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Case studies

Since the late 1990s, policy makers, donors, NGOs and researchers have become increasingly interested in participatory poverty assessments (PPAs) and participatory evaluation of development initiatives for the poor. This synthesis report highlights common threads that emerged from a series of participatory poverty assessments conducted by the ADB in seven Indian states. The report provides insights into the dimensions of poverty, coping strategies as well as the opinions of the poor on poverty reduction programmes.

Based on the PPAs, the report identifies and discusses in detail a number of categories of poor who are economically, socially, politically, and historically marginalised from development. It also highlights the fact that the poor are well aware of their problems, needs, and priorities. In particular, the PPAs revealed the following priorities for poor people:

• greater access to credit and the financial sector
• greater access to skills training in sectors that are emerging drivers of growth
• improved targeting for poverty reduction programming
• enhancing on farm productivity and off farm opportunities
• greater access to drinking water and sanitation
• strengthening local institutions, with an emphasis on participation and accountability

The report concludes that drawing the poor into the development circle is the main challenge of policy.
While the PPAs show that fresh opportunities have been created and the poor have often availed themselves of these, they also show that more can clearly be done by keeping the poor at the center stage of the development process. The report suggests this could be done by by harnessing their potential and facilitating and supporting their development through governmental and nongovernmental, public and private initiatives to close existing gaps and create a proper enabling environment to eliminate poverty and deprivation.

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