Participatory Development Projects Research Articles

“It’s a Long Walk to Development”: Navigating Capacity and Time in Cape Town’s Informal Settlements

In Cape Town’s informal settlements, the difficulties of living without permanent housing or basic services are compounded by frustrations of waiting for this development—a waiting permeated by the engagement of residents in political and social actions calling for fulfillment of promised development. In this article, I examine the involvement of informal settlement residents within an NGO-coordinated, state-funded participatory development project. I explore how the concept of capacity-building was mobilized within the project, and, ultimately, how it rationalized the uncertainties of bureaucratic processes and the experience of waiting for development. Actors seeking to create development were enlisted to make sense of—and effectively normalize—the experiences of waiting, even against their organizational or personal perspectives. I conclude with a discussion of how these findings can inform praxis, suggesting that development practitioners are responsible to make visible the power dynamics surrounding their own position within projects and should use their platforms to highlight the extant knowledge and skills of the communities with whom they work.

Process Model of Rural Planning Based on the Experiences of Community-based Development Projects (The 2020s Projects in the Critical Centers of Sistan, Rigan and Jazmourian)

Purpose- The implementation of participatory projects aiming socio-economic empowerment and environmental sustainability is one of the sustainable management strategies in arid rural areas across the world in the recent decades. This study was conducted to answer two questions: What have been the characteristics and achievements of participatory development and community-based projects in rural areas located within the critical centers of Sistan, Jazmourian, and Rigan? How is a process model for rural development planning consistent with the geography of aforementioned areas? Design/methodology/approach- The present study is descriptive-analytical and the research process includes the analysis of the goals and final achievements of participatory plans in Rigan (RFLDL), the progress and development Plan in Ghaleh-Ganj, the Carbon Sequestration plan in Jazmourian and Lashar, the Menarid Project in Sistan, Village without unemployed project, SAHAB community-based projects, and ASEMAN project from Barekat Foundation in Sistan region. The required data consisted of the performance statistics of the above-mentioned projects, and the required analysis was conducted on the dat. Finding- Each of these projects has positive achievements in accordance with its short-term goals. Although it is quantitatively desirable, they failed to continue to operate in a regular and stable planning process in rural areas. Execution of a process model for rural development planning requires institutional transformations and the establishment of an integrated facility direction system for the economic infrastructure of rural areas (with a focus on the value chain) and a series of previous and subsequent jobs in each chain. Research limitations/implications- Among the main limitations of reformation in the programs and continuous learning from past experiences are the effort of conductors in charge of implementing rural development projects to indicate the expected achievements by relying on seemingly favorable statistics with false documentation, and the weakness or lack of a public oversight system on the actual achievements of projects. Real decentralization in the country's rural planning system, the establishment of a public oversight system, and a process planning are the best strategies for sustaining local communities.

Evaluating the Community Land Record System in Monwabisi Park Informal Settlement in the Context of Hybrid Governance and Organisational Culture

The study examined the effectiveness of a community-operated land record system (CRS), a product of an evolutionary information system planning approach under hybrid governance arrangements in Monwabisi Park informal settlement in Cape Town. To structure the analysis, the authors adapted an analytical framework for analysing land registration effectiveness to community records systems. It serves as a tool for analysing, designing and managing similar information systems. The CRS is an element of a participatory planning and development project involving a triad: (a) community-based organisations (CBOs); (b) a non-governmental organisation (NGO), which has acted as a change agent, facilitator and resource provider; and (c) the City of Cape Town. The hybrid governance institutions comprised a set of local community and government protocols. Of further significance are the organisational cultures of the CBOs, and the NGO’s information system team differs markedly from that of most land registries. The researchers examined the CRS database and operations management, interviewed key-informants and interviewed shack residents door-to-door. The CRS was effective because residents used it and largely adhered to the associated documented community protocols to defend their tenure and to effect transactions in shacks. Further contributors were the NGO and CBOs continually managed the institutional and leadership dynamics relevant to the CRS, factors often ignored in similar projects.

