Jointly, the World Bank and the Government of Albania undertook an assessment of poverty, conducted in a qualitative manner, to gain information that could guide policy development and resource allocation. The research was conducted through a series of focus groups, interviews, and surveys that permitted community members in ten areas within Albania, to define poverty in their own terms. During the ten years of reform, Albania has been buffeted by set backs which led fully 40 percent of respondents to indicate that socio-economic conditions have worsened during that period. While informal coping mechanisms have been developed in many communities, these are under stress and threaten to give way. The study suggests that a poverty reduction strategy must, at the very least, include improvements in government management, employment opportunities, provision of social services, infrastructure development, and public security.