Summaries of Ten Country Case Studies Undertaken as Part of the IEO Evaluation of the PRSP/PRGF and OED Review of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Process

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched the poverty reduction strategy (PRS) initiative in 1999 to improve the planning, implementation, and monitoring of public actions geared toward reducing poverty. The PRS paper and poverty reduction and growth facility (PRGF) were intended to transform the way the Bank and the fund operated in low income countries. This volume contains summaries of ten country case studies namely, Albania, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Tajikistan, Tanzania, and Vietnam conducted for the IMF's independent evaluation office (IEO) evaluation of the PRSP and PRGF and the World Bank's operations evaluation department (OED) evaluation of the PRS process. Evaluators interviewed government officials, civil society groups or representatives, international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other external partners during field visits in all ten countries, and also reviewed internal and publicly available documents prepared by the IMF and World Bank staff. Stakeholders commented on the preliminary findings of the evaluation teams, and in most cases workshops were held at the end of the mission. The governments of the countries were asked to comment on the full case study reports, which reflect their remarks.