although insider strategies such as this are very useful, there is also always a place for
good quality independent research to influence policy debates and generate policy
choice. Civil society has a pivotal role in generating such research. Tips on doing this
are contained in the section below.
Influencing policy content: gender and diversity.

Gender and diversity are very rarely discussed during the process of designing and
choosing policies. As a result very few policies that governments seek to introduce make
any attempt to address issues of gender. Government policies are often assumed to
affect everyone more or less equally: to serve the public interest and the needs of the
general person. In particular there is often no particular mention of women, but no
particular mention of men either. This is often described as being gender neutral.
However, many have pointed out that this gender neutrality is in fact in most cases more
like gender blindness.
Government policies are not neutral, but instead reflect the values of a country and its
policy makers. As such, the way most policies are formulated usually ignores the
different, socially determined roles, responsibilities and capabilities of men and women.
These differences are usually structured in such a way as to leave women in an unequal
position in relation to men in their community, with less economic, social and political
power 27.
Civil society can play a key role in raising these issues of gender blindness in the
formulation of policy. This can involve many actions, but are essentially about ensuring
26
For commitments from the Bank and the Fund see Poverty Reduction Papers: Progress in Implementation
Development Committee Communique April 18th 2001 (http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/DCS/devcom.nsf/
(documentsattachmentsweb)/April2001EnglishDC20010010/$FILE/DC2001-0010(E)-PRSP.pdf). Also at the
recent PRSP review in Washington in January 2002 the president of the World Bank, James Wolfenson told
CSO representatives that Poverty and Social Impact Assessments would be mainstreamed in three to six
months.
27
Elson, Diane Gender Budget Initiative: Background papers Commonwealth Secretariat 2001
18
gender issues are integrated into all national policies rather than simply regarding women
as a special interest group.
A gender-aware policy appraisal involves the development of an analysis which reflects
an understanding of a policys gender implications by:
Identifying implicit and explicit gender issues
Identifying the corresponding resource allocations
Assessing whether the policy will continue or change existing inequalities between
men and women and in what ways.
For example, in Mali Oxfam GB works with three NGOs (ADESAH, GARI and
TASSAGHT) alongside the Governments Programme Decennal de Development de
lEducation (PRODEC) (this is the organisation responsible for the reform of the
educational system in Mali in the context of decentralisation). The work is specifically
oriented at Gao, in the North of Mali (where the majority of people are nomads and where
the education statistics are among the worst in the world). Most of their work is advocacy
to increase girls education and change perceptions of policy makers and communities on
girls rights to education. One example is advocacy to see government policy
implemented to prevent very young marriages that are a major obstacle to girls
education.
How to maximise policy influence

Focus
There are in any policy debate many different issues to be discussed, and especially in a
PRSP which focuses on plans for the whole country. When faced with influencing an
entire national plan, it is easy to try to do too much. It is vital that civil society groups
focus down on areas that they believe have the most impact on the poor, or on areas
where they have the most expertise. Within any national or local coalition of civil society,
different actors can lead on different issues depending on their strengths and
weaknesses. Prioritisation is about picking 3-5 key issues and doing them well. This
means ignoring other issues, and making tough choices.
Firstly it is important to review the overall poverty reduction strategy with regards to the
impact of proposed strategies on the poor. Secondly, any strategy will be built on sectoral
strategies e.g. in education or roads, specialist civil society groups can scrutinise existing
sector strategies to review pro-poor measures and so on. Thirdly it is equally important to
examine the prioritisation within the strategy: do the sectoral and overall priorities
identified, including budget allocations look acceptable to civil society?
This kind of process will allow the identification and prioritisation of key issues. You
should then clarify why advocacy is necessary and appropriate for the issues.
Research
All too often Civil Society is accused of simply criticising without giving good arguments or
alternatives. This undermines the credibility of Civil Society, and the extent to which its
views are heeded. Although strong arguments do not guarantee success, nevertheless
you have to know what you are talking about if you are to successfully influence policy.
As such central to this is targeted research on the policy areas you are seeking to
influence.
Identify the purpose of the research, i.e. to change policy and implementation.
19
Research done by civil society for advocacy is not the same as academic research. It
needs to be credible, but it should be research that helps you achieve your advocacy
objectives, and communicate your arguments well.
However, this does not mean that the research cannot involve Academics from the
country. Academia is very much part of Civil Society. Where you can identify
academics or researchers working in your country who are sympathetic to your cause
they can prove an invaluable resource.
Clarify how the information will be obtained. Use existing work where possible.
Ensure that research is informed by a strong analysis of gender and social relations.
How are women and men affected differently? What about age, ethnicity and other
aspects of social identity? Make every attempt to generate disaggregate information
that establishes the specific impacts on women and marginalised groups.
The research needs to identify how the poor could lose through proposed or existing
reforms or policy measures, and how this situation could be changed by introducing
alternative measures. Wherever possible these need to be costed and the economic
implications addressed.
Linking micro experience of civil society with macro policies and issues, and including
interviews with poor women and men concerning reform measures or existing
circumstances will enhance the strength of research. Clearly showing how policy
affects the poor, and highlighting how poor women and men feel about the effects of
certain policies provides an extremely convincing argument that everyone can
understand. Include quotations from the poor and case studies to further underline
your points.
Key Messages
Civil society organisations have substantial experience in opposing reforms and polices,
frequently in political and economic climates where there has been little room to promote
alternatives. With growing openings for increased participation, there is now more room to
propose alternatives. This requires developing different kinds of messages than in the
past.
Establish clear and simple messages stating:
What is good for poor women and men in current government action and proposed
reforms
What may be harmful for poor women and men, in particular from your experience
and analysis (this is where research is critical).
What alternative measures could be implemented instead, and why these would
benefit the target populations.
It is important where possible to simplify complex messages. The message should be

framed in a compelling way, to be convincing and win over policy makers, but also to get
the widest possible public support.
Briefings
Preparing written briefings on issues - short, clear and concise, with a few key
recommendations are vital (4 recommendations are better than 10). Briefings are an
important tool in influencing government officials, politicians, media etc. Again, with many
government officials or advisors, one of the most useful inputs are practical proposals for
change rather than criticism alone. Be critical, but be constructive too, and give praise
where it is due.
20
Targets
For each objective, identify the targets: the decision-making institutions or bodies
concerning the policy changes or implementation sought. This could include the decisionmaking body where power lies, but also other actors that could influence the decisionmaker. A useful approach is what is known as an insider/outsider strategy, whereby civil
society organisations develop close contacts inside the target in order to influence them,
but retain a tougher external or public position in meetings, in the media and in
campaigning. When combining advocacy with strong campaigning, this approach is
essential, but again, care is needed if relationships become too close you need to
always keep in mind your overall objectives and purpose.
In most countries undertaking PRSPs, the Ministry of Finance has generally taken over
management of the process, and thus poverty reduction has gained a higher profile and
higher importance within government (rather than being seen as some add-on in the
Ministry of Social Affairs for example). Clearly officials in the Ministry of Finance will
become key targets, but other line ministries are important too, the Cabinet, the President
and his/her office, key Parliamentary committees or other similar structures in the
legislature and lastly key donors. With increased decentralisation, district or municipal
authorities often become more powerful and are therefore also targets.
Research the decision-making processes in the targets, and identify individuals within
them.
Be aware of their constraints and problems, and the pressures on them from others.
Be clear where the power lies and who has influence (e.g. it may be more effective to
target the advisers rather than a minister); be aware of conflicts between actors or
ministries. Assess whether you are likely to be effective working internally through
direct advocacy or externally through campaigning and media pressure, or both.
Be prepared to negotiate, be clear about your bottom line.
Who influences the target? In some countries certain Parliamentarians, e.g. Finance
Committee, may have influence in the Ministry of Finance. Other targets may be
influenced internationally, as well as nationally, e.g. World Bank it may be useful to
ally yourself with civil society groups internationally who are seeking ensure that the
World Bank is genuinely pro-poor in its lending and policy advice.
Timing - what external opportunities exist for you to link your messages to? E.g. key
meetings, elections, national or international conferences etc.
Know your opponents in government, amongst donors, in the media.
Know your allies too in the media, politicians, academics, policy makers. Build
relationships, trust and credibility.
Remember both can change; your opponent on one issue could be a key ally on the
next; the IFIs can help put more pressure on for a longer consultation period for
example, but can also be targets in terms of issues such as excessive conditionality
or promotion of policies that are harmful to the poor. The thing to remember is no
permanent friends and no permanent enemies.
Lobbying: Attending Meetings

Meetings are an important part of lobbying, but it should be remembered that without
other pressure, meetings alone are unlikely to be sufficient to achieve the change you
want. Access does not equal influence. Informal meetings are very useful, over a drink or
something to eat, they help build relationships and trust, and share ideas while avoiding
fixed positions.
21
Prepare well for meetings, think through persuasive arguments, think through
counter-arguments (most of which are predictable), be well briefed (youll be more
confident and persuasive), aim high, and seek firm commitments to act.
Before a meeting try to confirm the agenda, who will be there, how long the meeting
will be etc. Keep your message to only 3 short points, only use one third of the
meeting time to present them.
Meet the right people, frequently lower level civil servants are the ones working
directly on an issue, and could have substantial influence since they brief those
higher up. Try also to meet secretaries to ministers, key academics, influential media
etc.
Sometimes it may be appropriate to be tough in a meeting, but it is rarely appropriate

to be confrontational. Generally engagement is more effective than condemnation.
At the end of the meeting, thank people for their time, summarise what has been
agreed and any follow-up. After the meeting, write a letter to confirm what has been
agreed, future actions etc.
Review whether you are making progress towards your objectives. Be aware of being
co-opted, and of becoming so close that you are unable to be critical.
Large meetings
With increasing participation, civil society gets invited to numerous meetings. It is

important to review whether such a meeting is useful in order to achieve your aims.
Many are not useful, and many are used to pretend participation or consultation
took place. If you do decide to go, then speak sitting quietly serves no ones
interests.
Before such meetings, it is often useful for civil society organisations to prepare
positions beforehand, or to pre-meet, and work out who will say what, on what issue.
Governments and institutions have the advantage that they are one body with a clear
hierarchy and position, in order to deal with them, civil society organisations need to
co-ordinate well together. If there are strong differences between various civil society
positions, be aware that divide and rule is an age-old tactic. Recognise and accept
differences in opinion as early as possible, and focus on common ground.
Building Effective Coalitions/Alliances

