Cape Verde’s Rural Poverty Reduction Program (PLPR)

1. Cape Verde’s Rural Poverty Reduction Program (PLPR) From fighting poverty to creating society’s capacity to fight poverty at different levels (comunitary, local, national) Samuel Thirion (INDE)

2. FIRST KEY IDEA: PARTNERSHIP • International institution (IFAD) vertical partnership • National territorial partnership: (UCP & national committee) vertical partnership • Regional/local territorial partnership (CRP) vertical partnership • Community territorial partnership (ACD) vertical partnership • Beneficiaries PARNERSHIPS ARE INDEPENDENT FROM PUBLIC AUTHORITIES

3. SECOND KEY IDEA: AUTONOMY OF LOCAL PARTNERSPHIPS THROUGH FORMAL CONSTITUTION AND FACILITATING TEAM (ANIMATEURS) In order to create a capacity and process of: • observing together and sharing objectives • creating a consensus on strategy and territorial action plan to fight poverty • applying, managing and monitor the action plan • mobilizing and managing new financial resources • drawing lessons and improving actions and methods • capitalizing and transmitting know how

4. THIRD KEY IDEA: CREATING A LEARNING PROCESS THROUGH FORMAL CYCLES • The Program features • Flexible Lending Mechanism (FLM): • long term commitment (9 yrs) • organization in three phases with triggers: • Phase I: institutional building and demonstration activities; • Phase II: First cycle of PLLP • Phase III: Second Cycle of PLLP and exit • Costs: USD 18 million with IFAD providing 50%, Gov’t, 36% and end-users, 14%

5. FOURTH KEY IDEA: AUTONOMY WITH RESPONSIBILITY IN THE VERTICAL PARTNERSHIP • Global agreement for every phase from the second phase:three-year “convencao-quadro” / annual “contrato-programa” • A posteriori control: strong ex post control (on results), and lighter ex ante control (on methods) • Bottom up evaluation More information on specific features: • identification of priorities left to the communities, monitored by animators • reasonable cost ceiling for community projects • Negative list • partnership and co-financing (among the partners) encouraged • Contract and follow up with a small PCU under the National Poverty Reduction Program (PNLP):

6. FIFTH KEY IDEA: MAJORITY REPRESENTATION OF POOR PEOPLE IN PARTNERSHIPS • Majority of votes to community organizations within the CRPs • ACD plans as starting point for elaborating CRP strategy (“convençao quadro”) • Empowerment of ACD through training

7. SIXTH KEY IDEA: INTER-TERRITORIAL PARTNERSHIP THROUGH DECENTRALIZED COOPERATION • Direct cooperation between CRP and GAL (LEADER) in Portugal • International solidarity

8. Main results • Targeting actions on the poorest and for their basic needs: social and economic • Learning process at the different levels • Social capital of poor people and social cohesion in the global society

9. D- Main difficulties 1- Territorial partnerships • Democracy in local partnerships (to accept diversity) • Difficulties in continuity • Establishing strategies and not list of projects • To include access to resources in the debate 2- Vertical partnership • Tendency to impose instead of dialogue 3- Extra-territorial partnerships • Opening the partnership to new approaches • Cross-fertilizing approaches • Key questions: - laboratory function  key role of the first phase - Training integrated in action (learning from and planning together)

10. Thank you for your attention!