The need to monitor poverty reduction strategies

Monitoring of Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs) is primarily driven by the need to meet the requirements of donors. However, most countries with Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) lack the resources and skills necessary to undertake monitoring activities as well as the inclination to use data to shape policymaking. How can donors help countries to develop their own systems?

A discussion paper from the Institute of Development Studies, UK shows that although PRSP preparation has generated an interest in monitoring systems and data within developing countries, this interest does not extend to the detailed activities required to implement these systems effectively. Some of the first countries to draw up PRSPs emphasised outcomes and impacts and the need for evidence that policies result in actual improvements. But it is now clear that selecting relevant poverty indicators that can monitor the links between policies and outcomes is the key issue.

The authors find that:

• the success or failure of PRS monitoring often depends on the personality, status and capabilities of a few key players
• although government views are reflected in PRSPs, the priorities of specific ministries and other agencies may not be included
• all qualitative exercises are routinely labelled as ‘participatory’ indicating a degree of community involvement and ownership which is often not justified
• involving civil society organisations in PRS monitoring improves transparency and accountability but it is often unclear whether they have any control over outcomes or are simply being informed about government spending intentions
• donors prefer to use survey-based data because of the extent to which they can control the survey process but internationally standardised survey packages may not be the most appropriate approach to PRS monitoring
• parliaments have played a minimal role in PRS monitoring and local media has been under-used as a means of generating public interest in PRSP issues.

Apart from a few countries, for example Uganda and Tanzania, countries with a PRS are not using performance monitoring to drive policy change or for budget allocation decisions. PRS monitoring agencies require political expertise and communications skills to persuade government officials and civil society of the value of the information being produced. Armenia, Honduras, Mozambique, Rwanda and Uganda are among the countries which have shown that poverty monitoring and social impact analysis can generate reliable data and have encouraged an interest in the use of PRS data.

The researchers suggest that donors can help countries by:

• assisting governments to form a technical monitoring secretariat which can drive the monitoring process and coordinate the activities of other individual government departments or agencies
• encouraging high-level committees which can play a coordinating role and get the support of key players
• promoting the establishment of incentives to ensure that policies are based on PRS monitoring data and not political or personal interests
• developing skills and structures within the PRS monitoring agencies to communicate and share data.

Many PRS countries are committed to decentralisation policies that would need local monitoring systems. But local skills are less developed than at the national level. However, the researchers caution that developing local skills on monitoring should not necessarily be seen as a priority, given the magnitude of the task and costs involved.

Source(s):
‘Research on the current state of PRS monitoring systems’ by Henry Lucas, David Evans and Katherine Pasteur, IDS Discussion Paper 382, Institute of Development Studies, December 2004 Full document.

Funded by: DFID Poverty Analysis and Monitoring (PAM)

id21 Research Highlight: 27 September 2005

Further Information:
Henry Lucas and Katherine Pasteur
Institute of Development Studies
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9RE UK

Tel: +44 (0) 1273 606261
Fax: +44 (0) 1273 621202/69164
Contact the contributor: h.lucas@ids.ac.uk; K.Pasteur@ids.ac.uk

Institute of Development Studies, UK

David Evans
Sussex European Institute
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9RE UK

Tel: +44 (0) 1273 606755 ext.6594
Fax: +44 (0) 01273 878571
Contact the contributor: H.D.Evans@sussex.ac.uk

Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex

Other related links:
'Any change in policy-making? Assessing Benin’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper'

'Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers in Africa: are they really making a difference to policies?'

'Measuring the results: how to monitor progress towards the Millennium Development Goals'

'Monitoring PRSPs: business as usual?'

Eldis resources on PRSPs

World Health Organisation's project on monitoring PRSPs