If development is to be ‘pro-poor’, then institutions and political systems must work for poor people. Achieving change requires good governance: legitimate and accountable rulers, an active civil society and a responsive and capable public administration. It also requires transforming the less formal political structures and practices that prevent poor people from exercising their voice and realising their rights.

Reform and change for pro-poor governance

The IDL group has considerable experience in the areas of policy and institutional reform, sector reform, and organisational change management. We have developed a reputation for fostering successful processes of pro-poor organisational change at local, national and international levels. These change processes have contributed to progress in creating more efficient and accountable community-based and non-government organisations, local governments, line ministries and international institutions.

Our approach to reform that achieves poverty reduction and greater equity looks beyond simply building technical capacity. We seek to facilitate a process through which poor
people’s voices are amplified and their political representatives and service providers are held to account. For this approach to be successful there has to be a sound analysis of the political economy of policy making, followed by a necessary transformation of policies and administrative and political structures.

Applied political analysis:

Politics is central to development. Yet politics is messy and complex and therefore often gets pushed to the margins of development planning. Increasingly, however, we find that high quality political analysis is essential if development initiatives are to be effective. Without a sound understanding of political actors and processes, the best laid plans can go astray. A better understanding of politics helps to create and nurture opportunities for pro-poor change.

A growing body of field experience and academic literature has provided new insights into the political role of elites, the power of grassroots coalitions and civil society, the ability of different political systems to deliver for the poor and the role of foreign aid in domestic politics. Building on these insights and our substantial history of work with governments, donors and local organisations, theIDLgroup is increasingly engaged in carrying out applied political analysis.

Applied political analysis helps clients to:

• Understand and engage with the political context of the county in which they are operating—incorporating both formal and informal political structures and agents;
• Assess the interrelationships between political and economic institutions and relevant interest groups in specific sectors;
• Identify allies and opponents of pro-poor change and actions that donors can take to support these ‘drivers for change’; and
• Appreciate the ways in which specific interventions are likely to be shaped by political actors and processes.

Examples of Relevant Experience

We are currently developing an analytical toolkit for understanding local level Drivers of Change in developing countries. In Zambia we have been exploring the political processes of policy formation and their consequences for economic growth and poverty reduction. In Uganda, Ghana and Mozambique, we have worked on complex legislative and institutional reforms to enable poverty-focused agricultural development. As part of a review of DFID Bangladesh’s efforts to achieve the international development targets we challenged many assumptions about the linkages between strategy, activity and impact on the ground. We recently facilitated a workshop with DFID’s Asia directorate to explore the role of development assistance in Asia in 2020. We are helping to reform government research organisations in Kenya and Nepal so that they better reflect the needs of poor people.