For a municipality focused on improving services to the poor, the first stage is to develop this understanding of the poor's livelihoods, to develop links into poor communities that enable information to be channelled and institutional knowledge to be developed. Participatory poverty assessments and livelihood analyses are effective participatory processes through which governmental and non-governmental actors can develop knowledge about the livelihoods of poor communities. Such studies involve the poor in identifying their own problems and needs, or the assets that structure their livelihoods.
A primary purpose of this targeted information collection is to ascertain the specific nature of poverty for a full range of inhabitants, from the robust to the vulnerable. This includes the nature of livelihood strategies and how various types of households cope in a crisis. To this extent it should examine various trends and stages in the lives of the poor. It should expose the inter-relationships between the various dimensions of poverty and thereby highlight causal links between service and non-service problems. The process should provide an assessment of the structure, dynamics, severity and characteristics of poverty in a community and within households. Such information is essential if investment, interventions and interactions are to be targeted and effective in alleviating poverty. These approaches differ from other demand- assessment methods3 in that they are qualitative, inclusive and open.
Carried out effectively, qualitative assessments can form the basis of community participation within the partnership and delivery process. Participatory action should not only give a voice to powerful, elite members of the community (who are normally men) but also empower the weaker and more vulnerable groups to express their perception of their poverty.