LECTURE 4

WEEK 5

PARTICIPATORY DEVELOPMENT

Objectives.

By the end of this topic students will be able to:

• Explain the principles of participatory development

• Describe ways of encouraging participation

• Have a clear understanding of the reasons for participatory development

• Identify barriers to people’s participation

• Describe the role of politics in participatory development

• Describe the types of Participation

• Identify problems of Participation

4.0 Introduction.

Participatory development is all about involving people in the development and decision-

making in their own communities. Participation, as an approach to development, began in the

first instance, as an approach intended to subvert development orthodoxy (Richards, 1995). It

is not as modern a concept as most people think, having first appeared in the development

literature in the 1950s. This, and later developments of participation, were the logical direction

to take with respect to so many failed, wasted and damaging top-down projects and programs.

Participation became known as being synonymous with democracy, equity and popular

success. More recently, participation has been formalized into a development approach referred

as participatory appraisal. PA was first named in a Rapid Rural Appraisal workshop, held in

the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex in 1980, where the concept and name were

introduced to address the problems associated with RRA (see Chambers, 1994).

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Participation has now been wholly taken on board by a plethora of development institutions.

Possibly, the most important step for participatory approaches to development in Africa (and

whose definition is adhered to in this paper) came in 1990 with an international conference in

Arusha. Here, the African Charter for Popular Participation in Development and

Transformation (Arusha, 1990) stated that:

“Popular participation is, in essence, the empowerment of the people to effectively involve

themselves in creating the structures and in designing policies and programs that serve the

interests of all as well as to effectively contribute to the development process and share

equitably in its benefits”.

Participation has now come a long way from its early roots, it now has a history. While it’s

rapid evolution and uptake have created many success stories and ‘participatory models of

good practice’, there has also been a host of problems and contradictions.

4.1 What is Participatory Development?

Participatory development is a process through which stakeholders can influence and share

control over development initiatives and over the decisions and resources that affect

themselves. It seeks to engage local populations in development projects.

Participatory development involves the process of content creation. Local content creation

and distribution contributes to the formation of local information networks. Participatory

development is not an attempt to replace the top-down development approach with a local-

community-led approach. It is a viewpoint that simultaneously stresses the need for the

government-led approach in terms of national-level economic planning and coordination of

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development planning and the demerits of widening disparities and worsening poverty inherent

in that approach when used alone.

Participatory development attempts to introduce a bottom-up style of development in order to

remedy the government-led approach's shortcomings, specifically by focusing on qualitative

improvements in local society's participation.

Participatory development seeks to give the poor a part in initiatives and projects that are

designed by outside organizations in the hopes that these projects will be more sustainable and

successful by involving local stakeholders in the projects goals.” Decentralization and

devolution of authority to county governments are forms of participation in the sense that sub

national agencies now play a bigger role in the bringing about national progress.

In order to manage affairs as a community everyone in the community must feel that she/he is

involved and participating in the experience, whatever it may be. Participation is a process by

which people become involved at all stages in their own development, studying their own

situation and making decisions:

• Research

• Planning

• Implementing and managing

• Monitoring and evaluation

• Deciding on the distribution of benefits to ensure equitable sharing

When all the individuals of a community accept full responsibility for the outcome of an

undertaking and all individuals involve themselves actively in all aspects of a project, we say

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that the community owns the project. This means that the community accepts that it is

responsible for the (possible) future success of the project, but also for its (possible) failure.

Of course, it is impossible for every individual to participate in a project. Individual

participation needs to be structured by means of appointed representatives of the major social

groupings in the community. In societies, community members’ interests are best represented

by a structure comprising

• adult male (M),

• adult female (F) and

• youth (Y) representatives.

This is because the major divisions of labor and of social responsibility and authority in a rural

community are largely based on gender and age.

Perspectives of Participatory Development

1. Social Movement Perspective: This defines participation as the mobilization of people

to eliminate unjust hierarchies of and knowledge, power and economic distribution.

Empowerment Participation: This is when primary stakeholders are capable and

willing to initiate the process and take part in the analysis.

2. Institutional Perspective: Defines participation as the reach and inclusion of inputs by

relevant groups in the design and implementation of a development project.

