3.1.2 Drafting process

Many countries conduct a participatory poverty analysis (PPA before they start formulating their PRSP. The data from the PPA are used to provide a basis for planning (read more about PPA here). 

The formulation phase is usually the most participatory stage of the PRS. In this phase the government organises workshops and consultative meetings to get to know the opinion of civil society actors. In some countries these meetings are only organised in the capital and other main cities, but in others governments genuinely seek to widen participation across the country. Civil society organisations may find it relatively easy to participate in this step, however, it may also be the case that they struggle to be heard as a vast number of groups could raise their voices.

This example shows how a PRSP document may well be drafted and revised several times, giving civil society organisations ample opportunity to comment on the paper. In other examples, disability stakeholders in Bangladesh, Honduras and Sierra Leone prepared position papers on their respective draft PRSPs (see Chapter 4).

Many countries set up sector working groups (known as “cluster groups” in Tanzania) that are responsible for different parts of the PRSP. People with disabilities and their organisations should get the opportunity to participate in discussions on subjects such as social protection, health, human development, education, employment and infrastructure (see Chapter 6 – Disability). Without their participation, there is the danger that the disability dimension will be overlooked, thus potentially reducing people with disabilities to medical and welfare cases.

DPOs and other organisations working in the field of disability should try to gather information about the state of progress of their national PRS process and develop a joint strategy for all important issues. Intense networking is important at the point of the drafting process of the PRS (see Chapter 7). The development of a joint disability strategy is definitely extremely time-consuming. However, when trying to influence decision-makers, it is important to be united, since one voice is stronger and louder than many uncoordinated individual voices. Lobbying and advocacy instruments such as campaigns for awareness-raising (see Chapter 8) can influence decision-makers; partnerships with the media, (I)NGOs and government officials can improve capacities. It might be useful, for example, to formulate a “Disability Action Plan” and to include different stakeholders, e.g. employers in order to analyse working opportunities. It is important that all PRS stakeholders try to include a disability dimension in their sectors, as selective programmes do not address the whole vicious circle of disability-exclusion-poverty (see Chapter 6.4.1). To become more comprehensive and coherent, policy needs to focus on a sector, not on a target group. People with disabilities do not constitute a homogeneous group, and their possibilities range from total to zero autonomy; policy formulation therefore has to keep these degrees in mind and to offer a range of opportunities accordingly.

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