Note on Enhancing Stakeholder Participation in Aid Activities

This brief paper is a Technical Note paper (TN) which incorporates the experiences of the ODA and is supplemented by two other guides on similar issues. It starts by detailing definitions of stakeholder participation and describes the extent to which we can at present answer questions on when, why and how to encourage participation. The paper emphasises the importance of participatory approaches for the sustainable implementation of aid programmes and describes how key stakeholders can be identified. A series of steps are also listed to guide the level of participation that is feasible at different levels of the programme and in different sectors. Part two examines how participation can be enhanced in policy reform at the macro-level. The costs of such a move to donors are also highlighted. For projects that emphasise a process approach, it is recommended that local organisations are supported to enhance overall participation. Some methods of doing this are identified including PRA methods before the paper concludes with checklists.