This paper is one of a series on the experiences of European donors with the use of aid for poverty reduction and is the product of a major research programme involving ten European development research institutes.

This report on Tanzania by Timo Viopio and Paul Hoebink is part of the second stage of the research, consisting of a series of seven in-country studies to examine the operations of the European donors in pursuit of poverty reduction in Bolivia, Burkina Faso, India, Nepal, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. An important part of this work has been to evaluate the effectiveness of different types of poverty related donor interventions. Special attention has been paid to the nature of the processes involved. Collective and comparative experience of poverty reduction effectiveness has been explored, including any ‘best practices’, and the main determinants of effectiveness have been examined.