Strengthening Capacities of Organizations of the Poor: Experiences in Asia: IFAD’s Experience in Building and Strengthening Rural Poor Organizations in Asia

One major component of SCOPE is the review of IFAD project experiences in Asia in building organizations and coalitions of the rural poor over the past 10 years.  The review involves an examination of the project formulation process and institution-building components of IFAD’s projects in Asia and the Pacific, looking particularly at experiences in building organizations of the rural poor, reflecting both on the successes and failures, difficulties and reliance and sustainability. The case studies shall be used to draw out discussed with the country Portfolio Managers and subsequently finalized in this publication. This review has been further enriched by the valuable inputs from the SCOPE Steering Committee, as well as from NGO representatives and five IFAD Project Directors during the “SCOPE Regional Workshop on Strengthening Rural Poor rganizations in Asia” last November 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand. In early February 2006, during the IFAD Asia Divisional Meeting, the review was discussed with the country Portfolio Managers and subsequently finalized in this publication. SCOPE stands for “Strengthening Capacities of Organizations of the Poor: Experiences in Asia”. The overall goal of SCOPE is to “enable the rural poor to form strong and sustainable coalitions and federations.” It aims to contribute to enhancing the capacity of IFAD and its partners to: (a) design and implement sustainable development actions of community based organizations (CBOs); and (b) promote upscaling and policy linkages of CBOs through their clusters and federations. SCOPE is a project supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and is jointly implemented by the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC) and the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP).