The purpose of the planned DFID-funded Strategic Programme for Information on Sustainable Livelihoods was to improve the availability of information to support the sustainable livelihoods approach through relevant policies, institutions and processes. The programme was to be developed through a six-month preparatory project.

The goal of the preparatory project and the strategic programme would be to improve poor rural livelihoods, and the purpose would be to improve the effectiveness of FAO’s information systems in influencing poor people’s livelihoods. The preparatory project started in June 2001, and the final Project Memorandum for the Strategic Programme should have been completed by December 2001.

The preparatory project included the following components:

• A desk study (MS Word 201kb) to review documentary and web-site material on the provision and delivery of information on food and agriculture in developing countries. The study examined the precedent of FAO’s information programmes (WAICENT) and included, where appropriate, relevant experience of other multilateral donors, bilateral donor agencies, developing country governments, NGOs and the private sector. The review of the literature and precedent should assist the FAO in the identification of the successes and failures of the different policies, institutions and processes.
• Three field missions to Uganda (MS Word 71kb), Ghana (MS Word 71kb) and India (MS Word 100kb) which built on the desk study, provided a review of the existing and planned activities in each country and identified specific interventions under the strategic programme.
• A planned consultative workshop to review the findings of the desk study and field missions and develop the project memorandum for the full project were not implemented.

The Overseas Development Institute was been commissioned by FAO to undertake the desk study, join the field missions and contribute to the consultative workshop.

In the end, although a concept note for the project was prepared, DFID decided not to implement the project. The consultative workshop was cancelled, and the results of the desk study and field visits were re-formatted for wider use.