Rural poverty reduction is a key objective of the Government of Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank. The ADB provided assistance to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan, to commission a study on the determinants and drivers of poverty reduction and ADB’s contribution in rural Pakistan. Haris Gazdar of the Collective was engaged as team-leader. Other team members include Dr Ali Cheema and Shandana Mohmand (both of the Lahore University of Management Sciences), Arif Pervaiz, Khaleel Tetlay and Bilquis Tahira. The aim of the study is to assist policy-making by identifying and investigating structural factors associated with poverty reduction and/or resilience. An Inception Report of the project was prepared and discussed at a national workshop in January 2005. A Scoping Paper based on an extensive literature review was prepared and discussed at a national workshop in Islamabad in March 2005.