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4.2 Stakeholders and Participatory Development

i. General Public: Those who are directly or indirectly affected by the project (women

groups, individuals and families, indigenous groups, religious groups)

ii. Government: Civil servants in ministries, cabinets etc.

iii. Representative assemblies: elected government bodies such as parliament, national

and local assemblies, district and municipal assemblies, elected community leaders etc.

iv. Civil Society Organizations: networks, national and international NGOs, grass root

organizations, trade unions, policy development and research institutes, media,

community based organizations.

v. Private sector: umbrella groups representing groups within the private sector,

professional associations, chambers of commerce.

vi. Donor and international financial institutions: resource providers and development

partners

4.3 Stages of Participatory Development

i. Research stage: This is where the development problem is accurately defined

ii. Design stage: defines the actual activities

iii. Implementation stage: is when the planned intervention is implemented

iv. Monitoring and evaluation: Stage participation ensures that the most significant

changes are voiced, brought to common attention and assessed

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4.4 Reasons for participatory development

There are several important reasons for promoting and implementing participatory

development approaches:

1. Empowerment: Participatory development empowers local communities and

individuals by giving them a voice in decisions that affect their lives. It allows them to

take control of their own development and make choices that are in their best interests.

2. Ownership and Commitment: When people have a say in the planning and

implementation of development projects, they are more likely to take ownership of

these projects and feel a sense of commitment to their success. This can lead to better

project outcomes and sustainability.

3. Local Knowledge and Expertise: Communities possess valuable local knowledge

about their needs, resources, and challenges. Involving them in the development

process ensures that this knowledge is tapped into and utilized effectively, leading to

more contextually relevant solutions.

4. Cultural Sensitivity: Participatory development takes into account local cultural norms,

values, and traditions, ensuring that projects are culturally sensitive and respectful. This

reduces the likelihood of imposing external ideas that may not be suitable or acceptable.

5. Inclusivity: It promotes inclusivity by involving marginalized and vulnerable groups,

ensuring that their needs and perspectives are considered in development initiatives.

This helps to reduce inequalities and promote social justice.

6. Improved Sustainability: Participatory development often leads to more sustainable

outcomes because the people directly affected by the projects are invested in their

success. They are more likely to maintain and adapt the initiatives over time.

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 7. Conflict Resolution: In situations of conflict or disputes, participatory processes can

serve as a platform for dialogue and negotiation, helping to resolve disputes and build

consensus among different stakeholders.

8. Efficiency and Effectiveness: Engaging local communities in decision-making can

improve the efficiency and effectiveness of development projects. It helps in identifying

and addressing the most pressing issues and ensures that resources are used more

effectively.

9. Social Capital Building: Participation in development activities can foster the

development of social capital within communities, including networks, trust, and

cooperation, which can be valuable for various aspects of community life.

10. Democratic Values: Participatory development aligns with democratic principles and

encourages civic engagement and active citizenship. It promotes the values of

accountability, transparency, and citizen participation in governance.

11. Better Planning and Monitoring: Communities often have a better understanding of

their own needs and can provide real-time feedback on project progress. This helps in

adjusting plans and strategies as needed.

12. Reduced Resistance to Change: When people are involved in decision-making, they

are more likely to embrace change and innovation, as they understand the reasons

behind them and have a say in how they are implemented.

13. Adaptation to Local Context: Participatory development allows for flexibility and

adaptation to changing circumstances and evolving needs, making projects more

resilient to unforeseen challenges.

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4.5 Ways of encouraging participation

The following are suggestions that can encourage community involvement in community

development:

i. Listen and ask open –ended questions. This will help the group find its own agenda.

This is the basis of sustainable development

ii. Delegate tasks so that everyone is involved or has the chance to become involved

iii. Use small groups. A large group makes it hard for shy people to participate.

iv. Give women the chance to work in groups with other women.

v. Begin with an activity which is interesting to most people. Building a community

resource map is a good way to start.

vi. Provide information that is meaningful to the groups.

vii. Help the group to access information. Take them to the local level government

offices, visit the lands office with them...

viii. Help the group to understand the underlying causes of their situation.

4.6 The Politics of Participation

Rahnema (1996) says participation has four functions:

1. Cognitive: Participation is aimed at finding new knowledge systems and creating a new

role and image for development. Development, as conceived and designed by expatriate

professionals using western scientific knowledge systems, is often inappropriate. Local

Knowledge Systems (LKS) have often been ignored or rejected.

2. Political: Participation’s objective is to legitimize development as an avenue for

helping the poor, empowering the powerless and thereby leading to equitable societies.

3. Instrumental: Quite simply participation is meant to ‘make things (projects) work’ by

providing new avenues and techniques.

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 4. Social: Participation has given development discourse a new legitimacy and lease of

life. In popular terms it has given encouragement to a flagging industry. Participation

was the approach to bring development to the many and fulfil basic needs.

