- which qualitative data brings to the quantitative data. The experience of the PPAs suggests that the reverse is equally true;

4. Some have commented that the PPAs over-emphasize poverty and negative developments. The study teams did work with wealthier households also, but only with better-off households in the poor areas. Some argued that conducting a participatory assessment with better-off households could highlight the key resources and opportunities, which the prosperous have, but the poor do not have. Though interesting, this was not a priority for the PWG or for any possible PPA-implementing agency; _5._ There were often problems with the institutional analysis. Both the standard Venn diagram exercises and the institutional rankings suggested in the Voices of the Poor process guide were unable to cut through the sensitivities inherent in this analysis.

# **_Documenting findings for different needs_**

The number of different agencies involved in the implementation of the PPAs meant the output was serving a variety of needs: the PPA agencies' research needs; the Voices of the Poor research needs; local and national Government needs; and, the PWG's needs. Research findings were gathered together to serve this variety of ends (see Diagram 2). PPA study teams wrote up site reports for each district they visited (with the exception c f the Lao Cai team, who jumped this step). From this, they drafted their local PPA synthesis reports. These reports, now published in both Vietnamese and English, have been circulated widely within the PPA provinces and nationally. They have served as a basis for local discussions on poverty, informed the programs of local Governrment agencies and the PPA study agency, and raised issues of importance for local policy formulation.

The national synthesis report takes the four summary site reports and collates the findings. This step was originally included in order to contribute to the Voices of the Poor global research exercise, but has turned out to be a valuable document in its own right. First, for those who lack time to read individual reports, it presents the highlights. Secondly, it provides an opportunity to reinforce findings that arise across the different sites in a variety of different social, economic and geophysical environments. Many of the problems of poverty were found to be just as crucial in Ho Chi Minh City as in remote, upland villages. This in turn helps to respond to some of the criticisms that the PPAs were simply collecting anecdotes that were isolated or extreme cases. Where findings crop up repeatedly, although different research teams in different areas using different methodology are presenting them, it suggests that the analysis is cutting through the biases of any one particular research team. The national report also identifies problems that are specific to particular locations. Thirdly, it made the work of incorporating the findings into the national analysis of poverty and merging it with the quantitative findings much easier. The national synthesis report has been published in both Vietnamese and English and circulated widely.

Diagrarn 2 shows the many levels of documentation that flowed from the PPAs. The bolcd arrows that direct the PPA analysis into the national poverty assessment mark the route that brought the PPA findings to the attention of national policymakers. The dotted line to the Voices of the Poor and the WDR2000 exercises indicates a less direct impact at a national level, although the association with these high-profile international studies has 16