With the Support of Multitudes: Using Strategic Communication to Fight Poverty through PRSPs

A Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) is a national action plan for reducing poverty, implemented by governments around the world through participatory processes involving civil society in discussion of the appropriate strategy in each context.

This publication, offered by the DevComm Division of the World Bank and the Information & Communication for Development (ICD) team of the UK Department for International Development (DFID), is based on the premise that participation and country ownership of poverty reduction strategies (PRS) largely depend on the effective use of information through a systematic application of communication tools and techniques. It focuses, in particular, on strategic communication, which "is much more than merely informing citizens about PRSPs. Rather, it is the active seeking of the perspectives and contributions of citizens so that they can help to shape policy. It also means ensuring that mechanisms are in place for a two-way flow of information and ideas between the government and the citizenry as well as making deliberate efforts to build consensus amongst stakeholders about the development strategy the nation wishes to pursue." Chapters titled "Structural Impediments to Participation and Country Ownership" and "Strategic Communication: Principles, Challenges and Applications" expound this type of communication. An annotated bibliography and references to further resources on strategic communication in PRSPs are also offered.

Because "[o]ne of the main lessons of this study is that PRSPs are not implemented in green houses, but in very specific national contexts," the authors use country case studies and analysis based on the experience and challenges of specific efforts to integrate communication to enhance the effectiveness of PRSPs. The illustrations and discussion are specific to Ghana, Moldova, Tanzania, Bolivia, Cambodia, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Rwanda, Niger, Rwanda, Uganda, and Vietnam.

"Senior policymakers in countries implementing Poverty Reduction Strategies, as well as donor organisations, are urged to read and reflect on the lessons reported in this study. And to pass the work on to technical staff responsible for the implementation of Poverty Reduction Strategies around the world."