Participation lends a completely different perspective to the traditional development approach.

It is a challenge and an affront to traditional, topdown, bureaucracy-led, development.

Although there has been widespread adoption of participation in many aspects of development

by a wide range of actors (dominated by NGOs and academic institutions), it is still,

fundamentally, a threat to many existing organizations. For such organizations, the concept of

empowerment of individuals and communities in order that they can prioritize, implement and

solve their own problems, in addition to challenging to wider political causes of such problems

is unconceivable. If this is true then the question should be asked, why then has there been, in

the last few years, an unprecedented call for participatory practice by government and

development institutions. Rahnema (1996) again gives six reasons.

1. Participation, as a concept, is seen as a necessary requirement. Governments and

institutions interested in greater productivity at low cost are increasingly in need of

‘participation’ for their own purposes. They have also learnt to control the risks in

possible unruly abuses of participation.

2. Participation has become a politically attractive slogan: important political advantages

are obtained through the overt display of participatory intentions. Participatory slogans

create feelings of collusion between the public manufacturers of the participatory

illusion and their consumers.

3. Participation has become, economically, an appealing proposition. Because of small

government funds, especially those devoted to rural development, participation is the

low cost option. Some, cynically, see this as passing on government costs to the poor.

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 4. Participation is perceived as an instrument for greater effectiveness as well as a new

source of investment. Participatory Approaches bring: a close knowledge of the ‘field

reality’ which foreign techniques and government bureaucrats do not have; networks

on relations, essential both to the success of on-going projects and long term

investments in rural areas; the co-operation, on the local scene, or organisations able to

carry out development activities. In this context, grassroots organisations are becoming

the infrastructure through which investment is made.

5. Participation is becoming a good fund raising device. In the last ten years development-

oriented NGOs have become very much ‘in vogue’. This is due to the reputation of

NGOs and their participatory and less bureaucratised approaches allow them to meet

the needs of the people with greater efficiency and at less cost.

6. An expanded concept of participation could help the private sector to be directly

involved in the development business: private corporations and consulting agencies

associated with development have been (successfully) lobbying for the privatisation of

development, arguing that governments and international aid agencies waste taxpayers

money.

For governments and development organizations then, the benefits of participation outweigh

the costs. However, as a result of this reasoning, participation has come to be ‘disembedded’

from the socio-cultural roots which have always kept it alive (Rahnema, 1996). It is now

simply perceived as one of the many ‘resources’ needed to keep the economy alive (ibid.).

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4.6.1 Understanding Empowerment

Central to the idea and practice of participation is the notion of empowerment. In order to

understand empowerment, it is necessary to examine the concept of power. Nelson and Wright

(1995) divide power in relation to participatory development into two components: power to

and power over.

‘Power to’ relates to the process where both parties (beneficiary and external project) question

the realities with which they started and both transform their understanding (Nelson and

Wright, 1995). As a result of this interaction, the objective is to discover ‘more spaces of

control’ (Giddens, 1984) where, although never powerless to start with, by developing

confidence and changing attitudes and behaviors, they can alter the power differentials in their

relationships (ibid.). This happens on three levels. First, differentials are altered on a personal

level, where the individual develops their own self-confidence for action and associated

abilities. Secondly, is the ability to speak for themselves (or their group) to negotiate and make

or change relationships. Thirdly, is the ability to operationalize the realization that group action

is often more effective or ‘powerful’ than isolated action.

‘Power over’ is about gaining political power, outside the individual, and power over access to

decision-making resources and machinery. In a Frierian sense, this is the process whereby

marginalized groups (women, youths, the poorest of the poor) gain access to decision making

institutions, such as either departmental or national sub-ministries, and the resources held

therein. The challenge is for the marginalized group to receive treatment as equal partners in

such institutions, so they have long term access to resources and decision making (Nelson and

Wright, 1995). This form of empowerment is arguably the ultimate objective of a participatory

project and can be seen in the ‘selfmobilization’ category of participatory projects in the list

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below. The evolution of limited power, to ‘power to’, to ‘power over’ is the process which

participation allows; empowerment to local people allowing them power over the resources

which affect them or restrict their development.

4.7 Types of Participation

1. Manipulative Participation: Participation is simply pretence, with “people’s”

representatives on official boards but who are unelected and have no power.

2. Passive Participation: People participate by being told what is going to happen or has

already happened. It is a unilateral announcement by an administration or project

management without listening to people’s responses. The information being shared belongs

only to external professionals.

