Civil Society engagement in PRSP processes

Publication date: Thursday 30 December 2004

Full title: Lessons Learnt on Civil Society engagement in PRSP processes in Bolivia, Kenya and Uganda

The purpose of this report is to document the main lessons emerging from the East African exchange (Uganda, Kenya, Bolivia, hosted by IDS 2002).

On one level the report looks at what was learnt about the way in which civil society is engaging in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process, and what can be said of their participation in Bolivia, Kenya and Uganda. More specifically, the document will outline lessons shared with respect to the learning exchange’s objectives of: scaling-up participation from micro/ grassroots project level to macro/policy levels, ensuring quality participation in all phases of the policy process.

In addition to these thematic lessons, the report’s second section will highlight the value of the exchange as such, challenges it faced as a process, and potential ways of overcoming these in the future.

The report is not intended to present a comparative analysis of the PRSP process and civil society engagement in the three countries involved. It is based on a learning exchange that was dominated by civil society actors and limited by time and resources. It only hopes to capture lessons emerging specifically from that experience.

Appendix: Country Contexts and PRSP Policy Process Experiences