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Stakeholder engagement

Accountability in poverty reduction strategies: the role of empowerment and participation

The participation of stakeholders beyond the drafting process of Poverty Reduction Strategies

Authors: W. Eberlei; Institute for Development and Peace (INEF), University of Duisburg-Essen
Publisher: Social Development, World Bank, 2007

Full text of document

This paper is part of a research project analysing the participation of stakeholders beyond the drafting process of Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS). A number of constraints impede meaningful participation in many countries. However, exceptions demonstrate that meaningful participation in PRS processes is possible. The author argues that this requires strengthening democratic accountability, institutionalising participation and empowerment.

Recommendations for reaching these objectives include:

  • democratic domestic accountability should be distinguished from external obligations and contractually agreed conditionalities. Donors are important and influential actors, but they are not ‘stakeholders’ in the domestic democratic arena
  • domestic accountability has vertical (electoral, social) and horizontal (political, administrative) dimensions. Although, all are equally important, donors are concentrating on the administrative dimension
  • PRS processes are taking place in a domestic political arena. This needs capacity building for domestic academic institutions as well as political journalists within PRS countries
  • it is necessary to foster open discussions as to which stakeholder has which interests, capacities and legitimacy in which phase of the PRS process
  • sustainable structures and legal frameworks for participation have to be created in order to foster meaningful participation
  • parliaments are (or should be/become) the constitutionally based and democratically legitimised forum for domestic debates, while civil societies can initiate communicative power to inspire, influence or criticise those who are in power
  • the institutionalisation of frameworks for participation should be promoted by introducing indicators or measurable standards for participation that include rights and structures for an ongoing cooperative dialogue between legitimated and capacitated stakeholders
  • donors are recommended to pay more attention to the support of empowerment initiatives in the context of PRS.