The different projects and activities described in the case study used a variety of strategies to become involved in the PRS process.

Written statements

Disability stakeholders in Honduras, Bangladesh and Sierra Leone wrote position documents and forwarded them to a broad audience (government, donors and international organisations). In Cambodia disability stakeholders contributed to a general statement on the part of the civil society. In Bangladesh the position paper they produced was not only helpful in raising the awareness of PRS stakeholders, but also helped to promote internal orientation and to define a joint strategy within the disability movement all over the country. In all of these examples these written statements proved helpful to raise awareness, although it did not have a direct effect on the PRS in all cases.    

Analysis

In Tanzania the disability organisations conducted a participatory poverty analysis among people with disabilities and contributed data to the general poverty analysis. The data proved that people with disabilities belong to the most vulnerable groups in society, and consequently the PRSP addressed them at several points. This shows that concrete data can be very convincing for PRS decision-makers and represent a valuable basis for planning. However, in many countries reliable data about people with disabilities do not exist and no means are available for research. Honduras solved this problem by putting the claim for a disability statistic into its PRSP. 

Networking

In all case studies networking proved essential. Networking affects two levels: internal and external. Internal networking means that organisations of and for people with disabilities should try to unite and claim for a joint position. This is certainly challenging, as defining a joint position risks ignoring diversity. However, as PRS is a national process with many stakeholders involved, it is extremely important for any national disability movement to maximise its legitimacy in terms of ensuring widespread support and to present a very clear message.

External networking means that disability organisations need to approach PRS stakeholders such as government institutions, ministries, donor organisations, international organisations, research institutions, etc. In all case studies the existing contacts with representatives within the government and other important stakeholders proved very helpful. At the same time, PRS also offers a platform to establish new contacts, because these strategies regroup a variety of stakeholders. These contacts can later prove helpful in other situations as well.  

Speaking with one voice

As mentioned above, it is helpful for DPOs to form a type of network and to speak with one voice. However, this is very challenging, as persons with disabilities are not homogeneous, and often have very differing interests and problems. The claim to speak “with one voice” is also challenged by the fact that specific groups are sometimes completely overlooked, for example persons with intellectual disabilities, whose families are rarely formally organised, thus usually effectively barring them from contributing to the PRS process. 

Demonstration of good practice

In Cambodia local DPOs implemented small-scale projects, for example women with disabilities attended a vocational training course. This project was then shown to community authorities as a good example of how to support people with disabilities. In Vietnam a sign language course was organised. This was reported on newspapers and TV, causing many persons to react positively and request the local authorities to offer similar courses. In both countries small-scale projects turned out to be an excellent way of raising the awareness of both the public and the authorities and to present them a solution for the identified problem. Very often, the authorities may feel overstrained when confronted with the problems of people with disabilities and might not be able to develop solutions themselves, which thus stresses the need for proactive and positive propositions.  

Awareness-raising

Raising awareness about the situation of people with disabilities is the first step of any other activity. Too often people with disabilities are overlooked and “invisible”. Therefore disability stakeholders must make every effort to raise the visibility of people with disabilities, especially among the broader public. When they are generally accepted as human beings like everybody else who need to be included in society, public opinion will eventually also have an effect on decision-makers.