One of the key strengths of civil society is also its weakness. This is its diversity. All too
frequently civil society undermines itself through lack of co-operation. Sometimes civil
society groups can be more concerned with their own profile, or fundraising efforts, than
in working together for policy change. However, the fact remains that with regards to
influencing national or local strategies, civil society can achieve far more together than
separately. Forming a coalition or alliance is vital, whether it be a national alliance to
address the PRSP or an alliance on Land Reform or Education.
Think as widely as possible: it may be possible to form alliances with unlikely groups.
Think of different sector issues, regional issues and so on. Consider the full range of
Civil Society; for example Churches, Unions, womens organisations, Academia,
Professional Associations as well as NGOs
Develop consensus over aims and objectives. Establish whose agenda you are
working to; and work through differences of emphasis or tone before implementation.
Remember at all times to focus and prioritise. You can only achieve results if you
focus on a small number of objectives.
Agree bottom line objectives; dont expect to agree on everything but instead aim for
consensus on one or two issues.
22
Decision-making: make sure there are clear decision-making, consultation and

information sharing mechanisms amongst the stakeholders.
Identify different roles. Ensure that everyone knows what is expected of them. Decide
who takes responsibility for setting the direction of the advocacy campaign, who
speaks for the alliance, and how members are delegated responsibility for taking
decisions and undertaking different aspects of the work throughout the process.
Think about how beneficiaries are involved/informed, if not directly part of the
alliance/coalition. Be aware of potential empowerment, and risk of dis-empowerment.
Do not let gender slip off the agenda in the interests of what is commonly
predominantly male collaboration. Make sure womens views are fed into all stages
of the process and ensure that women participate directly in consultations.
At the first meetings ensure as broad a representation as possible, but do not be

disheartened if the real work is done by a handful at first. As you build your
reputation others will become more involved; in the meantime consult them and
inform them of all decisions.
Media Strategy
Unless your advocacy has to be carried out behind the scenes use the media as an
important ally to achieve your aims. What follows are a few tips on working with the
media.
Who are you trying to influence?
Where do they get their information from?
Be familiar with the media.
How can you get your message carried by the media?
Develop a relationship with key journalists; find out what they are interested in, what
they will cover.
In many countries, radio is the main media source for the poor. However, often it is
controlled by the state so there is a limit to what news it will cover. Here positive and
constructive criticism based on issues is most likely to be successful.
Think globally, international media can put pressure on your government or

international institutions and donors.
What do you want to say? - Draw up a press release (see box below).
Timing Think of when will you have most impact with your media work
23
Writing a Press Release

A press release is extremely useful, but needs to be produced with care. It is more likely
to be used by the media if it is clear and easy to read. Obey some simple rules: a press
release is essentially a news story, think of the five Ws
What is happening,
Who is doing it,
Where it is happening,
When it is happening,
Why it is happening.
The Ws should be in the first few sentences of your press release. It is this first sentence
or two that is the key to winning media interest. Always follow up a press release with a
meeting or phone call with journalists to further sell your story and to influence the piece
they write. One note of caution; be careful with what you say and what is officially on or
off the record to ensure you are not misrepresented.
Public Action - Campaigning

Advocacy alone is often not enough. Frequently measures to address the poor require
another group in society to lose. For instance, increasing basic health spending could
mean reduced spending on tertiary hospitals used by the elite; pro-poor market
liberalisation could reduce the power of dominant private sector industries. Where there
are vested interests involved and serious obstacles to change, more pressure is required.
A strong public campaign on an issue can help push for change in a powerful way,
building substantial public support for pro-poor change. Identify activities that will help
develop a groundswell of public opinion in favour of your message. Be aware of how a
campaign may affect your relationships inside government or institutions when these are
the targets of your campaign. A good campaign should:
have a realistic chance of changing policy and changing public attitudes: the target is
susceptible to change and may be influenced
have a simple and strong message
be supported by strong evidence
enable the public to have a real and direct influence on the change required, in
volumes appropriate to the change required
elicit an emotional response/outrage amongst audiences through clearly

demonstrated injustice
be topical and distinctive
have a sense of urgency
be sustainable through a progression of actions and milestones, while being flexible

and reactive: focus on actions that the public at large can take such as petitions,
demonstrations, lobbying MPs etc.
24
SWOT Analysis
It is very useful to make an assessment of internal Strengths and Weaknesses, and
external Opportunities and Threats
Strengths & weaknesses of your organisation and the advocacy alliance:

Is the issue rooted in your experience - direct, or that of counterparts? How relevant and
important is it to your programme? Do you have the necessary resources and capacity to
influence? Do you have sufficient appropriate information to sustain advocacy work? Are
you respected by public opinion and/or decision makers? Are the particular skills of your
staff/organisation appropriate and sufficient? Do you have the necessary financial
resources?
Opportunities and threats in the external environment:

What are the risks?
What is the likelihood of successful achievement of objectives? Can you identify concrete
and realistic changes to propose? How much leverage is there? How fixed are current
positions? How will you counter the arguments of your adversaries? Are there particular
and sufficient influencing opportunities? Is the issue recognised by decision-makers or
public opinion as important? Can the issue be simplified sufficiently to gain necessary
public support without compromising the objectives?
Is there a sufficient movement for change? What allies could there be? Can a coalition
be formed? Is your networking good? How strong is public opinion? How strong are social
organisations that relate to the sector(s) affected by the issue?
Plan of Activities
Draw up timetabled outline of activities required to implement the strategies. Make sure
that the component parts interrelate:
Specify who will do what.
Bear in mind the particular opportunities for influencing - e.g. key governmental
meetings.
Be realistic about the time-scale. Allow flexibility.
Identify materials that you will use to further the strategy. Think carefully about
materials appropriate to the different targets - e.g. press releases or politicians'
briefings should be short (one page), pithy, accurate and convincing. Materials must
include thoroughly researched information, be well argued and objective.
Identify allies (beyond the coalition) who can be approached at different points in the
implementation of the strategy - e.g. individuals within the State apparatus?
Researchers?
25
Working on poverty reduction strategies

What does all of this mean for civil society work on poverty reduction strategies or
national development plans?
Firstly, as far as Oxfam is concerned, it is vital that poor people and civil society
organisations have greater role to play in defining policies and measures that affect
poverty. The development of PRSPs in low-income countries are a major opportunity to
institutionalise participation in the development of national policy-making and
implementation, and there is a range of understanding around what makes for good
participation and how this is judged (see above).
Currently participation in PRSPs has generally ranged between mixed and poor. This is
due to a number of reasons. Firstly the time-frame, and in HIPC countries, the carrot of
debt relief, has meant that many countries have gone through the process extremely
quickly. This is partly influenced by the nature of existing reforms and policy-making
approaches; where governments believe that substantial progress has been made
previously, then they have felt able to move forward quickly.
Secondly, contrary to the initial guidance given by the IMF and World Bank on the nature
of Interim PRSPs, numerous governments have developed substantial interim
documents. Given that iIPRSPs did not require participation, the end result in some
countries has been that substantial policy-making has been undertaken with no
participation at all, and the opportunities to modify the IiPRSP and develop the full PRSP
have now become severely constrained in many countries.
Thirdly, many civil society organisations have been ill-prepared for strong engagement in
the development of PRSPs; in many countries, Parliaments have played a marginal role.
While creating an environment for participation is one thing, what civil society say is
another. The challenge for civil society is to enter the debate not just with criticisms, but
with proposals too. Developing proposals requires consultation within civil society,
coupled with research and analysis if necessary. Taking proposals forward requires an
advocacy strategy to maximise the impact of proposals and to undertake all measures to
ensure they are adopted. Ultimately the development of a national development plan, or a
poverty reduction strategy, is a political process. Aside from political action, civil society
can help to influence the political debate by mobilising public campaigns to show to
political representatives of the people that there is genuine public concern around public
policy-making.
Below is a checklist on doing advocacy, campaigning and media work.
26
Section four. Monitoring the Implementation

of Policy
Implementation; critical for the credibility of the PRSP
initiative
Over the next few months, a significant number of countries will be finalising their full
PRSPs.
Although it is stressed that these are only the first iteration of living documents it remains
the case that in these countries the emphasis will now move towards the implementation
of the strategies they have developed.
Arguably implementation is the most difficult element of the policy process. Often
Governments are happy to talk and even agree to new policy initiatives. Instead it is
rather at the stage of actually having to implement new policies and reforms that the
process runs the highest risk of not actually happening. New policies are often sidelined
and resisted at this stage and as a result are not implemented, or instead are
implemented in ways completely opposite to what was intended when the policy was
drawn up.
Many actors have dedicated a lot of time and effort to the PRSP formulation processes. It
is critical that if the PRSP initiative is to remain credible that these papers are now
implemented and not simply left on the shelf.
PRSP implementation; the critical role of monitoring

Quite simply, the only way to know whether or not a policy is being implemented is to
monitor whether or not this is the case. Equally monitoring shows us whether or not
when implemented the policy in question has actually had an impact on poverty.
As such, viable, accessible and robust monitoring systems are essential if we are to be
able to discover whether policies have been and are being implemented. They provide
governments with an opportunity to show that their policies are working, and equally
provide those who scrutinise policy the ability to see when they are not.
As a result, monitoring is far from being simply a technical activity; instead it is a key part
of what is a highly charged political process which involves considerable vested interests,
many of whom are keen that the true nature of the situation should be concealed as much
as possible.
Unfortunately to date most of the PRSPs produced have been weak on having concrete
strategies towards viable monitoring systems. Where they do exist they are often very
elaborate and unrealistic in terms of the resources required to actually carry them out.
They are also on the most part based on technical information to be collected by
governments themselves rather than based on the engagement of citizens to generate
the kind of flexible feedback that actually makes a difference to policy. As such arguably
the model being pushed will make greater the divide between states and civil society as
well as being inoperable in societies with very low levels of bureaucratic capacity.
27
Monitoring policy implementation: gender and diversity

In monitoring the implementation of any policy, it is important at this stage not to neglect
considerations of gender and diversity. Often it is aspects of policy relating to these
issues that are the most prone to evaporation where what actually happens is
completely unrelated to the actual policy commitments.
The essential question should be whether policy commitments related to gender and
diversity have actually been met and in what ways. Of particular relevance is how these
commitments have been reflected in the budget process. An example of looking at a
budget from a gender perspective is given in the section on budgets below.
Monitoring policy implementation: the role of budgets

The way all policy is translated into actual activities on the ground is by having resources
allocated to it within the annual budget of a country. As such the budget is the main
vehicle for Civil Society to monitor whether or not a policy is being implemented.
The budget itself is also a process, made up of a number of stages each of which offer
opportunities for influence by Civil Society.
Stage one: Budget formulation.

