In many developing countries the notion of the state being the development engine was abandoned in the social crises of the 80s and 90s. State-operated service systems proved increasingly incapable of meeting society’s needs. That has opened a wide services gap, especially in rural areas.

• There is a critical shortage of qualified and demand-driven service providers in research, extension, accessing information and non-formal training that are readily accessible to the poor.
  

Programmes in the rural areas increasingly work with state, private and civil society service providers. Decentralised local government authorities are also progressively outsourcing services. That has made the implementation of programmes and decentralisation all the more dependent on the capacity of these organisations to deliver. Hence there is great interest in developing efficient rural service delivery systems to help reduce poverty