The marginalisation of participation “as an end” development: an Ecuadorean case study

The evolution of participatory practices clearly evidences movement away from local participatory projects implemented with the use of participatory methodologies such as participatory rural appraisal, and towards citizen participation in government activities. This trend reflects development discourse concerning participation, and in particular responds to the critique aimed at local participatory development. Using case study data from Ecuador, the article discusses the previously overlooked effects of this phenomenon, namely a uniformity of participatory development practice and a lack of opportunities for people to engage in development activities that provide participation “as an end” benefits such as empowerment and confidence-building.     

When development breeds contempt: case examples of community-driven health systems initiatives

This article discusses case examples of community-led initiatives triggered by the introduction of an external development programme in Senegal and Mali. These are community initiatives that learn from projects initiated and funded by an external donor organisation, and transform interventions to better meet their own needs. The circumstances leading to the demand for, and successful establishment of, health infrastructure are examined to understand the triggers. These breakthroughs demonstrate unintended benefits of development, and the need to leverage donor-led initiatives. Therefore, community involvement, participation, and empowerment are key in establishing local ownership in development projects.     

Commitments and challenges in participatory development: a Korean NGO working in Cambodia

Despite their growing significance in the development field, academic research regarding development NGOs from emerging donors, such as South Korea, is almost non-existent. This study is based on a case study of LotusWorld, a Korean NGO, and its two recent projects conducted in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Based on interviews with Korean staff and with a group of villagers in the local community, the article examines how LotusWorld’s vision and practices of participation have evolved from the first project to the second, as well as the challenges that they faced. Suggestions for further community participation are made for key actors.     

Moving from nos/otros to nosotros: a transcendent approach to sustainable development

Traditional top-down approaches to community development reinforce nos/otros binaries within provider/recipient relationships; transcendent approaches, on the other hand, create space for nosotros collaborative development. This article describes an instance of the nos/otros binary, in which a foreign volunteer in a rural community in Ecuador assumed the role of practitioner and limited community members’ roles to recipients or beneficiaries of her development projects. Inspired by findings from this experience, the article presents a case study highlighting an alternative, transcendent, nosotros approach in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where community members work together to imagine, implement, and sustain projects.     

Rural development from the ground up: agro-food initiatives in Tasmania

Concerns about the decline of rural agricultural communities have recently refocused on new economic opportunities available in regional food production. This article analyses three on-the-ground case studies of rural development projects in Tasmania, Australia that aimed to develop new regional food opportunities. It analyses these projects to identify how local food producers can create viable economic alternatives in rural settings. The projects illustrate that the existence of regional food assets alone is not enough to guarantee economic development success: rural producers need connections into relevant knowledge networks if they are to identify and respond to new agro-food market opportunities.     

Challenges and dilemmas of international development volunteering: a case study from Vanuatu

This article looks at the key challenges and dilemmas of international development volunteering (IDV) as experienced within a community project in Vanuatu. By focusing on the nature and significance of IDV engagements at the local community level, it offers critical insights into roles and relationships among international development volunteers and local host communities, together with the complex global–local interface in which projects are negotiated and constructed. The article concludes by offering some ways in which IDV can be more effective in assisting community projects address the needs of contemporary village life.     

Promoting inclusive development in Ghana: disabled people’s and other stakeholders’ perspectives

This article highlights barriers to inclusive development from the perspective of disabled people, as well as staff of NGOs and government agencies. A qualitative study was conducted between August 2011 and September 2012, and in September 2013, in rural and urban areas in Greater Accra and Eastern regions in Ghana. The research shows that inaccessible public infrastructure and services, negative attitudes of service providers, little political will, limited capacity of development agencies, and lack of multi-agency coordination in the disability development sector were barriers to disabled people’s inclusion and participation in development processes.     

Water tariff conflict resolution through indigenous participation in tri-water sector partnerships: Dalun cluster communities in northern Ghana

The paper examines how the perceived ownership of a water resource negatively influenced local people's attitudes towards payment of potable water tariffs and exacerbated conflicts between water users and service providers in the Dalun community of the northern region of Ghana. The paper presents a case study of how community participation and endogenous approaches to conflict resolution contributed to payment of water tariffs. The findings show that the establishment of a tri-water sector partnership (TWSP), consisting of the Ghana Water Company Ltd (GWCL), private sector development practitioners, and community water boards, led to positive mediation of water tariff conflicts using the institution of chieftaincy. Alternative, endogenous conflict resolution methods combined with modern methods in a tripartite partnership showed promise as an approach to managing conflicts in water projects and in broader poverty reduction efforts.     

One village one product: evaluations and lessons learnt from OVOP aid projects

The One Village One Product project that originated in Japan's Oita Prefecture is just one component of many official Japanese development assistance projects aiming to promote rural development in more than 30 countries. Not all efforts, however, result in the same level of sustainability. Oita Prefecture built its movement on three principles: local yet global, self-reliance and creativity, and human resources development. The projects that satisfy these principles are generally found to be sustainable. These principles can also be applicable to overseas projects.     

Social and economic inclusion of people with disabilities: practical lessons from Bangladesh

People with disabilities remain one of the most excluded minorities, often deprived of the benefits of mainstream development programmes. This practical note reports on lessons learnt in delivering a programme combining a community based rehabilitation (CBR) and self-help group approach with disabled persons in rural Bangladesh. Our findings demonstrate how targeted programmes can bring about the social and economic inclusion of disabled persons. We also highlight the greater effectiveness of CBR programmes when targeting a more diverse client base, when not based on debt recovery, and how targeted programmes can even benefit the wider community.     