In the two to three months preceding the end of the financial year the Government puts
together its budget for the next year. It is during this formulation that decisions are made
over the amount of resources to be allocated to programmes and sectors, and as such to
what extent policy commitments will actually be honoured.
The budget formulation process is in the vast majority of countries a very secretive one,
and hard to access. However, this is beginning to change in a number of countries
largely under pressure from the IMF and the World Bank to make the process more
accessible and transparent. Pre-budget consultations with Civil Society are becoming
more common in a number of countries, which represent limited opportunities to
influence. In addition there are always more informal channels, particularly in specific
sectors if relationships already exist with Government.
Budget reform processes are also underway in many countries, with the move towards
Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEFs) and Management Information Systems
(MIS). The MTEF is a system that tries to move budget formulation more towards being
based on activities and outputs rather than simply on line item expenditures. For example
instead of teacher training simply having an amount attached it will be based on a certain
output (e.g. number of teachers trained). It is based on a three year rolling budget to give
a more long-term perspective and to try and improve the link between policy and the
budget that is often very weak. Similarly MIS systems involve the standardisation and
computerisation of financial information to improve public expenditure management.
Both these reforms are of course very welcome, and make the monitoring of budgets by
Civil Society much easier. However, they are far from being implemented in most
countries and are subject to the same resistance to reform as any new policies or
initiatives. As such it is important to begin the process of monitoring as Civil Society
rather than to wait for reforms that can be a long time in coming, and also at the same
time to advocate for these reforms to be taken up by Governments.
Again the PRSP offers an opportunity to further open this process, to the extent that it
actually represents the costed policy options decided on by stakeholders. In an ideal
world these would be comprehensive and based on sound macro-projections and
expenditure ceilings agreed by everyone and the budget would simply be a vehicle for
implementing the first years costings. Of course this is far from being the case in most
countries, but where the PRSP does offer costings for implementing agreed policies
28
these are important advocacy tools for influencing budget content. For example if free
primary education has been agreed as the policy choice and costed, then Civil Society
can call for the correct amount to be allocated in the budget to achieve this.
This process will also identify resource gaps, which can be a tool for advocating to
development partners for more budget support. For example in the case of Tanzania, the
PRSP includes an Education Sector Development Programme (ESDP) that has been
costed at US$969m over the three-year period ending in 2004. The Tanzanian
Government is meeting just over half of the cost, with an International Development
Association loan from the World Bank covering another US$150m. This leaves a
financing gap of US$92m per year to be met through donor contributions. At the Dakar
Education Conference in 2000, Donors promised that any country with a good plan for
education would be given the resources. This is a powerful argument to use with donors
to get them to commit more resources to the budget.
As with the policy formulation process, Civil Society is far more likely to be successful if it
focuses on a few key policies and pushes hard on these for inclusion in the budget. This
has been done in some countries, with a focus on key priority poverty expenditures
grouped together in a virtual fund within the budget 28. The government should then
guarantee to provide the resources for these expenditures and equally important to
provide timely information and figures on each of them as the year progresses. Although
not ideal as they can divert attention from the rest of the budget, these mechanisms are
good in the interim for building capacity for monitoring by Civil Society and capacity for
good budgeting and expenditure management by Government whilst more wider reforms
are implemented.
Analysing budgets from a gender perspective

Sharp et al29 make a division of government expenditure into three categories:
1. Specifically targeted expenditures by government departments and authorities to
women or men in the community. (eg. Programmes for women with disabilities).
2. Equal opportunity expenditures (eg. Provision of paid parental leave)
3. General expenditures which make goods and services available to the
community, and are assessed for their gender impact (for example, agricultural
extension- this is often implicitly directed at men by focusing on crops they
traditionally grow)
Around 99% of expenditures fall into category three, showing the importance of a gender
analysis of mainstream expenditures.
A good example of analysing expenditure for category three is from Australia.
The role of the ombudsmans office is to determine and resolve complaints made by the
public. Analysis shows that women access the services of the Ombudsman less than
men (around 30% of cases) and this has remained the same during the three years 19951998.
To try to rectify this in the financial year 1998-1999 a number of initiatives will target
women. [expenditures] will be reallocated to new activities such as information
presentations about the services of the Ombudsman to be made to target groups of
women, highlighting the services that are available.
Northern Territory Government Women in the Budget 1998-1999 Budget related paper.
28
This has most famously been done very successfully in Uganda with the Poverty Action Fund. A similar fund
has been proposed in the Honduran PRSP. The fund can also potentially focus on cross cutting expenditures
such as those policies within sectors that have a gender component. However, it is important to remember that
the aim should always be to eventually monitor the whole budget.
29
Short Changed: Women and Economic Policies Sharp, Rhonda and Broomhill, Ray 1998
29
This shows that analysis need not be complex; it is more a process of changing the lens
through which we view the budget and mainstream resource allocations, to see it from the
point of view of promoting gender equality. See the links section for a number of links to
useful resources on gender budgeting.
Stage two: Budget debate and analysis

In the majority of countries once formulated the Budget is subject to debate and approval
by the legislature or parliament. This offers the second opportunity for CSO input to the
Budget process and therefore the implementation of policy. Unfortunately Budgets are
often passed in a hurry with minimal scrutiny for a number of reasons. Often the
legislature is dominated by representatives of the ruling party; also representatives in lowincome countries rarely have the skill or resources to analyse the budget in a useful way
and lastly often very little time is allowed for scrutiny of the budget.
The budget itself is always an enormous and obtuse document that is very difficult to read
or analyse. In addition it is often released at the last minute making analysis even more
difficult. This is further compounded in countries where decentralisation has reached an
advanced stage because then each district or sub-national level then produces its own
budget, which is often of a very poor quality and even harder to access or scrutinise.
However, Civil Society can, despite these obstacles, have a key role to play, and what
follows are a number of suggestions as to how this can be best done:
Focus: It cannot be stressed enough how important it is that CSOs focus on a few
critical areas as this is the key to effective influence.
Working with parliaments- especially with Budget and Finance Committees where
they exist, giving them information and analysis to feed into the debate.
Use your allies; academics in particular are very useful at this stage for providing
technical assistance.
Keeping it simple: do not be daunted by the size of the budget documents, the key
questions are still simple ones and so are the key messages (see box on doing
budget analysis)
A lot of potential resources and experience exist around the world on Civil Society
involvement in the budget process. See the links section at the end for more details.
30
Analysing a Budget: Some Tips

There are two simple questions to be answered in analysing a budget which will give you
good analysis:
1) Have allocations to programmes or sectors actually increased since the previous
year, and
2) How do they compare to expenditures in other programmes or sectors?
This is easier to do with sectors (e.g. Health) than with programmes (eg. Primary Health
Care) as information is often not disaggregated in a budget in such a way as to make this
possible. (For example, Primary Health Care could be made up of 40 separate budget
lines and would itself be undefined as a budget category).
To calculate real increases or decreases there is a need to deflate the proposed figures to
last years prices. To do this the following steps need to be followed:
1. First take the approved figures for last year (not the revised figures as these are
unreliable although you can still highlight huge differences between approved and
revised where they exist)30.
2. Then take the comparable figure for this years proposed figures.
3. Find the agreed average inflation figure for last year (called the deflator and available
from the World Bank/ IMF and the National Statistics Office in most cases).
4. Reduce the proposed figure for this year to make it comparable in real terms to last
year. This will enable you to demonstrate the real change. To do this take the official
deflator figure (say it is 30%) and subtract that from the proposed amount. So if for
instance the Government is proposing to spend $100 million on education this year, up
from $80 million last year but the deflator is 30% then in real terms education spending
is $70 million which is actually a decrease31.
Once you have these real figures you can then make comparisons not simply with last
year but also with other expenditures. For example it can be useful to do the calculations
for social sectors and also accountability agencies such as Audit Offices, Human Rights
Commissions and Ombudsmen and then compare these to non poverty reducing
expenditures such as State Residences, Defence and Debt Service.
If data is available at a programme level, you can do the same thing for intra-sectoral
expenditures. For example how does the amount spent at the Health Ministry
Headquarters compare with the amount spent on Primary Health Care?
These simple calculations can often give you very powerful conclusions and points to
make either through Parliament or through the Media. However, make sure you check
your figures very carefully and use the same source documents for all of them.
Lastly, always try to make concrete suggestions for alternative allocation of resources that
would be more pro-poor.
30
There may be a separation into recurrent and development budgets that mean the figures simply need to be
combined. When the amount actually spent (revised figure) differs from the proposed figure this is due to
supplementary budgets passed during the year; these need to be monitored also.
31
To do this on a calculator simply type the proposed figure, then minus, then the percentage deflator, and
finally the percentage button to give you the real figure. To do this manually deduct the deflator figure from
100% (so if it is 30% this subtracted from 100% is 70%). Turn this into a decimal (so 70% becomes 0.7) and
then multiply the proposed figure by this decimal. (so say $100 million x 0.7). This will give you the figure in
real terms.
31
Stage three: Monitoring budget implementation

Once it is approved by the legislature, the budget enters the next stage: implementation.
As is the case with policy documents in many countries, Budgets are often more or less
fictional documents in many situations, and bear very little relation to how the money is
actually spent in the end. The reasons for this are manifold and range from barefaced
corruption to simple bureaucratic incapacity but the point remains that timely monitoring
of whether the money allocated in the budget is actually being spent on what it was
intended to be is a crucial way of influencing policy implementation.
In looking at monitoring of budget implementation, it is useful to make a distinction
between monitoring inputs and monitoring outputs.
Monitoring Budget Inputs
By monitoring budget inputs, what is meant is monitoring whether or not the actual money
has been received as revenue and checking whether it has then left the treasury to go to
the relevant ministry and programme. For example, has the money for training nurses left
the treasury? Is it with the Ministry of Health, or has it been sent to the different colleges
already?
Timely monitoring of this kind of information as the financial year progresses can have a
big impact on ensuring the money goes where it should. By asking difficult questions
either directly or more desirably through parliament, accountability and the efficient use of
resources can be promoted.
Unfortunately, accessing this kind of information, especially in a timely manner is
remarkably difficult in most countries. If figures are ever released it is usually years after
the event, and they are often also untrustworthy. However, there is a lot of pressure from
the World Bank and IMF in this area to try and improve Public Expenditure Management
in low-income countries, and the situation has definitely improved in some cases.
Again, if the figures are not directly available, there are other ways to access information
and maximise the effectiveness of your input monitoring:
Informal Contacts are very important within Ministries and at a lower level at cost
centres such as colleges or district offices
Use Parliament often parliament and parliamentary committees hold more sway and
have more chance of eliciting figures from governments.
Work with different Ministries in Government. Often the Ministry of Finance is an ally
when line ministries are mis-spending, and equally line ministries can be forthcoming
if the Ministry of Finance is not giving them adequate resources. Equally district
offices can give you information if they feel they are losing out to central government.
Use Donors and WB/ IMF. These often have a strong interest in Public Expenditure
Management and at the same time exercise a lot of leverage over Governments.
This will increasingly be the case as many of them move towards direct budget
support and sector wide approaches (SWAPS) and away from discrete projects.
Increasingly donors are actually putting staff inside ministries and these in particular
can be invaluable sources of information. Developing a good relationship with these
donors is essential.
Focus, focus, focus! Again it cannot be stressed enough how important it is to

