This book is about how and why a group of people with diverse interests and backgrounds chose to align themselves to address development issues in their communities. The book introduce, discusses and analyzes an institutional process crafted by this group called a public interest partnership (PIP). It argues that effective PIPs promote improved accountability, predictability, transparency and participation, wich in turn translate to desirable development outcomes.
This book tell six real-life stories wich illustrate these partnership and help us to understand them. The stories are about people in six communities in four different country in Southeast Asia. Although they come different cultures, backgrounds and socio-political contexts, they have something in common. They have all chosen to experiment with new ways for actors from within and outside the state to align in a partnership addressing issues public concern. The actors contribute certain assets to the common task. The combination of these assets create a new synergy, just as the combination of different colors creates a new motif on the weaving loom. Together the six stories weave a rich tapestry of experience from which an interesting pattern emerges.