Resources

A need exists for food security indicators, for use in targeting food security programs, to be both simple to derive and use. This document reports on research to develop such alternative indicators which combined both quantitative and qualitative approaches for identifying indicators of poverty, food insecurity and undernutrition. Participatory rural appraisal techniques and ethnographic case studies were used to identify locally determined indicators of food insecurity.

This report presents the results of a one year study of poverty in Shinyanga based on eight sectoral studies and also participatory poverty assessments which were carried out in eight villages.

The aim of PPAs is to improve the effectiveness of public action for poverty reduction by including the views, priorities and perspectives of poor people in the analysis of what should be done. This guide is designed to help answer some key questions related to the development of a PPA: how to assess whether a PPA will be useful; how to decide where a PPA should be located institutionally; how to build the initial partnerships; how to design the process; how to enhance quality in the fieldwork and analysis: how to ensure influence on policy. The guide draws extensively on experience from two strong case study examples, the Uganda Participatory Poverty Assessment Process and the Vietnam PPA.

Whilst the use of quantitative approaches in poverty analysis has been dominant in the past decade, the use of qualitative approaches has been increasing, with many multilateral and bilateral agencies now routinely commissioning studies in this tradition. There have been increasing attempts at integrating the two approaches but these have generally been neither systematic nor successful. Despite the obvious complementarities between the two it seems practitioners are not working together as much as they could to develop sound poverty reduction strategies. This is the context in which the workshop "Qualitative and Quantitative Poverty Appraisal: Complementarities, Tensions and the Way Forward" took place in March 2001 at Cornell University. Participants were asked to submit short contributions setting out key issues which were presented and discussed at the workshop. Two central tenets of the workshop were self criticism in both traditions and a search for best practice in combining the two approaches. This report is a compilation of these contributions, made by 19 participants from around the world.

This journal, published by PRIA (Participatory Research in Asia) in New Delhi, focuses on the facilitation of citizenÆs participation in development and democratic governance. This volume presents 7 articles where of 3 are based directly on experiences from practice in case studies, and many are based on experiences from workshops organised by PRIA. Tandon and Mohanty examine the role of civil society initiatives in influencing public policy in India (Influencing public policy: civil society and governance in India). Poverty eradication and democratic governance in South Asia by Sen, is based on the deliberations and concerns that emerged out of the first module, ôUnderstanding the Macro-Policy frameworkö in the second course of Regional Advocacy Training programme held at PRIA. Sen also describes the Status of Baisis in the contemporary context: a study in the Deogarh district of JharkhandI, which is a tiered traditional system of self-governance. Dwivedi contributes with the Challenges of leadership in Voluntary Development Organisations and a discussion of Participatory impact Assessment in South Asia, a pilot project initiated by New Zeeland VASS (Voluntary Agency Support Scheme). Anand write about Experiences and lessons of strengthening citizenÆs monitoring in Jharkand: A citizenship perspective, and Mohanty analyses Research practice engagement for social development. The journal also includes four book reviews on: Internatinoal prespective on voluntary action- Reshaping the third sector edited by Lewis; Complex responsive processes in organisations- Learning and knowledge creation by Staecy; Participation of the poor in Development Initiatives- Taking their rightful place by Long; and Roles and relevance- Development NGOs and the challenge of change by Lewis and Wallace.

This research report is borne out of CDRN and CAREÆs attempts to strengthen their support to civil society organisations in Uganda. The report takes the widely held belief that the needs and interests of poorer people are directly or indirectly represented through community-based organisations, and that working with CBOs is therefore a route to poverty reduction as its starting point. As more and more initiatives, both government and NGO-led, attempt to use this channel to reach the poor, the research examines the validity of this assumption. The report concludes by suggesting that the assumption: æfind the groups and you have found the poorÆ is only partially correct. It might be more accurate to assume that æin some kinds of groups, you will find some kinds of poor people.Æ
The report is structured into six main sections: introduction; an overview of the research sites, groups and external perspectives on group formation; the strengths and weaknesses of groups in representing the poor; exploring the relationship between a group and external groups/ institutions; an exploration of where the poorer members of a community are if they are not in groups; and conclusions and recommendations.