The Combat Poverty Agency is a state agency whose mission is to promote a more just and inclusive society by working for the prevention and elimination of poverty. It pursues this through policy advice, project support and innovation, research and public education. One of its key objectives is to ensure that the National Anti-Poverty Strategy (NAPS) makes significant progress in preventing, reducing and eliminating poverty.

The Combat Poverty Agency has the responsibility of overseeing an evaluation of the NAPS process, to include consideration of the views and experiences of the community and voluntary sector. The Agency has been asked to present the results of this evaluation to the government's Inter-Departmental Policy Committee on NAPS. Part 1 of this document briefly overviews recent developments relevant to NAPS and sets out a series of policy recommendations to enhance its further impact