Mukherjee, Nilanjana

This study is part of a global research effort entitled Consultations with the Poor, designed to inform the World Development Report 2000/1 on Poverty and Development. The research has used participatory methods to involve and give a voice to poor people in twenty-three countries around the world. This report is from Indonesia, from sites selected to give a rural/urban balance. The study focuses on four main topics, each with a set of key themes, as follows: Exploring well-being À How do people define their quality of life, their ill-being or well-being? How have these changed over time?

This paper describes how the Indonesian government incorporated elements of PRA to launch a nation-wide programme of participatory village planning in 60,000 villages to be completed within the 1995-1996 budget year ending in March 1996. The article analyses the mistakes committed in attempting to scale up too fast in the face of too many constraints: too few sufficiently experienced trainers resulting in poor quality training, unrealistic budget and time constraints imposed by government, and the pre-existing top- down culture of development planning in Indonesia.