The Synthesis Project produces Synthesis notes for DFID based on country level information and other research.

Second Generation Poverty Reduction Strategies

• Forty countries now have a PRS underimplementation, and a second generation of Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs) has begun to emerge in Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Nicaragua, and Tanzania. Uganda, the forerunner of the PRS approach, is already developing its third strategy. This paper examines the particular challenges and opportunities confronting countries that are formulating and implementing their ‘second generation’ PRS. While there is clearly an element of continuity in the technical, institutional and political context confronting the second generation of PRSs, it also differs from the first in a number of respects: the influence of HIPC as a driver and shaper of PRS engagement is on the wane as countries progress from decision to completion point and beyond. New pressures can be felt however, such as the donor desire to demonstrate progress towards the MDGs in the run up to 2015, and to make the case for aid as a contribution to global security; key stakeholders in government, donor and civil society organisations have now moved beyond principled rhetoric and towards practical action in support of the PRS process at country level. The risk of disillusionment is real, as the approach uncovers but cannot immediately transform the enormous legacy of failed aid and poverty reduction efforts over the past half a century. Yet opportunities also exist in this phase, to learn from an emerging body of experience in early-adopting PRS countries, to refine support mechanisms, and to begin institutionalising the gains already made. A range of formal and informal sources of information about PRS experience to date has been drawn upon in this paper, including selected interviews with DFID staff and others.

The PRSP Process and DFID Engagement: Survey of Progress 2003

• The Department for International Development’s (DFID) corporate commitment to the PRS approach is expressed in two White Papers and through attempts to align its own country programmes with PRSs and to influence other donors to do the same. Country Assistance Plans set out how DFID will work in support of the objectives laid down in national PRSs. A new policy division has been created at DFID headquarters, one of the aims of which is assisting country offices in supporting PRS implementation. DFID was also one of the players behind the Monterrey consensus and, along with African heads of government at the Rome meeting in February, has continued to press for improved international support for the PRS approach. However, there are challenges. DFID has yet to articulate a coherent corporate approach to supporting PRSs.
  The international architecture, drivers of change and links between development aid and global security might all benefit from the pushing forward of policy debates on the case for aid, fiscal sustainability and aid absorption. The unfolding war on terrorism, the prospect of the UK chairing the G8 and the EU in 2005 and pending deadlines for realising the Millennium Development Goals all make a case for doing this sooner rather than later.

Politics and the PRSP Approach: Synthesis Note ; Bolivia Case Study ; Georgia Case Study ; Uganda Case Study ; Vietnam Case Study (May 2004)

• This study is on the political dimensions of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) approach. It aims to make a
  contribution to the debate on the relevance of politics in order better to understand and improve development and poverty reduction processes, and in particular the new kind of aid relationships promoted by the PRSP approach. It illustrates, through the use of concrete examples, how development assistance in support of PRSP processes cannot but be embedded in national political systems and processes.

Experience of PRSs in Asia (July 2003)

• This is a note from the PRSP Monitoring and Synthesis Project and is intended to provide an overview of current issues on the PRS process in Asia, covering seven countries where DFID is engaged (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam). This note draws primarily on a survey of DFID country office staff located in these countries, and is supplemented by other DFID memos and notes relating to these countries. It also draws on a
  number of items in the public domain, especially civil society reflections on the PRS process in these countries
  and some independent research work

PRS Monitoring in Africa and accompanying matrices: Matrix 1 and Matrix 2 (June 2003)

• This is a note from the PRSP Monitoring and Synthesis Project, covering PRS and poverty monitoring systems in eight African countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia). In all eight countries, a full PRSP has been drafted and a JSA has gone to the WB/IMF Boards. This note was researched from the UK, drawing on publicly available information, consultants' reports and DFID's own knowledge base. It addresses key questions as highlighed in Booth and Lucas' paper on PRS monitoring systems (ODI, 2002).

Experience with PRSPs in Transtition Countries (February 2003)

• This is a note from the PRSP Monitoring and Synthesis Project, providing an update on progress with the PRSP
  process in a number of transition economies where DFID is engaged. The note does not provide a thorough analysis
  of the current situation in each country nor does it make specific recommendations on action or policy. Some
  possible areas for further research and attention are elucidated at the end.

Experience with Poverty Reduction Strategies in Latin America and the Caribbean (February 2003)

Experiencia en Estrategias de lucha contra la pobreza en América Latina y el Caribe (February 2003)

• Covers the PRSP process in Bolivia, Guyana, Honduras and Nicaragua, the four countries in the LAC region that are part of the enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Country debt relief initiative (HIPC II). An update on the PRS process in some non-HIPC countries (Guatemala, Paraguay, and some Carribean countries) is also included.The report was researched from the UK through key informants in each country concerned. It draws primarily on the reflections and perceptions of DFID’s social development advisors and in-country civil society actors.

Assessing Participation (February 2002)

• Summary of IDS paper 'Assessing Participation', covering the principle and practice of participation in a PRS context, the value that participation has added, and implications for donor action.

DFID's engagement with PRSPs (March 2002)

• Results of a survey of DFID country offices on their engagement with the PRSP process, covering policy shifts, changing areas of involvement, aid modalities, donor coordination, IFI behaviour, and the future of national PRSP processes.

Key findings on PRSPs to date(September 2001)

• Key findings on PRSPs on the themes of poverty diagnosis, participation, content, public expenditure management, monitoring and evaluation, capacity issues and donor behaviour.