This report involved an analysis of current government policies and programmes with regard to their objectives and intended impact. The second stage involved the field work, where four teams visited twelve villages in various locations across the country as part of the Rapid Rural Appraisal exercise. These findings are presented along the lines of the four research areas which were investigated. The final part of this volume then tries to link the policy analysis and the village findings, in an attempt to make recommendations for future policy actions. There is a second volume to this report which involves a detailed analysis of the process with recommendations on how the management and running of such an exercise can be improved. Source: Qualitative Impact Monitoring of Poverty Alleviation Policies and Programmes in Malawi Volume 1 : Research Findings