Outcome Of Development Projects Research Articles

Making Social Impact Assessment Count: A Negotiation-Based Approach for Indigenous Peoples

In the past, indigenous people have often been entirely excluded from social impact assessments (SIAs) of projects or activities that affect them, or have faced major financial and cultural barriers in participating effectively and in having their perspectives accepted as legitimate. More recently, indigenous groups have achieved greater success in influencing SIA, but a fundamental problem remains. Their enhanced input into SIA has generally not increased the capacity of indigenous people to shape the outcomes of development projects in ways that favor their interests. This problem reflects a wider failure, extensively documented in the literature, to integrate SIA into decision-making. Drawing on case studies from Australia's Cape York Peninsula, this article shows how SIA can be integrated into the negotiation of legally binding agreements between developers and indigenous groups, offering a practical and effective way of ensuring that SIA findings influence the development and operationof resource projects. While the case studies relate to specific regional, political, and cultural contexts, the general approach outlined in the article should be of interest to indigenous communities and SIA practitioners.

Development planning for women: The case of the Indonesian transmigration program

In the 1970s, evidence of the detrimental effects of many development schemes on women and the conclusion that this was linked to their neglect in policy and planning led to efforts to ensure that women were included in development programs. However, most policies to integrate women into development have had little effect on improving their situation. This paper discusses the case of the Indonesian transmigration scheme. Planning in this program, whether it is within the women's section or the mainstream planning bureaucracy, is still based on orthodox economic and statistical concepts which devalue women's economic contribution and anchor them firmly in the domestic arena. A number of projects specifically for women provide skills training in areas which are overwhelmingly domestic-centered, and family welfare and subsistence-oriented. They offer women meagre and uncertain benefits. In mainstream planning, there has been an upsurge of interest in harnessing women's potential labour because of concern with low productivity in the settlements. However, there is no consideration as to whether, or how, women themselves will actually benefit if they increase their labour. To understand the outcomes of development projects for women it is essential to question the development planning process, its underlying premises, and the ways in which women and their activities are perceived and defined in planning practice.