prioritise and focus on only a few key expenditures to monitor.
Develop proxies. As described earlier, often the way the budget is drawn up bears no
relation to what you may want to monitor. Essential Drugs for example may appear
as hundreds of separate budget lines under many different titles and cost centres. It
is important therefore if no clarity is given in the budget to develop proxies as Civil
Society for what you have decided to call Essential Drugs. The important point here
32
is to be very clear what you decide to include and why from the outset. Again
academics and particularly sectoral economists can help you here.
Overall success in monitoring inputs depends enormously (but not entirely) on success at
the formulation phase in getting a clear and accessible budget and a commitment to
release regular expenditure figures. Again this looks set to improve in the next few years
as governments come under considerable pressure from the IFIs in the context of
increased social expenditures due to HIPC.
Monitoring Budget Outputs
The output of a particular policy is what it actually produces; the actual activity on the
ground whether it be more books in schools, numbers of teachers trained or number of
extension visits carried out. Civil Society with its often-considerable outreach into rural
areas is uniquely positioned to give a regular and independent assessment of the extent
to which planned policies are actually producing planned outputs.
As with inputs, timely monitoring of outputs can result in a powerful set of advocacy
messages as the financial year progresses. If civil society can show that a policy is not
delivering and why half way through the year or at the beginning of the next this means
that the chances of having a positive impact are much greater. For example a Public
Expenditure Tracking Survey (PETS) in Uganda in 1995 discovered that only 30% of
allocated funds per student was reaching schools. Once this was made public the
government took action that led to this figure increasing rapidly to nearly 100% in 1999 32.
What follows are some tips on monitoring outputs:
There are two comparisons you can make; between the amount allocated this year
and the amount so far spent, and between the increase from last year in the budget
and the actual increase in outputs. For example, 1. Given the resources transferred
this month for teaching and learning materials (TLM), what is the value of the TLM
actually received?, and 2. Given the increased allocation to TLM this year as
compared to last year, what is the actual increase in TLM experienced in schools?
Both with give you powerful conclusions.
Often HIPC money has led to a massive increase in the budget for certain items; this
can be a helpful starting point.
Keep your survey tools as simple as possible.
Use the existing outreach of those members of Civil Society involved. The Church
and Trade Unions in particular often have a significant outreach that can be drawn on
in carrying out a survey.
Having said this, try and keep your sample as statistically robust as possible; draw it
as far as possible randomly and from a spread that will cover regional divisions. The
more statistically valid your conclusions the more powerful they will be.
In addition however, do develop particular case studies to add further weight to your
case. For example if you can say we found that only 20% of books had reached
schools nationwide and then follow that up with a particular case of a school where
books are shared between 10 or more students then this will make the point very
powerfully.
Wherever possible, do carry out these surveys during the financial year as this gives
more chance for the Government to rectify the situation within that current budget.
Try and focus on the positive and constructive as well as the negative; show how
things worked when they did, and make suggestions for how the performance could
be improved.
32
Do Budgets really matter? Ablo, E and Reinikka, R World Bank 1998
33
Beyond budgets: monitoring outcomes

Beyond the immediate impact or output of a policy lies its longer-term effect on outcomes.
The overall targeted outcome is a reduction in poverty, and other targeted outcomes
contribute to this. For example an increase in levels of education is generally agreed to
contribute to a reduction in poverty. In turn, certain outputs can be generally assumed to
contribute to certain outcomes. More books and teachers in schools are likely to lead to
improved education levels.
It is certainly the case that in the past 5 years there has been a significant improvement in
the measuring of poverty levels and poverty reduction outcomes in low-income countries.
PRSPs have added further emphasis to this.33 In addition to the considerable number of
household surveys being carried out in many countries, there has also been a growing
recognition of the complex nature of poverty and the value of qualitative data.
Participatory Poverty Assessments have been carried out in many countries, often
together with more quantitative survey data. Oxfam has played a major role in managing
and implementing PPAs in a number of countries 34. Civil Society with its outreach and
experience can play a key role in monitoring whether government policies are producing
the expected outcomes, and if not why not and how they can be changed to ensure they
do. There is significant information on carrying out PPAs available (see the links section
for further details).
There is also no doubt that the PRSP process will lead to a further expansion in these
processes, and will seek to make them more country owned and institutionalised. Each
of the PRSPs completed to date makes reference to the development of poverty
monitoring systems (PMS) that will enable countries to keep track of poverty levels from a
variety of different perspectives.
There are some concerns over the sustainability of these often quite ambitious (and
largely donor supported) PMS, but this does not detract from the major step forward the
PRSP seems to be ensuring in monitoring levels of poverty and as such just what impact
policies have on poverty reduction.
Civil Society should continue to play a part in measuring outcomes, particularly in
continuing to promote a multi-faceted understanding of poverty and the causes of it.
However, it is equally important not to focus exclusively on outcomes at the expense of
inputs and outputs. There is a tendency for this to happen as outcomes are the least
contentious area to monitor and have the least impact on the policy process, information
on the final outcomes of policy rarely has practical implications, a) because it typically
arrives too late and with too many difficulties of attribution to reflect directly on current
policy; and b) because new policy is not typically evidence based anywaythis means
information on upstream issues of performance may be more powerful in influencing
policy processes..than final outcome monitoring can hope to be 35. This is an important
concern given the scarce resources available to CSOs and the need to maximise impact
and leverage in advocating for pro-poor policies.
33
PRSPs: Desk Study of Good Practice in the Development of PRSP Indicators and Monitoring Systems
Booth D and Lucas H ODI 2001. For more information on PPAs see A Rough Guide to PPAs Norton, Andy
ODI 2001.
34
Oxfam has been particularly involved in Uganda, and also in Vietnam. See Norton et al A rough guide to
PPAs ODI 2001
35
Desk Study of Good Practice in the Development of PRSP Indicators and Monitoring Systems: Initial Review
of PRSP Documentation Booth, D and Lucas, H ODI
34
Advocacy, Campaigning and Media work:

checklist
Oxfam defines Campaigning as: Activities such as direct lobbying, media work and
popular campaigning aimed at influencing policy and decision makers to alleviate the
causes and consequences of poverty. Popular campaigning refers to motivating and
mobilising a critical mass of people and getting them to take an action that will make the
targets of the campaign (e.g. governments) "sit up and listen". A campaign is successful if
it results in, or contributes to, changes in policy, practice, ideas, or beliefs felt by defined
communities that Oxfam works with around the world.
And Advocacy as: The promotion of a specific message and/or course of action in order
to influence or contribute to the development and implementation of public policies which
will alleviate the causes and consequences of poverty.
1. Prioritising the Issue
When faced with influencing an entire national plan, it is easy to try to do too much. It is
vital that civil society groups focus down on areas that they believe to have the most
impact on the poor, or on areas where they have the most expertise. Within any national
or local coalition of civil society, different actors can lead on different issues depending on
their strengths and weaknesses. Prioritisation is about picking 3-5 key issues and doing
them well, this means ignoring other issues, and making tough choices.
Firstly it is important to review the overall poverty reduction strategy with regards to the
impact of proposed strategies on the poor (a matrix below is intended to help with this).
Secondly, any strategy will be built on sectoral strategies e.g. in education or roads,
specialist civil society groups can scrutinise existing sector strategies to review pro-poor
measures and so on. Thirdly, do plan priorities, including budget allocations look
acceptable to civil society?
This kind of process will allow the identification and prioritisation of key issues., Yyou
should then clarify why advocacy is necessary and appropriate for the issues.
. Aims and Objectives
Establish clear aims. What do you want to achieve in the medium/long term? For
instance, the education sector plan might not include plans to end school fees, a key aim
may be to push for the sector plan/PRSP to include such a measure; or fiscal targets set
by the IMF in agreement with government, may be too conservative and constrain propoor government spending, the aim would be to increase fiscal flexibility.
It helps to define policy change or institutional objectives for the achievement of the aims:
They should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound.
However, it is always also worth identifying or describing the more fundamental
35
changes which are needed to ensure that pragmatism does not prevent you
addressing the root causes of problems.
Assess feasibility: what is the likelihood of achieving change? Bear in mind human
and financial resources at your disposal.
State your success indicators to measure the success of the strategy, or its
component parts. Consider not only the achievement of stated objectives, but also the
effects of meeting the objectives (or not) and of the process.
3. Key Messages
Civil society organisations have substantial experience in opposing reforms and polices,
frequently in political and economic climates where there has been little room to promote
alternatives. With growing openings for increased participation, there is now more room to
propose alternatives. This requires developing different kinds of messages than in the
past.
Establish clear and simple messages stating:
What is good for poor people in current government action and proposed reforms
What may be harmful for poor people, in particular frorm your experience and
analysis.
What alternative measures could be implemented instead, and why these would
benefit the poor.
It is important to simplify complex messages. The message should be framed in a

compelling way, to be convincing and win over policy makers, but also to get widest
possible public support.
Briefings
Preparing written briefings on issues - short, clear and concise, with a few key
recommendations are vital (4 recommendations are better than 10). Briefings are an
important tool in influencing government officials, politicians, media etc. Again, with many
government officials or advisors, one of the most useful inputs are practical proposals for
change rather than criticism alone. Be critical, but be constructive too, and give praise
where it is due.
4. Targets (lobbying)
For each objective, identify the targets: the decision-making institutions or bodies
concerning the policy changes or implementation sought. This could include the decisionmaking body where power lies, but also other actors that could influence the decisionmaker. A useful approach is what is known as an insider/outsider strategy, whereby civil
society organisations develop close contacts inside the target in order to influence them,
but retain a tougher external or public position in meetings, in the media and in
campaigning. When combining advocacy with strong campaigning, this approach is
36
essential, but again, care is needed if relationships become too close you need to keep
being reminded of your overall objectives and purpose.
In most countries undertaking PRSPs, the Ministry of Finance has generally taken over
management of the process, and thus poverty reduction has gained a higher profile and
higher importance within government (rather than being seen as some add-on in the
Ministry of Social Affairs for example). Clearly officials in the Ministry of Finance will
become key targets, but other line ministries are important too, the Cabinet, the President
and his/her office, key Parliamentary committees or other similar structures in the
legislature; key donors. With increased decentralisation, district or municipal authorities
have become more powerful and are thus targets.
Research the decision-making processes in the targets, and identify individuals within
them.
Be aware of their constraints and problems, and the pressures on them from others.
Be clear where the power lies and who has influence (e.g. it may be more effective to
target the advisers rather than a minister); be aware of conflicts between actors or
ministries. Assess whether you are likely to be effective working internally through
direct advocacy or externally through campaigning and media pressure, or both.
Be prepared to negotiate, be clear about your bottom line.
Who influences the target? In some countries certain Parliamentarians, e.g. Finance
Committee, may have influence in the Ministry of Finance. Other targets may be
influenced internationally, as well as nationally, e.g. World Bank it may be useful to
ally yourself with civil society groups internationally who are seeking ensure that the
World Bank is genuinely pro-poor in its lending and policy advice.
Timing - what external opportunities exist for you to link your messages to? E.g. key
meetings, elections, national or international conferences etc.
Know your opponents in government, amongst donors, in the media.
Know your allies too in the media, politicians, academics, policy makers. Build
relationships, trust and credibility.
Lobbying meetings
Meetings, are an important part of lobbying, but it should be remembered that without
other pressure, meetings alone are unlikely to be sufficient to achieve the change you
want. Access does not equal influence. Informal meetings are very useful, over a drink
or something to eat, they help build relationships and trust, and share ideas while
avoiding fixed positions.
Prepare well for meetings, think through persuasive arguments, think through
counter-arguments (most of which are predictable), be well-briefed (youll be more
confident and persuasive), aim high, and seek firm commitments to act.
Before a meeting try to confirm the agenda, who will be there, how long the meeting
will be etc. Keep your message to only 3 short points, only use one third of the meeting
time to present them.
Meet the right people, frequently lower level civil servants are the ones working
directly on an issue, and could have substantial influence since they brief those higher
up. Try also to meet secretaries to ministers, key academics, influential media etc.
37
Sometimes it may be appropriate to be tough in a meeting, but it is rarely appropriate

