While civil society groups and Members of Parliament were consulted in the formulation of poverty reduction strategies, their role has been minimal in the implementation of key programs. Increasingly, civil society groups are playing a key role as on-the-ground monitors of these strategies and programs, and their impacts on the poorest of the poor in Ghana.

The Institute for Policy Alternatives (IPA) and the Parliamentary Centre are working to improve the social outreach of the Parliament of Ghana by preparing a more sustained basis for their interaction with civil society groups who are working to enhance pro-poor advocacy in areas of the country where poverty is highest, especially in the Northern Regions as well as selected poor districts in other regions.
 

Key objectives of this program component include:

•  Deepening the nature and range of Parliamentary-civil society links in the North (and selected poor Districts in other regions), specifically focusing on pro-poor policies, budgets, gender impacts and poverty monitoring.
•  Forging backward linkages by connecting the whole process more to District Assembly and other local levels of civil society-governance interface, both as a source of information for transparent governance and also as a process of generating civic demand for accountability and good governance.
•  Coherent capacity building for civil society groups on public policy management corresponding to Parliament's role.
•  Supporting research and information needs of Committees and civil society in their efforts to engage with each other, including opportunitiesfor leaders of civil society visiting Parliament and parliamentary Committee leaders engaging selected public hearings at District levels on issues of relevance to the poverty-reduction-related Committees.
•  Assisting and supporting MPs to develop improved approaches for outreach to poor people"s groups in their own constituencies, including women’s groups, through practicing these approaches as Committees.