The discussion on mainstreaming governance in Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) projects was the third e-discussion of SDC’s e+I Network in 2012. It followed a discussion on Women Economic Empowerment that was organised in cooperation with the M4P Hub and a discussion onM4P and Rural Advisory Services (RAS) in cooperation with SDC’s RAS Network.
Addressing governance issues in M4P projects proves to be in an early stage and only a few regions and projects have tackled the issue explicitly. One team that has proven to be a thought leader within SDC is the Cooperation Office South Caucasus, which has produced some guiding documents for M4P projects implemented in the region. Examples of projects that actively tackle governance aspects were also brought forward from Bangladesh and the occupied Palestinian territory.
There was no broad consensus between the participants. This synthesis tries to find a red threat in the very diverse voices that contributed to this e-discussion, illustrating some of the points with quotes and examples from the participants. Many questions remain open after the discussion and need to be tackled in other fora.