We spent significant time on Board development and registration process. The Executive Board and Board Committees were engaged in institutional governance. We also developed Country Strategy Paper – IV and carried out change management. South Asia Social Forum was other major engagement. Besides regular work with long-term, strategic, network and project partners, we facilitated 94 Lokokendras (people’s organisations), 18 Self-Help Groups and 813 village farmers’ associations.

We have been doing development work in Bangladesh for the last 29 years and have achieved amazing feats. In last 10 years we carried out significant work in transforming national policies that affected millions of Bangladeshi citizens. Seven brief stories inside will portray how people themselves could struggle and change policies and why we need to be more closely engaged and work with them in transforming their lives… We believe this publication will inspire and show direction to others who are committed to the vision – “people challenging poverty and exclusion

Learning Document Series 9-10 consists of two development alternatives. The first one is Social Audit, an effective democratic approach to create scope for people’sparticipation in the domain of implementing programmes, projects, laws and policies of the Government. This document indicates outlining not only the process of social audit but also stressing on its importance and effectiveness in making accountable programme planning and implementation system at local level. The second one narrates Participatory Plans and Budget process that we piloted in some selected Union Parishads (Ups – local government units) in Bangladesh. This initiative aims at reflecting people’s expectations in the UP’s ‘Plans and Budget’ and triggering socio-economic development of the people in these unions by ensuring development and services including health, agriculture and communication through transparency and accountability.

The year 2010 was the last year of ActionAid Bangladesh’s (AAB) third Country Strategy Paper (CSP-III) titled “Equality, Citizenship and Justice”. Review of the CSP-III and formulation of the CSP-IV were the major undertakings in 2010 while continuing interventions at different levels to strengthen the fight for the eradication of poverty and injustice. AAB shares the Vision, Mission and Values of global ActionAid.

Learning Document Series 6-8 contains three development alternatives. The first one is People Managed and Owned Savings and Credit, an alternative to the Conventional Microsoft Concept and Practice. This document describes our experiences and knowledge of how we assisted poor people to own and manage their savings and credit programme being totally independent from facilitating NGOs. Community Rice Bank, the second alternative, is shown to stand by the poor communities. This series depicts how community people innovated and initiated it and made an example for mitigating monga (lien season induced hunger) through a collective mechanism. Next one is Midday School Meal, quite a new initiative in Bangladesh and first piloted by us. It is expected that replicating and mainstreaming this model in the poverty-stricken areas of Bangladesh can combat school dropouts and thereby education for all can be achieved countrywide.

Learning Document Series 1-5 contains five development alternatives. The first one Putting the Poorest First tries to expose the process of addressing the hardcore poor as well as the areas that need further attention to addressing the hardcore poor. The second alternative is Polli-Mela – considered as an effective and interactive extension methodology for disseminating information and sharing experiences on prevention of domestic violence. The next one Partnership with Union Parishad relates prevention of domestic violence and other violence against women. The fourth one, Social Change Agents, argues that building the adolescents as social change agent has been the proven strategy for building future leaders of society for women- and girl-friendly environment and development. The last alternative is Hanging Garden that helps people survive and create voice against anti-people interventions.

This emerged from our former Impact Assessment and Shared Learning initiative to support critical thinking about and documentation of our rights-based work for transformation and justice. The initiative aimed more generally to strengthen our ability to write about change in an analytical, powerful and effective way. The stories, written by staff members most intimately connected to our ‘change’ work in the field ‘the front’, were developed through an empowering writing journey through five-day critical writing retreat, mentorship and peer support to deepen analysis.