Partnership Forums are the means by which the OECD Development Assistance Committee provides a venue for non-governmental actors to express their points of view and to offer their own contributions to development policy and strategy. In December 2000, the DAC and the Development Centre held a Forum on ways of integrating civil society into policy formation in developing countries, and to identify obstacles to such involvement. Participants agreed that civil society's role in poverty-reduction strategies had been an important element in succesful implementation.

This book contains 8 papers presented at the Forum, covering experience in a variety of countries with a variety of stakeholders. The wide-ranging discussion concluded that civil-society participation in policy making not only enhances efficiency in implementation, but also contributes to the creation of more pluralistic and democratic political systems.