A COVID-19 EM GUINÉ-BISSAU: conjuntura econômica, social e política do país e a garantia dos direitos sociais

With the advance of COVID-19 in the world, it is necessary to reflect on how the different realities influence the processes of advancement and containment of the impacts generated from the pandemic. Guinea-Bissau, being a country that has been recording military coups since 1980, has become a vulnerable country in all respects. The vulnerability of the country is so great that structural reform has not been possible in the state apparatus since its independence from the yoke Portuguese in 1973; in this way this Democratic Republic is economically dependent on its international partners even for the implementation of its general state budget. With cashew nuts as the main and almost only product that moves the economy, the country has seen the needs and demands of the population worsen with the arrival of the new coronavirus, thus having the increase in the expenses of families in acquiring food and hygiene products to cope with the disease, in view of the economic weakness of its citizens. This article aims to analyze the sociopolitical processes that influence the management of the pandemic in Guinea Bissau. Its work methodology is a review of literature obtained through scientific journals and portals. It was observed in this path the need for training of new professional staff and greater investment in the structure, both economic and health, so that we can manage moments of crisis as faced. This will only be possible through the alignment between state and civil society around a participatory and supportive development project.

Using the value creation framework to capture knowledge co-creation and pathways to impact in a transnational community of practice in autism education

ABSTRACT Although theories around Communities of Practice have gained significant ground in recent years and have become an important focus for organizational development, there is a gap in studies that investigate what members gain from participation in these communities. This paper explains how the value creation framework was implemented in a transnational research and development project in autism education by examining cycles of value creation and drawing on two types of data identified by Wenger and colleagues. The value creation framework is a theoretically driven framework to assess social learning in communities. Participants involved in the learning space were co-researchers engaged in a process of investigating, sharing and reflecting on their practice. The paper discusses the methodological challenges and strengths of using the value creation framework, with a particular focus on how insights and interactions led to subsequent changes in the practice of the participants. This work has the potential to make an important contribution to methods and analysis in assessing social learning and pathways to impact in participatory research and development projects more broadly.

ASSESSMENT OF PARTICIPATORY URBAN DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES IN EGYPT “TOWARDS MORE JUST CITIES”

The ‘spatialization’ of justice and the desire for more ‘Just Cities’ has been increasinglyreceiving the attention of many urban theorists. Recent theories of urban planningemphasizes on democratic urban planning processes as a key to justice, in other words, theelimination of domination and oppression in urban planning. Yet, as a concept, justice isoften taken for granted as an end result in the urban development plans. As our right to thecity is shaped by our spatial experience, the purpose of this paper is to assess theparticipatory urban development projects’ processes and their outcomes in terms of spatialjustice, taking place in Egypt. The paper investigates the extent to which expanding the roleof ordinary citizens in the development process can yield socially and spatially justoutcomes. Ezzbet El Nasr in Cairo is chosen for the case study. It is examined through a setof criteria to help evaluate the participatory development projects that took place by theGIZ-PDP in the area. The paper will conclude with a set of recommendations on how thecity resident can contribute, connect and prosper to reach their full potential through theirspatial experience.

Eleven-Barriers to Participation and One-Root

Peoples’ participation is an essential step in any sustainable development project, programmes or public policy. However, to achieve the well-being outcome of the participation has been considered a significant issue until now. The participatory projects and programmes encounter several barriers from involving people to attaining desirable outcomes. Most of those obstacles are linked with participants’ capability of knowledge to take part in development activities such as assessment, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. This research shows that the desired outcomes of a participatory process require a well-informed group of participants. Capacity building of participants in terms of knowledge is a key to achieve objectives of a sustainable development project. This paper identifies eleven (11) common barriers and their links with the capability of knowledge of participants. The paper also proposes a three-dimensional model which will potentially facilitate in the capacity building of participants for overcoming the challenges to participatory development projects.

Shaping the concept of bioeconomy in participatory projects – An example from the post-graduate education in Finland

Evolving complex concepts, such as bioeconomy, cannot be applied without selecting (consciously or unconsciously) some definitions and excluding others. This process of selection may have a considerable impact on how bioeconomy is understood. This paper presents how the concept of bioeconomy took shape in a participatory development project that created foundations for new professional specialisation studies within the Finnish bioeconomy. Written documents (n = 21), produced in different phases of the project, were analysed with qualitative content analysis to find out how bioeconomy was A) understood as an activity, and B) conceptually linked with different global meta-discourses. Bioeconomy was primarily understood as an intensive use of diverse biomasses within a forest cluster, agriculture, the food industry, waste management and the energy sector, whereas many other bioeconomy sectors were marginalised or excluded. The idea that biomasses should be saved was very rare, and the concepts that prioritise some biomass uses over others, such as the cascade principle, were excluded. Bioeconomy itself was understood as a societally and globally influential new way of thinking i.e. as a meta-discourse. Strong associations were also made to nationalistic and statist meta-discourses. Conceptual transformation during the project was most distinct in the sustainable development meta-discourse: sustainability turned from a self-evident characteristic of bioeconomy into a consciously reflected and desirable goal. The results illustrate how a common consensus of bioeconomy is built through exclusion and inclusion in a participatory development project. Project organisers should be conscious about this process and explicitly state how and why some aspects, actors and activities are emphasised while others are downplayed or excluded in their bioeconomy projects. Only then we can create far-reaching policies and considered actions to guide societies toward the desired and defined future.

