This Guidance Note is based on a Synthesis Report reviewing country experience with the implementation of Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEFs) and the links being made to national poverty reduction strategies  (PRSPs).1 The Synthesis is based on nine country case studies: Albania, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. Except for the Albania case, which was prepared separately and is included with the kind permission of the World Bank author, all the cases were undertaken between June and October 2002 with the financial assistance of DFID and the EC. Consultants carrying out the case studies followed a common checklist of questions covering the main features of MTEF functioning, organisational and institutional integration and links with the national Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRSP) and other strategic planning processes.

 This Guidance Note is an attempt to translate some of the main findings and messages from the Synthesis Report and the Case Studies into a set of principles and practices for those working in the field of public expenditure reform and poverty reduction.