Résumé en anglais

The aim of this policy brief is to identify dependencies between public aid and subjective and collective empowerment strategies in aid projects. Based on the evidence provided in six qualitative case studies in Vietnam, Mexico and Botswana, the authors find women empowerment, innovation-led capacity building and support of self-organized associations and their engagement in community mobilization and advocacy to stand up for their rights to be the most efficient way to ensure longevity and voluntary extension of aid projects. The research shows that concentrating on empowerment provides a unique setting for collective learning and supports the articulation of one`s own perspective within a broader context. New ideas and strategies for how to act provide knowledge and strengthen the overall efforts to create a ―good life‖ for all. Our research shows that empowerment enables the participants to define a goal for their activities: they realize that there are not only problems in their lives, but also spaces of possibilities for the poor.