Realities of participatory community-based environmental rehabilitation projects: a case study of soil erosion countermeasures in western Kenya

This study attempts to describe the realities of participatory development projects in western Kenya, where severe soil degradation has occurred, using participatory observation methods. Six aid organizations administered development projects for environmental rehabilitation in the area; however, less than 10% of study area residents participated in project activities. This article argues that this lack of participation was fuelled by a disjuncture of understanding between aid organizations, community-based development organizations, and area residents about project purposes and goals. It suggests that in order for participatory development projects to be successful all stakeholders must understand and take ownership of the project. People who the aid organization called “community” often turned out to be a collection of unconnected people. In addition, not everyone who was involved participated out of a desire to stop soil erosion. Many people were not directly impacted by the gullies and their motivation for participation was purely for economic reasons. Thus, growing seedlings and planting them was seen more as a source of income than as a way to repair and restore the local environment. Such motivations need to be considered when creating participatory development projectsKeywords: participatory development, community development, environmental rehabilitation, Luo, Kenya

Impact of Participatory Development Projects on Social Capital: Evidence from Farmland Consolidation Projects in Paddy Areas of Japan

Impact of Participatory Development Projects on Social Capital: Evidence from Farmland Consolidation Projects in Paddy Areas of Japan

At the root of participatory approaches: uncovering the role of accompaniment

ABSTRACTThis article examines the impact of a participatory development project in rural Uganda and offers explanations for the results obtained. Though successful in facilitating the creation of specific goods and services, the project did not fully realise its intended outcome: empowering local actors and generating lasting human development. These mixed results were the consequence of inconsistent dialogue and listening among the actors, often resulting in a lack of genuine accompaniment. In evaluating community engagement through the lens of accompaniment, the study considers the potential for participatory approaches to overcome often-asserted criticisms, namely the presence of dependency and elite capture.

Chief for a Day: Elite Capture and Management Performance in a Field Experiment in Sierra Leone

We use a field experiment in Sierra Leone to examine how the identity of the manager influences rent seeking and performance in participatory development projects. Specifically, we vary the composition of a committee responsible for implementing a development project—local elites or randomly selected villagers. The design is unique in that it permits us to explore the effectiveness of two alternative local governance modalities and the extent of elite capture in community projects. We find little evidence that local elites capture project resources. We do observe they are better managers of development projects. Improved performance covaries with a proxy for power of the local chief. Data and the online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2866 . This paper was accepted by Teck-Hua Ho, behavioral economics.

A Mechanism Design for Participatory Rural Development Projects: An Application of Game Theory and Saemaul-Undong of Korea

