This publication is a compilation of selected papers from the 5th Annual Symposium on Poverty Research in Sri Lanka, held in October 2004. The papers look at the lessons learnt as well as the experiences gained by practitioners and researchers working on poverty related issues in Sri Lanka. There is a growing emphasis by the development sector and policy makers on assessing the impacts of policies, programmes and projects on poverty. Therefore it has become increasingly important to reflect on the rigorousness of the methodology and conceptual framework used by researchers and evaluators in assessing poverty impacts. This volume provides new conceptual and methodological approaches, backed by practical experiences, for the analysis of poverty impacts in various parts of Sri Lanka.