Civil society participation in the PRSP: the role of evidence and the impact on policy choices

This synthesis study looks at civil society’s participation in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process. Taking the examples of Bolivia and Tanzania, the study looks in more detail at the evidence used by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the PRSP discussions and examines whether the arguments and recommendations made by CSOs were taken on board by the government and included in the final PRSP documents.

The case studies of Bolivia and Tanzania shows that the PRSP process offers an excellent opportunity for CSOs to engage in discussions with governments on policy choices. However, the realities of the process have, in general, shown that this potential was not fulfilled.

For many CSOs, this was their first experience of advocacy work on policy issues and the process itself contributed to strengthening their capacities. However, this potential was often not fulfilled and many CSOs felt that their views and recommendations were not listened to or integrated into the final documents.

While there are some examples of CSOs having an impact on policy choices, there is an over-riding sense that there is not much of a link between the consultations and the final documents and, furthermore, that many issues were not put on the table for discussion in the first place. The reasons for this are many but include:

• the political nature of policy processes;
• the influence of donors and IFIs in the PRSP process; and
• the limited capacity in many CSOs to conduct rigorous analysis on highly technical issues

As the PRSP approach moves into its second and third waves, the interest in civil society’s role in policy processes will increase. The PRSP does provide an excellent entry point into the policy process but there is work for CSOs to do to make sure that their contribution to the process will continue to improve. An important part of this will be for CSOs to invest the time and resources into carrying out thorough research at the local and national level to ensure that evidence-based advocacy work around the PRSP process.