과거 우리나라 농촌개발모형인 새마을운동의 핵심정신인 ‘자조(Self-Help)’를 기반으로 국제개발협력사업에서 협력국 주민들의 자부담을 요구하는 새마을운동형 농촌개발사업은, 최근 다자 및 양자원조 기관들의 관심을 받기 시작하고 있다. UNDP는 최근 연구에서 새마을운동형 농촌개발 사업을 현장에 적용하기 위한 국가 및 지역전략, 협력국가 선정기준, 시행 메커니즘을 제시하였으나, 주민의 참여를 유인하기 위한 구체적이고 정량적 가이드라인은 제시하지 못하고 있다. 본 연구는 逆게임이론(Reverse Game Theory)인 메커니즘 디자인(Mechanism Design)을 이용하여, 경쟁을 통해 주민들에게 참여유인을 제공하는 자부담 수준에 따른 보상수준을 계량화하고 이를 표로 제시함으로써, 사업형성이나 시행단계에서 용이하게 적용할 수 있도록 하였다. 연구결과, 개인합리성과 단체합리성을 만족하여 주민의 자발적 참여를 유인하는 조건들은 1) 주민의 참여를 유인하기 위한 추가적 보상액의 비율은, 공여기관이 부담한 금액에 대한 주민의 총(현물 및 현금)자부담의 상대적 비율과 주민의 현물 자부담의 상대적 비율의 합보다 크게 결정되어야 하며, 2) 수혜자의 현금 및 현물 자부담 비중은 50%를 넘지 않도록 하여야 한다는 것이다. 이러한 조건을 만족하는 보상수준 및 참여도의 조합들은 게임이론의 핵(核; Core)에 해당하며, 이들 가운데 주민들간의 갈등을 최소화하는 조합은 중핵(中核; Nucleolus)으로써, 주민은 현물 또는 현금으로 약 20%의 사업비를 자조(Self-Help) 비용으로 부담하는 것이 바람직하다는 결론에 이르렀다. 이러한 결과는 기 시행되었던 새마을운동 사업에서의 추천 자부담율(20%) 및 실제 자부담율(49%)과 모순되지 않고 있음을 발견하였다.Many rural development projects were unsuccessful due to lack of voluntary participation by recipient villagers. The objectives of this study are: 1) To provide a quantitative guideline on reward level to induce villagers’ participation, 2) To integrate the spirit of Self-Help and a competition process into the incentive mechanism design. It is found that such participatory mechanisms can be devised so that the outcome is in the Core. To achieve the objective, Mechanism Design is used and the derived conditions are: 1) The size of reward has to be greater than the relative size of cash and in-kind contribution to the size of monetary benefit, 2) The contribution ratio from villagers in cash or in-kind should not exceed 50%. A reward assignment table is proposed for easier application of the result in the field, along with recommended participation level of 20% implied by Nucleolus.

A Tradition Co-opted: Participatory Development and Authoritarian Rule in Sudan

AbstractThe concept of participation is a cornerstone of development and democracy discourses, but studies on participatory development rarely examine the political regimes those policies are embedded in. Yet, in authoritarian contexts, participation is ambiguous, potentially threatening—as it can be connected to democratic ideals—and it also can be used as a resource, a tool for domination. Through an analysis of participatory development projects implemented in Sudan, I explore how power relations are renegotiated at the local level. Relying on data collected during fieldwork in Khartoum and the state of North Kordofan, where the projects are located, I highlight the disconnect between the discourse surrounding the participatory devices, which establishes an horizontal relationship between citizens and the local government, and the actual practices that strengthen the latter's power. In doing so, the article challenges a linear, top-down conception of authoritarian power and reveals the tensions that exist between institutional levels.

Impact of a participatory agroecological development project on household wealth and food security in Malawi

This paper presents the impacts of a participatory agroecological development project on food security and wealth levels. The Malawi Farmer to Farmer Agroecology project (MAFFA) encourages farmer experimentation, community involvement and farmer-to-farmer teaching on agroecology, nutrition and gender equity. Recent international assessments of agriculture have highlighted the urgent need for changes in farming practices in Sub-Saharan Africa, due to land degradation, high levels of food insecurity and anticipated climate change impacts. Agroecological approaches have shown great potential to address these multiple needs. Using a longitudinal panel survey data and propensity score matching to account for selection bias in project participation, we analyzed the impact of the project on household income and food security in Malawi in 2012 (Wave 1 = 1200 households) and in 2014 (Wave 2 = 1000 households). We used the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) for impact evaluation. Estimates of average treatment-effects using difference in difference methods showed that participating in MAFFA has led to a significant increase in household wealth (β = 3.54, p = 0.01) and a large reduction in food insecurity (β = −3.21, p = 0.01) compared to non-participants, after 2 years, even after accounting for covariates and selection bias. These results indicate that agroecological methods combined with farmer led knowledge exchanges can be welfare enhancing, both in terms of food security and in terms of income for family farm households. Agroecological approaches should be promoted through upscaling of farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchanges, community involvement and attention to nutrition and social equity to enhance farmer learning and household welfare benefits.

Can Gender-Targeted Employment Interventions Help Enhance Community Participation? Evidence from Urban Togo

