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BRAC-AKFC
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Summary of 2006 BRAC conference
What Works for the Poorest? Knowledge, Policies and Practices
BRAC Centre, Dhaka, 2-5 December, 2006
From December 3-5, 2006, BRAC’s Research and Evaluation Division (RED) brought together academics and practitioners from around the world to share and generate knowledge on innovative and effective ways to address extreme poverty.
The conference, entitled What Works for the Poorest: Knowledge, Policies and Practice, was supported by Aga Khan Foundation of Canada (AKFC) through the Learning Partnership, a project which aims to disseminate lessons, models, methodologies and best practices gathered by RED on BRAC’s work among the extremely poor.
BRAC began working with the extreme or ‘ultra’ poor in 2002, when they launched their innovative and integrated program, Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction – Targeting the Ultra Poor (CFPR-TUP). This program was established out of recognition that those living in extreme poverty have generally been bypassed by government and NGO development programs. BRAC uses participatory methods to identify the poorest members of the communities they work in, and supports them with asset transfers, skill training, and health and social services. The success of this integrated approach has generated worldwide interest in the CFPR-TUP model.
The conference, which was held in conjunction with the University of Manchester’s Chronic Poverty Research Centre, presented an opportunity for organizations working with those living in extreme poverty to share their own experiences and learn about the components of the CFPR-TUP. In addition, a number of academics made presentations that allowed for discussion and debate on the key issues involved in extreme poverty reduction.
Despite the limited amount of time available, a wide variety of topics were covered over the three days of the conference. The 150 participants attended sessions on health needs of the ultra poor, social protection, education, asset building and voice and representation, among others. In addition, a number of sessions were dedicated specifically to sharing experiences of programs and approaches adopted by participating organizations.
Many approaches to addressing extreme poverty were discussed during the conference and a number of key issues emerged to shape the way forward. Perhaps the most prevalent issue was that of targeting. In particular, the importance of effectively identifying the poorest households was stressed and the obstacles and strategies for targeting the ultra poor were debated. In addition, the issue of social structures and, for Bangladesh in particular, the role of elites in supporting the ultra poor, was debated. There was concern over whether programs should be working within the existing social and political structures, or trying to break them down. There was also much debate over the use of cash transfers in extreme poverty reduction programs. Finally, the need for pro-poorest economic growth was also stressed by many participants, although it was agreed that there is need for a clearer understanding of pro-poorest growth and how it can be achieved.
As one of the first conferences to address the issues of extreme poverty, participants deemed it an extremely successful event. But many felt much more remains to be done in the area of sharing knowledge and experience. A number of proposals were put forward for follow-up workshops, online information exchange forums, and exchange visits. This desire to continue sharing knowledge and experience on extreme poverty in other forums in the future is perhaps the best reflection of the conference’s success.
Read more about the conference
http://www.chronicpoverty.org/pdfs/BRAC-BWPI-CPRC_2006ConferenceSummary.pdf
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