Revisiting the PRSP Experience in Bangladesh: Perspectives on Representation, Accountability and Inclusiveness

Given its political history and economic performance, Bangladesh emerges as an interesting case to study the nature of representation, extent of inclusiveness and degree of accountability of various actors in the process of designing and implementation of national development plans. While a number of country studies on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process are available, literature and information on the above mentioned subject are rather scarce in Bangladesh, particularly from the perspectives of representation, accountability and inclusiveness. Based on structured interviews with a select group of relevant stakeholders including policymakers, members of the civil society and the development partners to generate the required additional information, the paper presents insights into the nature and extent of participation of the civil society organisations in the Bangladesh PRS exercise, and analyses the degrees of representation, accountability and inclusiveness achieved in the country’s PRS process.