Parmesh Shah currently leads the rural livelihood and development cluster in South Asia region of the World Bank and is involved in designing and supporting a number of rural poverty reduction projects. His current areas of interest are economic and social organizations and networks of the poor, demand side approaches to governance, making markets and public services work for the poor and public private and people partnerships for rural poverty reduction. He has worked for the last twenty seven years for governments, civil society organizations, foundations and other bilateral and multilateral development organizations in Asia and Africa regions in the areas of community driven development, participatory approaches, institutional change and natural resources management.