Influencing change
Ireland is privileged to have a seat at the table in many national and international fora where policies are discussed and formulated. We use our voice to make sure those discussions and decisions take the needs and rights of poor people, especially women, into account. And we work closely with other governments and civil society organisations, supporting them to develop and implement policies and programmes that support poverty reduction.
We are continually updating our knowledge to ensure our decisions, policies and programmes, and those of our partners, are based on sound evidence of what works and what will have the most impact in terms of changes in the lives of poor people and communities.
We do this by learning from our own experience and practice, from evaluations and reviews and from the best available research. We share our knowledge and experience internally, across government and with our partners to promote good practice, scale up innovations and influence policies in areas where we can make the most difference.
We encourage partnership between government and civil society that aims at empowering the poor and marginalised so they can have greater influence over public policy and budget allocations.
Engagement at international level is about ensuring more effective development and better results for poor people.
Civil society and community organisations are uniquely placed to ensure that the voices of the poor are heard and that their representative organisations have a seat at the decision-making table. We support these organisations to undertake innovative programmes that can inform government policy and be expanded for national impact.
We also support a number of organisations that defend the civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights of men and women in countries around the world.
Making national policy is the prerogative of country governments. But donor countries, including Ireland, in partnership with civil society organisations and others, play an active role in supporting country governments to develop and implement policies that will have a beneficial impact of the lives of poor people and communities across a wide range of areas.
Engagement at international level is about ensuring more effective development and better results for poor people. So we bring our priorities, principles, knowledge and experiences to bear in discussions at international fora. And we work with other governments and international organisations to generate momentum and leadership around important policy initiatives, such as hunger.
Find Out More
Find out about the results we support in our key partner countries