• Empowerment of the poor is one ingredient in effective poverty reduction. • A demand-driven participatory approach enhances effectiveness and efficiency. • Accountability is the central lever for participatory governance. • Capacity building is necessary for making participatory...

• Renforcer le pouvoir des populations défavorisées est un élément déterminant pour lutter efficacement contre la pauvreté. • Une approche participative reposant sur la demande accroît l'efficience et l'efficacité. • L'obligation de rendre des comptes est le pivot de la gouvernance...

'Development is too important simply to be left entirely at the discretion of the state's functionaries'. Mark Turner and David Hulme (1997) Governance, Administration and Development, London: MacMillan Press, p. 241. <P>Conventional poverty reduction strategies have produced disappointing results...</p>