3. Participation in Information giving: People participate by answering questions posed by

extractive researchers using questionnaires surveys or similar approaches. People do not

have the opportunity to influence proceedings, as the findings of the research are neither

shared nor checked for accuracy.

4. Participation by Consultation: People participate by being consulted, and external people

listen to views. The external professionals define both problems and solutions, and may

modify these in the light of people’s responses. Such a consultative process does not

concede any share in decision-making, and professionals are under no obligation to take on

board people’s views.

5. Participation for Material Incentives: People participate by providing resources, for

example labor, in return for food, cash or other material incentives. Much on farm research

falls in this category, as farmers provide the fields but are not involved in the

experimentation or the process of learning. It is very common to see this called

participation, yet people have no stake in prolonging activities when the incentives end.

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6. Functional Participation: People participate by forming groups to meet predetermined

objectives related to the project, which can involve the development or promotion of

externally initiated social organisation. Such involvement does not tend to be at early stages

of project cycles or planning, but rather after major decisions have been made. These

institutions tend to be dependent on external initiators and facilitators, but may become

self-dependent.

7. Interactive Participation: People participate in joint analysis, development of action plans

and formation or strengthening of local institutions. Participation is seen as a right, not just

the means to achieve project goals.

8. Self-Mobilization: People participate by taking initiatives independent of external

institutions to change systems. They develop contact with external institutions for resources

and technical advice they need, but retain control over how resources are used. Such self-

initiated mobilization and collective action or may not challenge existing inequitable

distributions of wealth and power.

The challenge to participatory practice lies in the reality of the power relationships in any

society, which manifest themselves in the organizational structures present. The challenge

occurs when the political environment of previously accepted service delivery meets demands

for the participation of those previously excluded from the decision making process. It involves

and requires ideological development, and fundamental changes, both at the institutional and

at the community level.

Adapted from: Socio-cultural Impact (www.socio-culturalimpact.com). “Participatory Learning and Action:A Trainer’s

Guide. 1995.

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4.8 Qualitative Indicators of Participation

a) community growth at the national/county level

b) Growing solidarity and mutual support

c) Knowledge of financial status of project

d) Concern to be involved in decision-making at different stages

e) Increasing ability of project group to propose and undertake actions

f) Representation in other government or political bodies with relation to the projects

g) Emergence of people willing to take on leadership

h) Interaction and the building of contacts with other groups and organizations

i) People begin to have a say in and to influence local politics and policy formulation

4.9 Benefits of participatory development

a) Promotes sense of belongingness.

b) Better health and well-being.

c) Set goals and improve skills.

d) Gives purpose and sense of contribution.

e) Adapt and develop new skills.

f) Acceptance and recognition.

g) Increases social networks.

h) Enhances social support.

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4.10 The Problems of Participation

1. Local government agencies and bureaucratic forces, despite their rhetoric of support, have

reasons to fear farmer participation and may seek to divert the threat. They may appear to

accept the participatory programs, but then take them over and give them a completely

different meaning.

2. Some professional technical advisers and development workers find it hard to accept that

rural people have something to contribute to technology development.

3. Many organizations, both governmental and non-governmental, lack the flexibility and the

internal openness to follow a participatory approach. Where bureaucratic or charismatic

leaders dominate and dictate day-to-day work of their staff, there is little hope that the latter

can develop strong participatory interaction with their ‘target group’.

4. A large part of the rural population – women and youths - face special obstacles: heavy

labor inputs prevent them from taking part in meetings; cultural restrictions prevail against

appearing or speaking at open meetings; their expertise and independent interests are easily

neglected in community action. Deviation from the norm, which is implied in

experimentation with new ideas, sometimes raises very strong opposition.

5. In most countries, there are disadvantaged minorities which are distinguished by race,

religion or ethnic group. The participation of these minorities in development activities may

be strongly resisted by the dominant groups.

6. The poverty of certain categories of the rural population and their bad experiences with

(non-) supporting agencies may have robbed them of any hope for improvement, depleted

their self-confidence and increased their distrust of outsiders. This results in a ‘culture of

silence’.

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7. There is also the risk that a participatory methodology is seen as providing a rational,

systematic and coherent framework from which to work from. However, this rationalist

approach will effectively destroy PA ability to understand and work with messy, complex,

unpredictable and chaotic production systems and rural realities.

4.11 Examples of Participatory Development Initiatives

 Community-based natural resource management projects.

 Participatory budgeting in local governance.

 Farmer field schools for agricultural development.

 Women's self-help groups for economic empowerment.

 Participatory disaster risk reduction and response initiatives.

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