Summary The Participatory Development (PD) approach aims at improving the quality of governance by empowering local populations. Particularly for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), PD is regarded an opportunity to help shift from unjustified centralization to more decentralized forms of governance. Yet, PD projects are frequently fraught with undesired effects of elite capture which critics ascribe to insufficient appreciation of local context. Our study adopts a sequential quantitative–qualitative mixed method approach to broaden the empirical foundation needed for context sensitive project design. By exploring the effects of gender and employment on community participation we contribute to narrowing two research gaps: First, political science research on female participation in SSA has mostly focused on participation in national-level processes. Second, while development economics literature has devoted much attention on effects of female employment on intra-household bargaining, it has so far omitted the question what this means for the empowerment of women beyond the household, that is in the public life of their communities. Analyzing original survey data of over 1,300 respondents, collected across four urban municipalities in Togo, we find that unemployment negatively impacts community participation. Specifically, we show that this effect is mainly driven by female unemployment and establish self-efficacy driven by norm perception as the causal link between female employment and participation. Complementing our quantitative findings with data from 98 qualitative interviews, we show that employment constitutes an important psychological resource that enables women to overcome multiple discrimination barriers to community participation. However, this effect is stronger for women in a formal employment situation than for those working in less formalized settings. We conclude that gender-targeted employment interventions can help to increase community participation. We recommend that such efforts should not fixate on the creation of female job opportunities but also seek to strengthen the role of female informal workers in local political processes.

Who Should Be at the Top of Bottom-Up Development ? A Case Study of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission in Rajasthan, India

It is widely acknowledged that top-down support is essential for bottom-up participatory projects to be effectively implemented at scale. However, which level of government, national or sub-national, should be given the responsibility to implement such projects is an open question, with wide variations in practice. This paper analyzes qualitative and quantitative data from a natural experiment in the state of Rajasthan in India, where a large national flagship project that mobilized women into self-help groups for micro-credit and created a women's network for other development activities was implemented in two different ways. Some sub-regions were given to the state government of Rajasthan to manage, while the Government of India centrally managed other sub-regions. The study finds that the nature of top-down management had a large bearing on the nature and quality of local-level facilitation. Centrally and locally managed facilitators formed several groups with similar financial performance. But centrally managed facilitators formed groups that were less likely to engage in collective action, be politically active, and engage with other civil society organizations. These results raise important questions on how responsibilities for participatory development projects should be devolved, and how the nature of management affects the sustainability of bottom-up interventions.

Engagement as transformation: Learnings from a tourism development project in Dunga by Lake Victoria, Kenya

Participatory tourism development projects are considered effective and democratic since they engage people in interactive learning processes that change individuals and societies. In order to be transformative, a relational and social process must be acheived which challenges prior knowledge and beliefs. The purpose of this article is to explore engagement as a transformative feature of research and development practice. Three aspects of engagement are proposed through which higher learning loops and transformation can be enhanced: embodied and situated learning, relationship-building, and acknowledging and sharing power. These three aspects of engagement are explored through the case of developing an ecotourism site by Lake Victoria in Kenya.

“Life and Debt”: Assessing the Impacts of Participatory Housing Reconstruction in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka

The Owner Driven Housing Assistance (ODHA) scheme is a donor and government supported initiative to help construct housing for internally displaced persons (IDPs) returning to their original areas of residence after the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009. While ODHA is a commendable initiative for rebuilding the lives of those displaced by war, available evidence indicates an increase in household debt among the beneficiaries of such housing schemes and their vulnerability to livelihood insecurities after resettlement. Based on an analysis of the socio-economic status of ODHA beneficiaries in the northern Sri Lankan districts of Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Jaffna, this paper concludes that the financing modality of the housing programme has had a catalytic effect on indebtedness among beneficiaries. An inadequate understanding of the social, economic and cultural contexts that define the lives of beneficiaries on the part of donors and implementers appears to be contributing to unintended and negative repercussions of housing assistance. This paper illustrates how post-war participatory development projects such as the ODHA scheme can further exacerbate the vulnerability of war-affected populations, unless donors and policy makers have a holistic understanding of the varying contexts that define the experiences of those receiving development assistance.

Regional Institutions in Rural Council Area Development in the North West Region, Cameroon

Regional institutions remain a spring board for the development of the rural council areas in the North West Region of Cameroon. An example is the Grassfield Participatory and Decentralized Rural Development Project, GP-DERUDEP operating in the North West region of Cameroon. These institutions carry out innovations in the council area development process. Today, with specific or common development policies they make significant contributions to the council area development process. They use the council areas as the unit for development activities and international institutions, the local councils, village organizations and the council area population as their partners in development. This study brings to focus the policies and actions as well as the performance of GP-DERUDEP, a regional development institution analyzing its contributions in the development process. The methodology consisted of a study of published and unpublished scientific documents and project institutional reports on development activities in the various council areas. This was completed with field survey in project areas. The result is revealing as evidence in the council areas show a significant innovation of the development process through capacity building of beneficiaries and the construction of socio economic infrastructure. But there is need for a close monitoring of the realizations especially the physical infrastructure if sustainable quality service provision is to be assured.