to be confrontational. Generally engagement is more effective than condemnation.
At the end of the meeting, thank people for their time, summarise what has been
agreed and any follow-up. After the meeting, write a letter to confirm what has been
agreed, future actions etc.
Review whether you are making progress towards your objectives. Be aware of being
co-opted, and of being too close that you are unable to be critical.
Large meetings
With increasing participation, civil society get invited to numerous meetings. It is

important to review whether such a meeting is useful in order to achieve your aims,
many are not useful, and many are used to pretend participation or consultation took
place. If you do decide to go, then speak sitting quietly serves no ones interests.
Before such meetings, it is often useful for civil society organisations to prepare
positions beforehand, or to pre-meet, and work out who will say what, on what issue.
Governments and institutions have the advantage that they are one body with a clear
hierarchy and position, in order to deal with them, civil society organisations need to
co-ordinate well together. If there are strong differences between various civil society
positions, be aware that divide and rule is an age old tactic.
5. Research
It is likely you will need additional information to carry out your advocacy work.
Good research that offers alternatives based on experience is the key to developing a
convincing and credible argument.
Identify the purpose of the research, i.e. to change policy and implementation.
Research done by civil society for advocacy, is not the same as academic research. It
needs to be credible, but it should be research that helps you achieve your advocacy
objectives, and communicating your arguments well.
Clarify how the information will be obtained. Use existing work where possible.
It needs to identify how the poor could loose through proposed or existing reforms or
policy measures, and how this situation could be changed by introducing alternative
measures.
The strength of research is enhanced by linking micro experience of civil society with
macro policies and issues, and including interviews with poor people concerning reform
measures or existing circumstances. Clearly showing how policy affects the poor, and
highlighting how poor people feel about the effects of certain policies provides an
extremely convincing argument that everyone can understand. Include quotations from
the poor.
6. Coalitions/Alliances
38
One of the key strengths of civil society is also its weakness. This is its diversity. All too
frequently civil society undermines itself through lack of co-operation. Sometimes civil
society groups can be more concerned with their own profile, or fundraising efforts, than
the aims of the alliance, and use the alliance for self-promotion. With regards to
influencing national or local strategies, civil society can achieve far more together than
separately. Forming a coalition or alliance is vital, whether it be a national alliance to
address the PRSP or an alliance on Land Reform or Education.
Think as widely as possible: it may be possible to form alliances with unlikely groups.
Think of different sector issues, regional issues and so on.
Develop consensus over aims and objectives. Establish whose agenda you are
working to; and work through differences of emphasis or tone before implementation.
Agree bottom line objectives.
Decision-making: make sure there are clear decision-making, consultation and
information sharing mechanisms amongst the stakeholders.
Identify different roles. Ensure that everyone knows what is expected of them. Decide
who takes responsibility for setting the direction of the advocacy campaign, who
speaks for the alliance, and how members are delegated responsibility for taking
decisions and undertaking different aspects of work throughout the process.
Consider the profile of the alliance.
Think about how beneficiaries are involved/informed, if not directly part of the
alliance/coalition. Be aware of potential empowerment, and risk of dis-empowerment.
7. Media Strategy
Unless your advocacy has to be carried out behind the scenes use the media as an
important ally to achieve your aims:
Who are you trying to influence?
Where do they get their information from?
Be familiar with the media.
How can you get your message carried by the media?
Develop a relationship with key journalists, find out what they are interested in, what
they will cover.
In many countries, radio is the main media source for the poor.
Think globally, international media can put pressure on your government or
international institutions and donors.
What do you want to say? - Draw up a press release.
A press release is extremely useful, but needs to be produced with care. It is more likely
to be used by the media if it is clear and easy to read. Obey some simple rules: a press
release is essentially a news story, think of the five Ws what is happening, who is
doing it, where it is happening, when it is happening, and why it is happening. The Ws
should be in the first few sentences of your press release. It is this first sentence or two
that is the key to winning media interest. Always follow up a press release with a meeting
39
or phone call with journalists to further sell your story and to influence the piece they
write.
Timing Think of when will you have most impact with your media work
8. Public Action - Campaigning
Advocacy alone is often not enough. Frequently measures to address the poor, require
another group in society to lose. For instance, increasing basic health spending could
mean reduced spending on tertiary hospitals used by the elite; pro-poor market
liberalisation could reduce the power of dominant private sector industries. Where there
are serious obstacles to change, more pressure is required. A strong public campaign on
an issue can help push for change in a powerful way, building substantial public support
for pro-poor change. Identify activities which will help develop a groundswell of public
opinion in favour of your message. Be aware of how campaign may affect your
relationships inside government or institutions when these are the targets of your
campaign. A good campaign should:
have a realistic chance of changing policy and changing public attitudes: the target is
susceptible to change and is influenceable may be influenced
have a simple and strong message
be supported by strong evidence
enable the public to have a real and direct influence on the change required, in
volumes appropriate to the change required
elicit an emotional response/outrage

demonstrated injustice
be topical and distinctive
have a sense of urgency
be sustainable through a progression of actions and milestones, while being flexible

and reactive
amongst
audiences
through
clearly
9. SWOT Analysis
Make an assessment of internal Strengths and Weaknesses, and external Opportunities
and Threats
strengths & weaknesses of your organisation and the advocacy alliance:
Is the issue rooted in your experience - direct, or that of counterparts? How relevant and
important is it to your programme? Do you have the necessary resources and capacity to
influence? Do you have sufficient appropriate information to sustain advocacy work? Are
you respected by public opinion and/or decision makers? Are the particular skills of your
staff/organisation appropriate and sufficient? Do you have the necessary financial
resources?
40
opportunities and threats in the external environment:

What are the risks?
What is the likelihood of successful achievement of objectives? Can you identify concrete
and realistic changes to propose? How much leverage is there? How fixed are current
positions? How will you counter the arguments of your adversaries? Are there particular
and sufficient influencing opportunities? Is the issue recognised by decision-makers or
public opinion as important? Can the issue be simplified sufficiently to gain necessary
public support without compromising the objectives?
Is there a sufficient movement for change? What allies could there be? Can a coalition
be formed? Is your networking good? How strong is public opinion? How strong are social
organisations which relate to the sector(s) affected by the issue?
9. Plan of Activities
Draw up timetabled outline of activities required to implement the strategies. Make sure
that the component parts interrelate:
Specify who will do what.
Bear in mind the particular opportunities for influencing - e.g. key governmental
meetings.
Be realistic about the time-scale. Allow flexibility.
Identify materials which you will use to further the strategy. Think carefully about
materials appropriate to the different targets - e.g. press releases or politicians'
briefings should be short (one page), pithy, accurate and convincing. Materials must
include thoroughly researched information, be well argued and objective.
Identify allies (beyond the coalition) who can be approached at different points in the
implementation of the strategy - e.g. individuals within the State apparatus?
researchers?
10. Monitoring and Evaluation
Identify how monitoring & evaluation will take place to guarantee effectiveness and
flexibility of your plans.
41
Annex one. Influencing Policy Content:

Reform debates in low-income countries
Reform programmes in low-income countries
Are reforms pro-poor?
This is the key perspective through which civil society should scrutinise any reform programme, sector policy, legislation etc. Frequently reforms are
proposed that do not a have clear rationale for poverty reduction, and which do not show exactly how proposed policies will benefit the poor. Instead too
much is assumed. The history of adjustment programmes in low-income countries is that both growth and poverty reduction have been minimal, and yet
adjustments (reforms) have been substantial.
Poverty, social and environmental impact assessments are required to ensure reforms are pro-poor, re-designed if not pro-poor, and that if there are
subsequent short-term and acceptable negative impacts, that these are compensated for. Discussions around choices and trade-offs between reforms
should be participatory. The IMF and the World Bank have agreed to undertake these Poverty and Social Impact Assessments (PSIA) and to help
governments develop their capacity to do so. In lobbying the World Bank and the IMF it is important to push them to undertake these around any proposed
policy reforms. Civil Society can also play a big role in carrying out these assessments.
The impact of reforms on women, as well as other marginalized groups, must be integrated into the analysis, policy design and implementation.
Disaggregating who the poor are is vital to ensuring that the right groups are targeted, and that unintended effects are addressed at the outset. Most
PRSPs are extremely weak with regards to their gender analysis.
Policy Reforms
Impact of reforms on the poor

Positive
Negative
Growth is necessary for poverty reduction; in poor

countries, poverty reduction is not possible without
growth, since average incomes will not increase, and
poverty focused public spending cannot increase. The
Growth alone is not enough, but must instead be

accompanied by equity. Programmes that address
growth without addressing distribution reduce the
potential for poverty reduction. In a significant number of
Macroeconomic
Growth
How will policies to promote growth
benefit the poor? Who wins and who
looses from such policies?
Can redistribution be achieved
Policy Reforms
without harming growth? What
policies will achieve that?

Positive
Negative
question is whaty type of growth is best for poverty

reduction? The larger the share of any increment to
growth captured by the poor, the faster the rate of
poverty reduction. In Brazil, the poorest 20% accounts
for 2.5 per cent of national income, compared to 9.2 per
cent in Indonesia. As a result, Brazil has to grow at
almost four times the rate as Indonesia to achieve the
same average income gain for the poorest 20 per cent.
countries, redistribution has had a greater effect on

poverty reduction than growth. Highly unequal countries
are bad at converting growth into poverty reduction
because they have to grow faster than more equal
countries to achieve the same level of income gain for the
poor. Extreme inequalities reinforce poverty - they act as
a barrier to growth by restricting the productive potential,
undermining investment, and limiting the capacity of a
large section of the population from responding to
incentives created through market reforms.
Also it is important to bear in mind regional implications,
whereby poor regions can be left behind, or urban growth
far greater than rural growth yet rural areas contain
greatest number of poor.
Monetary policy: Inflation

Do inflation targets undermine propoor spending? Interest rate rises
increase the cost of borrowing. What
are the trade offs between very low
and low inflation?
Monetary Policy: Floating and

not Fixed Exchange rate
Reducing inflation can be pro-poor. High levels of

inflation harm the poor, firstly by reducing growth, and
secondly by reducing the value of cash held by the poor
(note however, many poor women and men are not
integrated into the cash economy). In stabilised
economies, growth rather than lower inflation as a policy
objective is more pro-poor.
Very low inflation may harm the poor, if measures to

achieve low inflation targets restrict pro-poor spending
and growth. IMF targets are frequently too low.
International evidence varies on what is an acceptable
level with regards to positive impacts on the poor and on
growth some argue high single digits or greater, while
IMF programmes frequently aim for low single digits.
Trade-offs between public spending, the social cost of
high interest rates, and inflation should be made explicit
for informed decision-making on pro-poor impacts.
Overvalued exchange rates can raise the international

value of exports, reducing competitiveness. If the
currency is allowed to devalue this will make the exports
more competitive and lead to increased local currency
income for exporters, although it also means the cost of
their inputs may rise if they are imported.
Price of imports will increase due to devaluation (could

include foodstuffs, fertiliser, fuel, medicines etc.). A
volatile exchange rate can also undermine economic
growth and inhibit foreign investment.
Policy Reforms

