 This
synthesis study looks at civil society's participation in the PRSP
process. Most of the analyses written on the consultation processes
of the first wave of PRSPs have been critical of their superficial
nature. However, many civil society organisations (CSOs) did mobilise
around PRSPs and, in many cases, had unprecedented access to the policy
making process. Taking the examples of Bolivia and Tanzania, this
paper looks in more detail at the evidence used by CSOs in the PRSP
discussions and examines whether the arguments and recommendations
made by CSOs were taken on board by the government and included in
the final PRSP documents.
A number of common themes and issues emerged from the case studies.
The paper concludes with some observations including that the PRSP
offers an excellent opportunity for CSOs to engage in the policy
process. For many CSOs, this was their first experience of advocacy
work on policy issues and the process itself contributed to strengthening
their capacities. However, this potential was often not fulfilled
and many CSOs felt that their views and recommendations were not
listened to or integrated into the final documents. While there
are some examples of CSOs having an impact on policy choices, there
is an over-riding sense that there is not much of a link between
the consultations and the final documents and, furthermore, that
many issues were not put on the table for discussion in the first
place. The reasons for this are many but include the political nature
of policy processes, the influence of donors and IFIs in the PRSP
process and the limited capacity in many CSOs to conduct rigorous
analysis on highly technical issues.
 As
the PRSP approach moves into its second and third waves, the interest
in civil society's role in policy processes will increase. The PRSP
does provide an excellent entry point into the policy process but
there is work for CSOs to do to make sure that their contribution
to the process will continue to improve. An important part of this
will be for CSOs to invest the time and resources into carrying
out thorough research at the local and national level to ensure
that evidence-based advocacy work around the PRSP process is able
a positive impact on the policy choices and content of the PRSP.
Back to Activities index
|
