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Neighborhood-representing organizations (NROs) are generally viewed as the most authentic form of citizen participation and local democracy. In this article, the author questions how democratic NROs actually are, both on the local level (participatory democracy) and in the external arena (representative democracy). He presents a new conceptual model of the components of democracy in neighborhood organizations. A review of the literature is presented within the context of this model to show to what extent NROs are democratic. The findings indicate that the level of democracy in NROs is questionable and that the "iron law of oligarchy" is valid for this type of organization. The problem of low participatory and representative democracy is addressed, and implications for research and practice are discussed.

This book reflects the outcome of the interventions of the NGO Working Group on the World Bank's policies and procedures in relation to participation and participatory development in the 1990's.

It looks particularly at three areas:
À It assesses the success of participatory initiatives carried out by major aid donors drawing on the experiences of both recipients and donors themselves
À It analyses the organisational and policy changes necessary to enable poor stakeholders to participate in decision making
À It examines the strategies and behaviours of the various parties

The Chapters include The World Bank and NGOs: the Evolution of a Participatory Policy, Participation in Development Initiatives, Incorporating Participation of the Poor in International Development Agencies, and in Government Implementing Agencies, and Lessons Learned and Implications for Participation of the Poor.

The book attempts to bring together the lessons learnt regarding advocacy on issues concerning promoting, sustaining and supporting primary stakeholder participation in developing projects and policies of multilateral and bilateral development organisations.

The effects of Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and the subsequent 10 years' worth of rain which fell in five days brought environmental and agricultural devastation to Central America. World Neighbors (WN) had worked for many years on the promotion of soil and water conservation; the hurricane provided an opportunity for WN to study the effectiveness of this work in combating the disastrous effects of a potentially destructive climate and this newsletter gives details their work. They decided to carry out Participatory Action Research (PAR), a level of study which not only allowed the involvement of those most greatly affected by the climate - the local people - but other participants who expanded their own knowledge through the research methods and results. The system used was a pairing of plots with similar characteristics such as location and vegetation, but which provided a sharing of data through a direct comparison of agro-ecological and conventional cultivation. Other organizations were invited to participate in the study and form teams with the farmers, and all participants attended a workshop to learn methodologies. The methods used to analyse different variables such as slope, top soil thickness, texture, organic matter, insect and animal life, vegetation, erosion, landslides, and conservation practices are detailed along with the findings and lessons learned.

The paper is a case study of the way that World Neighbors used PRA in a process of community development in one sublocation in Kenya. The paper gives some background as to the practices of World Neighbors, the conditions in the community, and the role of government in the area. It then explains how PRA was used with a representative body at the sublocation level for analysis and planning. The PRA discussions led to development activities that had impacts on the physical well-being of community members, as well as less tangible social effects. The social effects included new modes of operating for the village leadership, changed relationships between community members, and supportive attitudes of local government officials for community led development strategies. The case study raises a number of general strategic choices facing non-governmental organisations using PRA and presents the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies chosen by World Neighbors.

This paper explores the dynamics of the making and shaping of poverty policy. It takes as its starting point a critique of linear versions of policy-making, highlighting the complex interplay of power, knowledge and agency in poverty policy processes. We argue in Section One that the policy process involves a complex configuration of interests between a range of differently positioned actors, whose agency matters, but whose interactions are shaped by power relations. Making sense of contemporary poverty policy requires a closer exploration of the dynamics within and beyond the arenas in which policies are made and shaped. It also requires an understanding of how particular ways of thinking about poverty have gained ascendancy, coming to determine the frame through which poverty is defined, measured and tackled. To do so calls for an historical perspective, one that situates contemporary poverty policy with regard to antecedent visions and versions. Section Two of this paper thus provides an overview of differing narratives on the causes of and solutions to poverty, especially as they have emerged in dominant development discourses. Making sense of participation in the policy process requires that we identify and explore policy spaces in which alternative versions of poverty may be expressed by a variety of voices, and the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion that surround them. In Section Three of this paper, we examine two broad kinds of policy spaces - those that are found in invited forums of participation created from above by powerful institutions and actors, and those more autonomous spaces created from below through more independent forms of social action on poverty related issues. By examining how different narratives of poverty and different actors interact in such spaces - as well as how they may be excluded from them - we can better understand the ways in which power and knowledge frame the policy process.

The State of Andhra Pradesh has been leading in economic reforms in India, particularly within the irrigation sector. Major steps are focused on institutional reforms towards irrigation management turnover all over the state. The state has formed 10292 water user associations and 174 distributory committees. As a major positive change, the state government had done away with contractors for all maintenance and repair works. All irrigation lands in the major and medium irrigation projects in the state receive equal financial and physical attention for improvement. Both farmers and officials have realised benefits in the process. With some modifications in the present approach, the state can become a model state both within and outside the country. This paper looks at the promises made, the actual practice, and the future potential of the whole approach.