Positive
Negative
Capital Account Liberalisation is where countries are

encouraged to remove restrictions on their Capital
Accounts to allow capital to flow in and out of their
country without hindrance.
There is little evidence to suggest that CAL is of benefit to

the poor. The impacts of recent crises caused by CAL
(particularly in South East Asia) in terms of reduced
growth, reduced social expenditure, increased
unemployment and reduced real wages have been very
harmful to the poor. Any capital account liberalisation
must address problems of short-term, destabilising flows,
and the IMF should demonstrate proven benefits before
any liberalisation takes place.
Capital flows
The IMF and others have claimed that capital account

liberalisation (CAL) contributes to increased growth in
developing countries, and thus poverty reduction. It is
claimed that it will lead to an increase in private capital
inflows and that this can substitute for declining aid and
that CAL is the natural extension of Trade Liberalisation.
Fiscal policy: Taxation
Fiscal policy: International

reserves
Measures to increase revenue from taxation, and thus

the potential for increased pro-poor domestic
expenditure, can be pro-poor. Taxing well-off groups is
an important route for redistribution of wealth, and
promotion of greater equity. Pro-poor policies should look
at exemption, zero rating or low taxation of items used by
the poor. However, progress in raising revenues in many
developing countries is slow, and many governments are
shifting to measures such as VAT where it is easier to
ensure compliance. Some argue that the tax burden is
too high in many poor countries, given their current state
of development.
Are tax policies regressive, i.e. have negative impact on

the poor? Note impact of decentralised taxation, as well
as national level taxation. Potential of tax cuts to have
negative impact on pro-poor spending over the long-term.
Tax benefits to investors may reduce revenue, and do
little to attract investors. VAT may be easy to implement,
and could help raise revenue, but regressive in that items
consumed by the poor (and particularly women) will be
taxed exemptions are important. For example
Petroleum taxes may raise revenue, but have
implications regarding cost of transport; for example
paraffin taxes could penalise the poor. Any proposed
reforms should be preceded by a full poverty assessment
and particularly an assessment of the impact on women.
There is a need for a country to keep sufficient foreign

reserves (expressed in terms of number of months
cover) to ensure some stability in the face of external
shocks and fluctuations.
Although this is the case we can ask whether the target is

realistic and necessary? How does it compare with
predictable donor flows that could cover shocks? Often
donor flows although assured are not used in the
calculations of the IMF leading to too much caution,
Policy Reforms

Positive
Negative
which inhibits pro-poor expenditure.
Fiscal policy: Debt

sustainability
Note that a large portion of PRSP
countries continue to have serious
debt problems. Current debt relief
measures are inadequate.
Need an explicit strategy to maintain borrowing at

sustainable levels and avoid debt crisis. Pro-poor
borrowing (i.e. lending for plan priorities) is not
necessarily a bad thing but must be carefully done.
Ministry of Finance should manage all public borrowing.
Frequently borrowing is unsustainable and badly

managed, frequently not directed at development
priorities. Also the practice of external lenders, e.g.
Export Credit Agencies of rich countries is frequently not
pro-poor.
In low-income countries there should be Parliamentary or

legal constraints on contracting of public debt (including
levels of concessionality). There should be care over
borrowing by public enterprises. Transparency and
accountability on the part of both borrower and creditor
is vital.
All other sources of Grant funding should be fully

explored before a country takes on further debts.
Fiscal deficits not covered by external resources can

lead to growth in public debt the demand for domestic
credit may lead to higher domestic interest rates and
crowding out of private sector investment. It is therefore
important to keep the deficit as low as possible.
Although managing the deficit prudently is critical to

sound macroeconomic stability, it should be adjusted
wherever possible to the highest prudent level, where
covered by external finance, in order to maximise propoor spending to achieve IDGs/other development goals.
In addition the deficit should always be calculated after
guaranteed grants plus grant element of concessional
loans to give a more realistic and positive picture of a
countries finances.
Definition of what is a sustainable debt burden is

inadequate under HIPC. Should instead be fixed at a
maximum of 10% debt service to revenue. All debt
should be cancelled for those countries that will clearly
spend the proceeds to deliver poverty reduction.
Fiscal policy: Fiscal deficit
IMF has made commitments to increased flexibility

regarding the fiscal deficit, however the IMF is frequently
not proactive in this area, and too conservative.
Structural
Policy Reforms

Positive
Negative
Often low-income states spend a lot of revenue on

subsidising inefficient state enterprises.
Often leads to the loss of a lot of jobs, and retrenchment

frequently not accompanied by adequate compensation.
Reduction in public subsidies through privatising public

enterprise, allows transfer of public finance to pro-poor
expenditure, plus income receipts from privatisation.
New privatisation agenda also focuses not just on

parastatals, but also utilities such as water and electricity,
and areas of social sector delivery.
Privatisation
Intended to lower costs, improve
quality, and expand access.
-Regulation frequently weak what incentives are there

for the private sector to address needs of the poor, or
remote populations?
-Social pricing is also often ignored, e.g. concessions for
the poor.
-There is also often deterioration in labour conditions.
-Growth of private monopolies can force prices up.
-Privatisation sales frequently badly managed, and with
reduced values of sales receipts both anti-poor.
Trade liberalisation
In theory, trade liberalisation will promote an efficient
allocation of domestic resources through specialisation in
those sectors in which the country has a comparative
advantage; will reduce the price of imports, will help
contain inflation.
Prioritisation of the liberalisation of products which
account for a high proportion of poor women and mens
expenditure, or that constitute important inputs for
labour-intensive agricultural and manufacturing sectors,
particularly for the production of higher-value goods and
services can be potentially be pro-poor.
Several studies claim that countries with open markets
grow faster than closed economies, and that this has a
positive impact on development.
Even if Trade Liberalisation is seen as good for the poor

in the long term there must be a precautionary approach
to the liberalisation of sectors on which large numbers of
poor women and men depend for their livelihoods is
required, particularly in the agricultural sector. Also note
that government revenue may be reduced as tariffs are
eliminated
Careful sequencing of liberalisation, with the
implementation of measures to promote the ability of poor
women and men to take advantage of new market
opportunities, and to protect themselves from increased
exposure to risk associated with closer integration into
the market system can help. These measures might
include improved access to land, credit, marketing
Policy Reforms

Positive
Negative
Liberalisation of imports, for example though reduced

duties can increase the income of producers and
improve competitiveness on world markets.
infrastructure, skills training, basic health care, and

primary education.
Increased openness to trade can give better access to

new technologies which can create employment.
For consumers, lower trade barriers can mean lower
prices for important goods. For example through
reduced import duties on vital goods such as mosquito
nets or essential drugs
A balance should be struck the short-term gains to be

derived from the liberalisation of certain capital and
investment goods, with a longer-term policy of building a
strong domestic economy through strategic investment in
those industries and sectors that have genuine potential
to achieve international competitiveness.
Regular consultations must be held with all relevant
stakeholders, to make trade policy-making processes
more transparent and accountable, for example by
increasing democratic scrutiny by national parliaments.
There needs to be consideration of the nature of the
global market when determining which sectors require
support or protection in order to promote national
development objectives, including time-bound protection
for infant industries. For example, a developing country
may have the potential to become internationally
competitive in certain agricultural products, but be held
back by distortions in world market prices caused by high
levels of EU and US subsidies.
Note that WTO rules are substantially skewed in favour of
rich countries and rich corporations. Trade liberalisation
in agriculture can lock poor countries into competition
with subsidised agriculture in rich countries. Intellectual
property agreements affect technology transfer to
developing countries, and poor women and mens ability
to buy affordable medicines, seeds, and other
technology-rich products.
Financial markets
Banking sectors in low-income countries are often
Policy Reforms

Positive
Negative
inefficient, monopolistic and corrupt.
The key challenge is to expand the coverage of microfinance finance services to supply all poor women and
men with financial products, credit and savings,
appropriate to their needs, and to cushion poor savers
during times of seasonal or other distress. Frequently
banking sector reform eliminates large state-owned
national banks that may have provided banking service to
the poor while reforms may have been necessary on
efficiency grounds, they should be coupled with attention
to pro-poor financial services. Need to address the
potential high transaction costs for poor, collateral
constraints, etc.
Reforms may promote confidence in the banking sector,

and reduce unproductive lending by state banks. Such
reforms should increase credit available to the private
sector to stimulate growth.
Domestic markets/pricesderegulation
Need increased emphasis on enabling small and

medium businesses, which are frequently labour
intensive and connected to the informal economy, to
operate effectively, including regulatory reform, access to
finance, investment in skills etc.
Often focus is on enabling large enterprises, frequently

ignoring small and medium enterprises. Frequently
exacerbates inequality.
FDI is often viewed as the most worthwhile form of

international development capital. It has been seen as
increasingly important as official aid flows have declined.
Deregulating government controls over foreign
investment may provide greater certainty for investors
and is supposed to attract more investment
FDI largely flows to a relatively rich group of developing

countries which have markets, infrastructure, critical
levels of domestic investment, and to areas where it can
make a commercial return, and so cannot substitute for
official aid flows in poor countries. Developing countries
can do little to alter these key location attributes in the
short term, and relying on deregulation and financial
incentives, may merely reduce potential development
benefits from FDI without resulting in significantly
increased flows. Also development benefits of FDI
depend on its quality, which is in turn conditioned by the
policy environment. The ability of governments to screen
foreign investment and impose certain performance
requirements on incoming corporations (e.g. to screen
Foreign Direct Investment
FDI can transfer technologies and skills. It can also give

poor countries access to intra-company markets, which
now account for a third of world trade.
Policy Reforms

Positive
Negative
out companies with undesirable environmental or human
rights records, or ensure local content in production,
restrict repatriation of profits, hire minimum numbers of
staff, provide certain level of technology transfer etc) is
vital if the investment is to be madke to work in the best
interests of the country, not just the investor.
Legal/Regulatory/Judicial
reform
Clear and legally enforceable framework for the rights of

the poor, particularly women (e.g. in land), ensures poor
have access to the legal system.
Legal and regulatory reform is frequently focused on

protecting property and contract rights of investors rather
than focussing on the interests of the poor.
Financial legal framework should be in place; clearly

separated audit and finance acts giving independence
and resources to the audit function. Strong powers of
scrutiny should be given to legislatures and particularly
parliamentary committees together with adequate
resources and training to carry out their jobs.
Labour market reforms

