Resources

This document provides an introduction to Legislative Theatre, in which community theatre groups present plays about everyday problems to clearly defined audiences. The audience are then encouraged to participate in determining the outcome of the play and the interventions they make are transformed into reports which are then used as a basis for political, legislative or legal action. The origin, objectives and methodology of this type of theatre are outlined in the document.

This paper reviews the available literature on participatory monitoring and evaluation, focusing on how and where it is being used, the underlying concepts and issues involved and also, challenges for its use in the field. In addition, an annotated list of manuals and resources on the 'tools' and methods used in participatory monitoring and evaluation is included in the appendices.

This document focuses on the issue of whether community based development costs more or not by looking at the costs and benefits of some projects. It argues that when properly designed, community based programmes can be highly effective in managing natural resources, providing basic infrastructure or ensuring primary social services. In its view participation in community based development (CBD) depends on reversing control and accountability from central authorities to community organisations. It concludes that successful design requires tapping into local needs, understanding and building on the strengths of existing institutions, and by defining the changes needed in intermediary agencies to support community action.

This paper discusses the BankÆs experiences in the use of participatory approaches in the design of Social Funds. The newest World Bank supported funds are designed explicitly to increase the participation of beneficiaries in identifying and managing micro projects, with the aim of making project activities more relevant and sustainable. The paper also describes practical issues involved in this sector, looking at and the nature and degree of stakeholders involved, institutional setup, organisation, management and staffing, with a focus on the nature of social funds, the transfer of participatory approaches to government, the decentralisation of management, sharing of information with stakeholders and the whole dynamic process which involves training, skills sharing, transfer and incentives. The paper identifies that a common feature of all social funds is the microproject cycle which parallels the donorÆs project cycle, it looks at the different stages of the cycle and presents strategies that can be employed to at every stage of the micro project cycle to cultivate participation and build upon previous interactions with ultimate beneficiaries. The rest of the paper looks at the role of intermediary and community base organisations, which discusses issues on institutional analysis and strengthening in intermediary organisations, and institutional assessment and strengthening in community organisations. The final section presents eight key to guide Task Managers in their design of participatory social funds.

This document is based on a paper written by Davis, S. H and Soeftestad, L. T as a contribution to the World Bank Participation Sourecebook. It states that the characteristics of indigenous groups make participatory approaches especially critical to safeguarding their interests in the development process. Although such approaches, which recognise the right indigenous peoples to participate actively in planning their own futures are supported by major donors and international organisations, they have proved very difficult to implement. It advises that these approaches call for changes in attitudes, policies and legislation to address the key issues: recognising rights to land and natural resources; ensuring culturally appropriate procedures for consultation and communication; and building on the strengths of traditional lifestyles and institutions.