This three-part publication package presents the Local Multidimensional Poverty Index Plus (LMPI+), which combines robust data with community-defined realities to strengthen inclusive local development policies and programmes. Explore the evidence and lessons from the pilots, practical implementation guidance, and policy recommendations to support national systems and SDG monitoring.

Synthesis Report: With support from the Poverty and Inequality Funding Windows, UNDP’s Inclusive Growth and Extractives Team at the Regional Service Centre for Africa (RSCA) coordinated a two-year regional project to localize the Multidimensional Poverty Index. The initiative piloted the Local Multidimensional Poverty Index Plus (LMPI+) in Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, demonstrating how poverty measures can better reflect local realities through participatory approaches. This synthesis report documents the development of the LMPI+, including the mixed-methods approach, stakeholder engagement with National Statistics Institutes, and key policy recommendations for people-centred poverty measurement. It highlights the value of localized, multidimensional, and participatory tools for capturing the diverse and complex nature of poverty.

Guidance Note: This Guidance Note provides practical steps for designing and implementing the Local Multidimensional Poverty Index Plus (LMPI+), building on pilot studies in Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. It supports governments, UNDP Country Offices, and development partners in operationalizing a multidimensional and participatory approach to poverty measurement that integrates both objective indicators and subjective, community-defined dimensions of deprivation. The note outlines a step-by-step methodology, including stakeholder engagement, data collection, integration of qualitative and quantitative insights, and analysis. It also offers tools to adapt LMPI+ across contexts while maintaining methodological rigor and comparability. By following this Guidance Note, policymakers and practitioners can generate location-specific, actionable evidence to improve resource allocation, target vulnerable populations, and coordinate multisector interventions, thereby strengthening inclusive, evidence-based policy design for poverty eradication.

Policy Brief: Traditional poverty measures, including income-based and multidimensional indicators, provide standardized data but are often defined by experts with limited input from people living in poverty. Subjective poverty assessments help address this gap by incorporating lived experience, enabling a more complete and localized understanding of deprivation. This policy brief introduces the LMPI+, an innovative poverty measure that integrates objective indicators with subjective, community-defined dimensions. Drawing on lessons from pilot studies in Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, it shows how the LMPI+ can be adapted to different contexts and used to strengthen local development policies and programmes. The brief also offers actionable recommendations for embedding LMPI+ into national poverty diagnostics, policy frameworks, and SDG monitoring systems.