Labour is the main asset of the poor so it is important
that the pattern of growth is labour absorbing . Labour
market deregulation has been promoted in some
instances as an important element of structural
adjustment programmes. Labour market distortions and
regulations are seen as artificially raising the cost of
labour and thereby reducing demand for labour, and also
preventing resources being allocated to labour intensive
industries where many poor countries have a
comparative advantage
Labour market regulation and labour costs are unlikely to

be the main cause of unemployment and low growth are
in many developing countries. Other factors such as
overly deflationary macro economic policies and high
interest rates, unselective trade liberalisation, unequal
access of poor producers to land, credit, skills and
markets are far more likely to be the cause. Moreover
while flexible working patterns may benefit some
categories of skilled workers there are also social costs
including growing job insecurity, a growth in the numbers
of working poor, and growing inequality. There may also
be economic costs such as reduced domestic demand
and low productivity resulting from worsened working
conditions. If greater labour market flexibility is needed, it
is vital that this does not undermine fundamental workers
rights, and that part time, casual, temporary, home-
Policy Reforms

Positive
Negative
based, sub contracted workers , have the same rights as
permanent ones.
Governance and
Accountability
There should be substantial investment in accountability

agencies particularly legislatures and judiciary but also
ombudsmen, anti corruption bureaus, auditor generals
and human rights commissions among others. These
need substantial resources to operate effectively.
The rule of law must be promoted through increased
transparency and accountability: this will require not just
the legal reform but widespread civic education of
leaders especially in nascent democracies.
New accountability agencies run the risk of being

ineffective white elephants. Political will is often lacking
and these agencies or the need for them are often the
result of donor pressure and conditionality.
Stiffer penalties for Civil Servants are only as effective if
the orders do not come from their political superiors. The
role of political considerations in enforcing the rule of law
cannot be underestimated; legal and regulatory reform
will only take you so far.
Corruption fatigue is a serious problem; those caught
should be seen to be punished.
Civil service reform

Reducing size of government leads to salary savings;
increasing efficiency and accountability of the civil
service seen as pro-poor. Sometimes coupled with
increasing salaries to bring up to living wage.
Decentralisation
Promoted as a development panacea. By bringing
Government closer to the people there are advantages
of both efficiency in the effective allocation of resources
and in accountability enabling people to scrutinise their
government with less difficulty.
Often carried out too rapidly with limited compensation,

and badly managed.
Great idea, often fails in practice due to failure of central

government to let go of power.
Minimum national standards of accountability and
practice are frequently not met at a decentralised level.
Decentralisation must be supported by adequate
decentralised finance, decentralised bodies must have
adequate power, mechanisms must exist to hold elected
representatives and bureaucrats accountable at
decentralised level. Ensure decentralisation is
accompanied by redistributive transfers to address
regional disparities equalisation grants. Capacity
Policy Reforms

Positive
Negative
building vital prior and during decentralisation process.
Risks of decentralised organs becoming too politicised.
Infrastructure
Do policy choices concerning
communications, energy, housing,
and transport infrastructures support
the livelihood needs and strategies
of poor women and men?
Well functioning and adequate infrastructure is an

essential pre-requisite of growth.
Investment in rural feeder roads is pro-poor (increasing
access of poor to markets, health centres etc.) as is the
provision of access to safe water. Low cost housing for
the poor is also good together with access to cheap
electricity and telecommunications facilities.
Often big infrastructure projects are anti poor in any

ways. Many focus on urban and peri-urban projects that
for example privilege private, automobile transport over
public transport and can disadvantage poor women and
men in many ways.
In addition the project nature of funding means that
recurrent costs for upkeep are often missed or
underestimated leading to existing infrastructure falling
apart. Often it is better to focus first on the rehabilitation
of existing infrastructure, especially at first.
Push for public consultation and poverty assessments of
any major proposed infrastructure projects.
Utilities
Inefficient and loss-making utilities divert resources away
from pro-poor investments.
Reforms such as privatisation can potentially improve
efficiency and effectiveness of provision e.g. electricity.
Market rates can ensure utilities are not loss making, and
can improve investment rates. Subsidies/compensation
for the poor are important ways of ensuring that access
to utilities are maintained for the poor e.g. electricity
Shifts to market rates can exclude the poor and lead to

huge price increases. Privatisation of utilities can replace
a state monopoly with a private one, leading to monopoly
profits. Regulatory measures are often weak.
Privatisation of electricity/move to market rates can

undermine poor women and mens access.
Environment
Which natural resources does the
national economy most rely on?
What trade-offs are being made
Environmental concerns are critical to PRSPs for two

reasons. Firstly there is the direct role natural resources
play in economic growth (e.g. water and soil fertility as
Failure to address environmental sustainability,

consideration apart from issues of finance and economic
development or relegation of environmental management
Policy Reforms
either consciously or not that
threaten to undercut national growth
strategies? Across the board from
fiscal measures to agriculture,
education, energy and transport
plans policy reforms can be of help
to ensure that ecological limits are
not surpassed, and that the rights of
poor communities to clean and safe
environments are preserved.

Positive
Negative
agricultural inputs, fuel wood as energy source for smallscale production). Trade offs must be identified between
long-term sustainability and short-term growth in many
cased. Secondly there is the role environmental goods
and services play on poor women and mens
environmental health and quality of life (and by
inference, their productive capacities. Lack of adequate
water and sanitation are for example critical problems
that undercut productive activity and contribute to the
poverty cycle.
to weak or ineffective government agencies will inevitably

undercut growth rate projections and poverty reduction
strategies particularly since most HIPCs comprise large
rural populations highly dependent upon agriculture and
by extension environmental services.
PRSPs with their short-term timescale (3-5yrs) have
generally failed to adequately address environmental
concerns, and to link fully to the principles embodied in
the development goal relating to National Strategies for
Sustainable Development (NSSD).
Successful integration of these concerns and specific

measures to address them within national strategies will
ensure the long-term viability and success of efforts to
overcome poverty. Identification of those issues most
relevant to poverty will allow for win-win opportunities to
be taken where economic growth and conservation
overlap, and will force value-driven debates when tradeoffs are necessary. Where feasible, national PRS
development should be considered as one with national
strategies for sustainable development (NSSD), and the
principles behind the NSSD should be fully incorporated
in the PRSP. The experience from integration of
sustainability measures in Ugandas PRS suggests that it
is possible, and that measures were gladly incorporated
once their merits and central importance to the needs of
poor communities wereas understood.
Land reform
For people in many parts of the
world land remains their primary
asset and their livelihoods depend
on secure access to it and the ability
to exploit it.
Land reform may increase access and security of

investors to land and thus promote investment.
International experience shows that more equal land
distribution leads to higher growth. Land redistribution
can be a major component of pro-poor growth, since
production from land is a key livelihood strategy for the
Often recently a market-based approach to land reform

has been pushed by the WB in particular. A marketbased approach to land reform is likely to be unaffordable
to the would-be beneficiaries because the 'market' value
of land exceeds the agronomic value of the land. If
implemented, large-scale market-based agrarian reform
can drive up land prices, effectively excluding poor
Policy Reforms

Positive
Negative
poor in many countries. Security of title can promote

higher agricultural productivity, noting that small farms
are also efficient.
farmers from the benefits of reform. Would-be

beneficiaries of market-based agrarian reform lack
access to affordable private credit markets to finance
their share of the land cost.
Pro-poor land reform should have a poverty focus; be

gender-aware, e.g. ownership rights often favour men;
should involve genuine consultation and participation; be
sensitive to cultural norms. Land alone is not enough,
must be coupled with support for improved land use,
such as access to financial services, agricultural inputs,
advice. It must also be coupled with enough investment
in infrastructure such as schools, roads and clinics.
The empirical record of market-based reforms offers little

evidence that this approach will result in rapid or
significant redistribution of land. Uncertainty in the
agricultural sector can best be addressed by a clear
commitment to rapid completion of conventional
compulsory acquisition-based - agrarian reform.
In addition, giving land rights and security of tenure
needs to be carefully managed, as does the phasing out
of customary tenure to avoid distress sales, landlessness
and particularly a negative effect on women.
Social sector
Education
Education is recognised as the single most powerful
weapon in the fight against poverty. It saves lives. It
gives people a chance to improve their lives. It gives
them a voice.
Pro-poor policy includes increasing basic education
expenditure, shifting expenditure from tertiary to primary
level, where the poor benefit from public investment;
rapid elimination of all school fees (formal and informal)
at primary and lower secondary level; measures to
improve girls access to schooling, and completion of
schooling; measures to improve quality at primary and
lower secondary including reducing class size, teacher
36
37
There has been a continuation of moves to shift costs of

education onto the household. This is exacerbated by
decentralisation that provides decentralised responsibility
for provision but insufficient resources. Costs to poor
households include official user fees, informal fees such
as a desk charge or exam charge, indirect costs such as
labour, uniforms, books etc. In almost every developing
country it costs the poorest 40 per cent of the population
over 10 per cent of annual income to send two children to
primary school36. The equivalent amount for the average
family in the USA would be more than US$400037.
In addition, community participation in management is
Educating all the Children Chris Colclough, Institute of Development Studies 1993
Based on US census figures for 1999. More detail on Education Charges can be found in the Oxfam Policy Paper Education Charges: A Tax on Human Development Oxfam November 2001
(see links in annex two).
Policy Reforms

Positive
Negative
training etc., skills provision/vocational training and adult

literacy programmes.
promoted as way of increasing ownership, but ignores

opportunity costs for poor
Governments, with the assistance of donors should

provide free primary education for all, in line with the
international development goals. The IMF should help
government review fiscal implications of increased
spending on education and how it can be resourced.
Health
Poor health promotes human
suffering, undermines economic
growth, and increases poverty and
vulnerability. Lack of coverage and
poor quality contributes to reduced
health outcomes reforms generally
address priorities, policies and
institutions.
Pro-poor policy includes increasing basic health care

provision and quality, elimination of user fees for basic
health care and development of a free minimum health
care package. Introduce cost sharing at tertiary level,
and shift resources from tertiary to primary level. Need
drug policy addressing - access, price, quality.
Community participation should be equated with
decision-making power, including for women and young
people, and includes education and rights work.
There is often a focus on cost recovery to generate

additional finance. User fees for basic health care
maintained or re-named as health insurance and are
actually a form of creeping privatisation increasingly
shifting the burden of health care costs to the poorest.
Promotion of privatisation as alternative to public health
sector leads to greater inequity and poor health
outcomes. Community participation is often equated with
payment. International experience with exemption
systems at primary level show that they are generally
ineffective, and are costly. Willingness to pay does not
imply ability to pay. Impact of HIV/AIDS is not well
integrated into existing reforms. Without capacity
building, appropriate support and allocation of resources
(particularly addressing needs of poor regions)
decentralisation can be a process of devolution of
responsibility from central government. Health worker
retention and training is a critical problem yet there is a
limited focus on quality, training, supervision, and proper
salaries.
Pro-poor policy includes increased expenditure in these

areas. Basic provision of a minimum of 20 litres per
Growing use of fees and other cost-sharing measures

undermine access of poor to clean water, undermine
Water Supply and Sanitation
Policy Reforms

Positive
Negative
person per day should be available to all free of charge.

