The Macro Level Handbook is designed for use by a wide cross section of policy makers, from ministry officials in governments, to heads of non-governmental agencies or private institutions, who are working at the level of national or international policy making. It aims to close the gap between what people need and what development delivers, through identification of women's and men's priorities using participatory processes. Putting socioeconomic analysis and gender analysis together helps us to frame appropriate questions about development. It also brings about closer cooperation between development agents and local people, and enhances the capacities of men and women to direct their own development. Thus, while most of the examples in this handbook center around gender, the analysis can also be applied, altered, or extended to other social structures and disadvantaged socioeconomic groups.
Disadvantaged people are a priority .
Poverty is strongly linked to socioeconomic factors that influence discrimination against disadvantaged groups and result in their exclusion from the development process. Participation of local people is essential for development . The approach envisages a participatory process of soliciting input from stakeholder groups during analysis, problem identification, project formulation, monitoring, and evaluation. Stakeholder Analysis , which is based on the idea that the best way to define problems is by enlarging or synthesizing them. It attempts to build up a comprehensive support base for interventions through strategic involvement of stakeholders at multiple levels of the system.