Blackburn, James

In accordance with the Law of Popular Participation, municipalities must elaborate five years Municipal Development Plans (MDP) in a participatory way. To institutionalise such process, the central government has introduced participatory planning (PP). The paper analyses both the concept and the practice of campesinos' (peasants) participation in PP and identifies some contradictions which throw doubts on the participatory nature of MDP. First, municipalities were not invited by the state to take part in the design of the Law and its PP methodology.

This paper focuses primarily on lessons from experiences in mainstreaming and up-scaling participation, which are relevant to the partnership and ownership principles of the World Bank's Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF). The paper explores its various themes in relation to the idea of participation as building ownership and partnership from the bottom up. Lessons learned from applying participatory appraisal methodologies, particularly in participatory poverty assessments, to help national-level policy makers design more appropriate anti-poverty policies, are examined.

This master thesis argues that in popular education in latin america there lies an approach to development work in which outsiders could have a real and useful role as catalysts of empowering processes that would correspond to the true needs and aspirations of the poor. The paper looks at education and development and the role of the outsider as an educator. Looking at the impact of outside popular educators in a Mexican Indian village, the paper illustrates contradictions inherent in their role as facilitators of empowerment.

Drawing on the experience of Anil Shah in facilitating participatory irrigation management in Gujarat, this paper explores how policy can be influenced to facilitate the spread of participatory approaches.