Reflections of an evaluator navigating between community development and welfare paradigms

This practical note discusses some of the challenges evaluators face when their values clash with those of their employer. A case example where the author was commissioned to complete an evaluation for a community development project within a welfare-minded NGO highlights evaluation issues for welfare-minded NGOs attempting to deliver community development programmes. A fundamental issue is the differing interpretation of key terms including evaluation, participation, and empowerment. The note discusses how the author attempted to navigate between maintaining community development principles in the evaluation process while at the same time fulfilling quantitative evaluation requirements mandated by the organisation and funders.     

The role of local institutions in sustainable watershed management: lessons from India

The implementation and effective management of watershed-development projects is recognised as a strategy for rural development throughout the developing world. Several government and non-government agencies have launched watershed-development projects to tackle the challenges of soil conservation, improving land productivity, and economic upliftment of the rural poor for efficient use of natural resources. Participatory community-driven institutions of integrated watershed management are considered vital for the sustainability of natural resources. This study focuses on the impact of local institutions on watershed development in India and examines the degree of women's participation in relation to the effective management of natural resources and sustainable development.     

Factors affecting the sustainability of a community water supply project in Kenya

This paper examines how three sustainability factors (water supply, regulatory policy, local management) are affecting the sustainability of a community water supply project in Kenya. Findings show that after 10 years the project is at a threshold of sustainability – it may yet fail. Changing rainfall patterns and additional withdrawals from new projects are threatening available water supply. The community is resisting compliance with water sector reforms including those intended to benefit community-managed projects. Community management deficiencies and a lack of supportive external relationships are impeding project continuity and sustainable local water management.     

Participation of CSOs/NGOs in Bangladeshi climate change policy formulation: co-operation or co-optation?

The Bangladesh government formulated the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategies and Action Plans (BCCSAP) in 2008 through a participatory process involving several CSOs/NGOs and others. This article discusses the participation of CSOs/NGOs in climate change policy-making, focusing on mapping their level of participation in policy-making. It demonstrates that state laws allow CSOs/NGOs to implement several projects voluntarily, but largely prohibit their participation in political decision-making processes. The state invites a few CSOs/NGOs as a condition to receive aid, but displays arbitrary and co-opting attitudes towards CSOs/NGOs that rarely ensure joint decisions in creating policy.     

Cassava value chain and its products in Morogoro rural district,Tanzania

This study was conducted to examine the cassava value chain and determine strategies for enhancing farmers' profitable participation in the chain, to reduce poverty in Tanzania. Data were collected from 98 farmers from three villages of Morogoro rural district. Profit and marketing margins along the cassava value chain were computed. A linear model was estimated whereby farm size, experience, total family labour, group participation, non-crop livelihood sources, and food insecurity were the main determinants of profitability. The emerging recommendation was for farmers' participation in profitable cassava value chain strands by strengthened coordination, improved cassava varieties, and enhanced agronomic practices and processing technologies.     

Microcredit and development: a multi-level examination of women’s participation in microfinance institutions

International organisations promote microcredit as a tool for socio-economic development by targeting women’s entrepreneurial capabilities. There is limited research, however, on the variation in women’s participation in microcredit in developing nations. To understand this variation, this article examines the relationship between a country’s gender equality levels and women’s microcredit participation. The results indicate that participation is higher when loans are small; however, with increases in gender equality levels, participation decreases. Women in countries with higher gender inequality are limited to very small loans and questionable economic improvements, suggesting that microcredit needs to be utilised contextually to be an effective developmental tool.     

Community rehabilitation workers as catalysts for disability: inclusive youth development through service learning

This paper explores access to health and education for disabled youth in sites with and without community rehabilitation workers (CRWs). A cross-sectional survey using a structured questionnaire was undertaken in nine sites in South Africa, and a snowball sample of 523 disabled youths of both sexes, aged between 18 and 35 years, was selected. The survey found that a significantly larger proportion of disabled youth living in sites with CRWs were seen by health care workers at home, and that there was a large difference in educational access between sites with and without CRWs. CRWs are well positioned to promote equal citizenship for disabled youth through service learning with occupational therapy final year students to improve access to health and education, so that barriers to their participation in economic development are removed.     

Best practice for rural food security projects in Southern Africa?

It has been widely believed that commercialisation is the solution to food insecurity in rural Africa. Project designs have attempted to set up agricultural cooperatives and encourage entrepreneurial farmers. Yet the problems revealed in the 1950s are still widespread. In a counter-perspective, some have argued for the relevance of subsistence and low-input agriculture. This article examines three NGO projects in South and South-eastern Africa which prioritise food security through household subsistence, using low-input technologies, along with an encouragement to produce a surplus for cash. We look at what these projects share and why their strategies work.     

Women’s NGOs as intermediaries in development cooperation: findings from research in Tanzania

This article employs research conducted with the Kivulini Women’s Rights Organization in Tanzania to discuss opportunities, constraints, and broader lessons about the role of women’s NGOs as intermediaries in development projects. Findings reveal that women’s NGOs often have insecure positions in development projects and are undervalued by executing agencies because advocating for gender equality is perceived as a “natural” extension of women’s roles in patriarchal societies. Women’s NGOs are “feminised” and consequently trivialised in their role as intermediaries, putting gender equality objectives at risk of attrition or abandonment. Under certain circumstances, women’s NGOs can be pushed out of partnership projects altogether.