Agenda 21 called on all countries to develop and implement sustainable development strategies - a need focused on again by the preparatory process for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. For such strategies to be effective in every country, there needs to be a real commitment by government, the private sector, and civil society to work together in a true partnership, in transparent ways which enable genuine stakeholder participation, and to co-ordinate necessary mechanisms and processes to enable continuous learning and improvement. The Resource Book provides flexible, non-prescriptive guidance on how to develop, assess, and implement national development strategies. It sets out principles and ideas on both processes and methods, and suggests how these can be used. Based on an analysis of practice in both developed and developing countries, it promotes a multi-stakeholder, continuous improvement approach, rather than one of rigid master plans.