The recently published note ‘Understanding Poverty and Wellbeing: A note with implications for research and poverty’ (ODI website), is the product of sessions convened by DFID with poverty researchers in late 2010 and early 2011. DFID invited a group of researchers to set out their views on the key innovations in the meaning and measurement of poverty. The note takes stock of poverty research to date, proposes a set of ‘building blocks’ or lessons learnt in terms of poverty policy analysis and research, and identifies challenges and future directions for research.

In November 2010, the UK Department for International Development invited a small group of academics to discuss and take stock of ‘what we think we know’ about poverty. This led to conversations about “Where are the gaps in our knowledge and learning?” and, “What is the future direction for research on poverty?”

DFID Research and Evidence Division convened two roundtable discussions with a group of senior academic researchers in November 2010 and March 2011 to reflect on new poverty concepts and indicators, to discuss their implications for policy and practice and, looking forward, to identify gaps that should be addressed through future research and synthesis.

This final poverty and well-being note is an output from a further stage in the process where a drafting group came together to reflect on these questions in more detail and drafted this note to outline a position on key learning and future directions for research, which was then circulated back to the wider group for comment and feedback.