Need to develop maximum distance to water source
across the country to reduce labour time, and risk of
using nearer polluted sources.
health, and force women to travel further. Privatisation of

water supply leads to higher costs, and reduced access
of the poor to clean water.
If well designed, institutionally mainstreamed, with poor

women and mens participation, and with reasonably
sized transfers (greater than immediate consumption
needs), safety nets may have positive impact and prove
an important element of poverty reduction. Wherever
possible, the programme should look at giving the means
to the poorest to work their own way out of poverty.
Seen by some as simply a way to make an inadequate

reform programme more acceptable; does not address
core structural problems that maintain people in poverty.
Social Protection/ Safety Nets

Defined by the Word Bank as
including both social insurance (for
those unable to earn an income for a
period of time) and social assistance
(for the very poor)
-Often may be used for political ends.

-Can stigmatise the poor
-Can have limited focus
-Targeting does not often work
Prevention is better than cure. Efforts to develop
measures and reforms to prevent shocks that have a
negative impact on the poor (e.g. trade measures,
financial crisis, floods) are better (and economically more
rational) than helping the poor afterwards.
Public Expenditure
Management (PEM)
Reform of Public Expenditure
Systems
All low-income countries need substantial reform of their

systems of public expenditure. The World Bank and IMF
are generally promoting two main key reforms. These
are a move towards output based budgeting through the
drawing up of Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks
(MTEFs) and the development of comprehensive
management information systems (MIS).
These system reforms are often complemented by
changes in the legal framework such as the separation of
Weak or non-existent MTEF and MIS in the majority of

low-income countries; long term reforms with little political
commitment in many cases.
Often there is no link between priorities stated in the
countries plan (its PRSP in most cases) and proposed
expenditures. Donors continue to provide project aid
frequently incoherent, disconnected from national
priorities, high administration cost - particularly for
government. Sometimes it is also linked to tied-aid,
Policy Reforms

Positive
Negative
finance and audit capacities of Government and the

introduction of stiffer penalties for miss-allocation and
corruption.
inadequate support for recurrent costs, promotes

differences in coverage, lack of government ownership
and undermines government capacity. Donor projects
sometimes lead the shape of the MTEF rather than
agreed priorities.
A short-term solution is the potential use of virtual
poverty funds as interim measure for coherent pro-poor
budgeting and monitoring in the absence of longer-term
reforms. Such funds focus on several key expenditures
for poverty reduction and monitor these. Government
guarantees not to divert money from these and to ensure
it is spent, and all revenue (Govt, Donor and HIPC where
available) is pooled towards these agreed objectives.
This can begin to build a culture of scrutiny and sound
public expenditure management, but in the long-term this
should be expanded to the whole budget to ensure
overall scrutiny and accountability.
Annual budget Cycle- Budget

Formulation and Presentation
Budgets need to be formulated with extensive

consultation.
Once produced they need to be transparent, clear and
easy to understand. There must be sufficient time for
review by legislature.
The budget should be closely linked to national plan/
PRSP, pro-poor in terms of prioritised spending.
Disaggregated budgets to sectoral, and sub-sectoral
levels e.g. primary education enable monitoring and
analysis. It is also helpful if it is disaggregated in terms
of key cross cutting themes such as the gender
implications of proposed expenditure.
Donors should commit to predictable and long-term
provision of assistance. MTEF useful framework for
Budget often prepared in secrecy with minimal chances

for discussion or input. Budget often very obtuse and
hard to analyse and understand. Time allowed for
discussion and analysis is usually very short.
There is often a problem of supplementary budgets i.e.
expensive Mercedes Benz cars or transfers to Military
during year. Military spending frequently hidden in various
parts of the budget. Review Presidential and other high
cost and potentially unproductive areas.
When analysing the budget it is helpful to identify poor
groups (gender, region, ethnic, elderly, children, primary
level vs. tertiary). Compare military with social
expenditure. Transparent budgets help with pro-poor
Policy Reforms
Annual Budget Cycle- Budget

Implementation and Monitoring

Positive
Negative
providing donor support. Government should highlight

budget areas that would be cut in the case of economic
shocks or reductions in external assistance, and areas to
be protected.
policy making. Note use of media, public notices and

citizens budgets to increase public awareness and
promote accountability. Promotion of gendered budgets
can help with targeting. Parliament should have clear
oversight role. Cost prioritised sector strategies, set out
choices for government (increase resources, reduce
costs, choose priorities), translate costed plans into
budget, develop realistic and achievable plan.
Involvement of Civil Society in monitoring both inputs

and outputs. Tracking the resources from the central
level to the bottom (Ministry of Education to school level
for example, and then measuring the outputs (numbers
of books in schools). (See section on monitoring for
more details in main text)
Budgets often not followed, and bear little relation to

actual spending patterns. Auditing and monitoring of
expenditure often minimal and happens a long time after
the fact. Figures often wrong and released with a long
delay.
Important to be happening during the process of budget

implementation wherever possible.
Monitoring Poverty Reduction
Outcomes
Beyond the Budget:

Monitoring outcomes
Requires accurate and timely data on poverty and social

indicators (use of household surveys, Participatory
Poverty Assessments (PPAs), service delivery surveys).
Combining qualitative surveys such as PPAs with
quantitative such as household surveys are a powerful
way to both monitor progress from a range of aspects,
but also to feed into policy design and implementation.
Incentives to improve policy increased when policy

makers held accountable; requires timely and appropriate
information, made publicly available
Often too much focus on long term outcomes and their
monitoring can distract resources away from monitoring
short-term policy outputs and impacts that have
potentially more effect on policy implementation.
Annex two. Links to other sources of

information.
The following offers a selection of internet links to other information on each of the
sections and on PRSP and policy influence generally. Lastly if you cannot get a particular
document or are interested in a particular area then contact mlawson@oxfam.org.uk /
Max Lawson, Policy Advisor, Policy Department, Oxfam, 274 Banbury Road, Oxford UK
OX2 7DZ. These can be emailed to you where possible in ZIP format if you have trouble
accessing the web.
General
Information on the Development Goals
http://www.developmentgoals.org/
Information on Debt
http://www.debtchannel.org/
http://www.jubilee2000uk.org/
PRSP General
World Bank PRSP pages
http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/str
ategies/index.htm
The PRSP sourcebook is a useful resource,

with chapters on Participation and the major
sectoral issues. The gender chapter is
particularly good.
ategies/sourcons.htm
IMF PRSP pages (Including all PRSP country

documents)
http://www.imf.org/external/np/prsp/p
rsp.asp
NGOs Working on WB/IMF/ PRSP Issues

The following are just a key selection. More can
be found at the Bank Information Centres Links
Page:
http://www.bicusa.org/links.htm
Eurodad is an excellent resource on PRSPs

and runs a listserve which you can sign up
to:European network on Debt and Development
(Eurodad):
www.eurodad.org
The Bretton Woods Project produces an

excellent newsletter which you can get by email
and many other resources. Bretton Woods
Project:
www.brettonwoodsproject.org.
The Globalization Challenge Initiative provides

some excellent guides on how to understand
IMF and WB documents:
www.challengeglobalization.org
Other NGOs working on PRSPs/WB/IMF
50 Years is Enough
www.50years.org
Alternative Information & Development

Centre, South Africa
http://aidc.org.za/
Bank Information Centre
www.bicusa.org/index.html
Oxfam GB
www.oxfam.org.uk
SAPRIN, Structural Adjustment

Participatory Review International Network
www.igc.org/dgap/saprin/index.html
Third World Network, Ghana
http://www.twnside.org.sg/
Ugandan Debt Network, Uganda
http://www.udn.or.ug
World wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF)
www.wwf.org
Policy work relating to gender and

diversity
The World Bank sourcebook chapter on gender
is very good.
ategies/chapters/gender/gender.htm
Another key site is the Commonwealth Institute:
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/ge
nder/index1.htm
The IDS BRIDGE project is a good source of

information:
http://www.ids.ac.uk/bridge/budgets.
pdf
There is a specific site on gender and budgets:
www.gender-budgets.org
Idasa have also done a lot on gender and

budgets:
http://www.idasa.org.za/
PRSP Participation
The Participation Group on the World Bank site
is a good resource:
http://www.worldbank.org/participatio
n/PRSP.htm
The Institute for Development Studies at

Sussex is another good source of information:
http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/particip/inde
x.html
and IDS has also recently finished research on

participation in PRSPs to date:
ategies/review/ids1.pdf
And the Christian Aid paper gives a good

summary of participation in PRSPs to date:
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/indept
h/0110prsp/prsp.htm
PRSP Policy Formulation

The Bank Information Centre has compiled a list
http://www.bicusa.org/ptoc/index.htm
of resources on key policy issues:

The Bretton Woods Project also has good links
on various policy issues:
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/li
nks/index.html
IDS and ODI also have a lot of information,

papers and links on pro-poor policy formulation
Institute of Development Studies (IDS) - Poverty
and Social Policy Team
http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/pvty/
Overseas Development Institute (ODI)- Poverty

and Public Policy Group
http://www.odi.org.uk/pppg/index.ht
ml
For economics try the Centre for Economic and

Policy Research
http://www.cepr.net/IMF/index.html
or the Centre for Economic and Policy Analysis

(more academic)
http://www.newschool.edu/cepa/pap
ers/index.htm
On privatisation, the Public Sector International

Research Unit is very good:
http://www.psiru.org/
Oxfam has a broad range of papers on policy

issues, and especially Education and Trade.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/policy.html
latest education paper:
http://homepage/policy/function/advo
cacy/briefings/Briefing
%20papers/OxfamEducationCharge
sPaper.doc
latest trade paper:
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/policy/paper
s/8broken/8broken.rtf
and a specific site on Land Reform:
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/landrights/r
esource.htm
World Development Movement also has a

range of policy papers.
http://www.wdm.org.uk/campaign/res
ource.htm
With one of the best being a paper by Charles

Augbre of Third World Network/ ISODEC in
Ghana:
http://www.wdm.org.uk/cambriefs/De
bt/sappoor.pdf
Christian Aid policy papers:
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/indept
h/index.htm
CAFOD policy papers:
http://www.cafod.org.uk/policy/
ActionAid policy papers:
http://www.actionaid.org/resources/
PRSP Policy Implementation and

Monitoring
Budgets
Idasa in South Africa is home to the Africa

Budget Project and the Womens Budget Project
and is a major resource.
www.idasa.org.za
The International Budget Project at the Centre

for Budget and Policy Priorities is also excellent
www.internationalbudget.org
It has a guide to budget work and a collection of

experiences from Civil Society worldwide which
can be downloaded:
http://www.internationalbudget.org/re
sources/guide/guide1.pdf and
http://www.internationalbudget.org/re
sources/success.pdf
The World Bank is also an excellent source of

information on Public Expenditure Monitoring.
The main PEM website is World Bank public
expenditure online, but a lot can also be found
regarding Civil Society on the Participation
website as well.
http://www1.worldbank.org/publicsec
tor/pe/
Public Expenditure Online:

Participation Group:
www.worldbank.org/participation/we
b/webfiles/cepemsynthesis.htm and
www.worldbank.org/participation/we
b/webfiles/cepem.htm
Participatory Poverty Assessments

IDS has a good introductory document:
http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/particip/rese
arch/ppa/ppareader.pdf
ODI has an excellent guide to the process:
http://www.odi.org.uk/pppg/cape/pap
ers/ppa.pdf
There is a whole website dedicated to the

Uganda PPA:
http://www.uppap.or.ug/

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