In accordance with the Terms of Reference provided to the consultant, the main purpose of this discussion paper was to address two questions, What is RBM? and What is it not? A secondary purpose was to identify some core principles to guide the development and implementation of poverty reduction strategies.
Representatives of the four bilateral agencies expected that this paper would generate extensive discussion and debate on the concepts, principles and perspectives put forward, thus beginning an iterative process of dialogue and revision until some acceptable degree of consensus could be reached. A subsequent iteration of the paper could elaborate more fully on the implications for donor agencies and developing countries alike when applying the RBM approach in the context of developing and implementing poverty reduction strategies.