Civil society engagement in PSIA processes: A review

Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) is widely used as an analytical tool in policy-making processes. However, there is a concern about the lack of involvement of civil society in the design, formulation and implementation of PSIA.

The paper reviews civil society’s experience of engagement with PSIA, and presents three case studies (Uganda, Armenia and Bolivia) as examples. The paper also identifies entry points for future civil society engagement and proposes a range of tools that civil society actors might draw on to maximize the effectiveness of their future engagement.
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The paper shows that where a proposed policy change is highly contentious, civil society has commonly been kept at arms length, arguably to enable government to implement the policy change they desire while limiting public debate. However, in contrast, there are cases where civil society has been invited to participate in highly charged PSIA discussions in order to widen understanding of the government’s rationale for the proposed policy change.

The authors say that PSIAs do create opportunities for CSOs to improve their own ability to engage effectively in policy discussions. Similarly, donors can take advantage of this opportunity to find and support CSOs to engage in future PSIAs. However, ensuring meaningful civil society participation also relies on the design of a particular PSIA (and surrounding processes), and donors. PSIA consultants need to be sensitive to a number of issues including:

• power differences in each society
• the political nature of PSIA
• ·he political context
  

The study shows that the main barrier for civil society engagement is lack of awareness of PSIAs and their relevance for CSOs, followed by capacity constraints and a lack of access to
information and to PSIA processes. The international community can assist CSOs by providing information and training about the PSIA process.