Resources

This paper describes the process of conducting a social mapping exercise in an Indian village, situated 50km away from Bangalore. The author details the lessons learnt as a result of the activity. Issues such as the importance of the time of day and season and of the actual location for the exercise, being prepared for the unexpected and unplanned, ensuring triangulation of data and the barriers caused by language are all discussed. Finally, some major limitations are outlined, which relate to time constraints, social dynamics, language, and gender inequalities.

This article is about a workshop for Oxfam partners in the Yemen. Its key objectives were to introduce community participation as a tool for sustainable development work; to develop and understanding of the role of Oxfam partners for community mobilisation/participation; to introduce participants to PRA tools and show the relevance to their work; and to enhance mainstreaming gender analysis in Oxfam partner's work. Most participants at the workshop represented local NGOs who receive funding form foreign donors, including Oxfam. They represented diverse fields of work, such as women's development, marginalised communities, disability and Social Fund for Development.|The workshop involved discussions around the concepts of community and participation and the changing roles of the partners in the light of using participatory approaches and tools. It includes a discussion of PRA for people with disabilities including methodological innovations.

Indonesia is in a process of moving from authoritarian to democratic rule, and to more decentralised forms of governance. This paper sheds light on efforts to open space for women's participation in politics through the work of PPSW, a Jakarta-based women's NGO which helps women to change the way they think about themselves, and to analyse and understand gender relations at all levels of society from household to national government. It discusses the long-term process required to strengthen women politically; advocacy that involves education, consciousness raising and empowerment at the most basic and individual level.

This working paper details a new community-led approach to sanitation in Bangladesh. Access to latrines in rural areas is less than 15 per cent. Despite many agencies having been involved in the provision of subsidised latrines and toilets over the last three decades very few villages are totally sanitised. This new approach concentrates on empowering local people to analyse the extent and risk of environmental pollution caused by open defecation, and to construct toilets without any external subsidies. The Paper details the background to the work, the process of participatory total community sanitation, the impact of the project, it's national and international spread, how it differs from other sanitation programmes and limits to the approach. Finally it provides a list of recommendations, which have implications for policy makers and require institutional change. This project has had a huge impact: open defecation had been stopped in over 400 villages in Bangladesh and the methodology is being adopted in parts of India and elsewhere in Asia and Africa.

This collection of lessons from the field brings together the experiences of ActionAid's newly adopted approach to annual reviews: participatory reviews and reflections. These processes allow communities to challenge the organisation over the way money is raised and spent, the ability to demand greater openness and flexibility, and the possibility of raising rights issues. Review and reflection is a key part of ActionAid's 'accountability, learning and planning' system (ALPS), which makes accountability to the poor and marginalised central. The key principles of ALPS are explored through case studies presented of on-going projects in India and Africa, and include: " Strengthening ActionAid's main accountability to the people they target and work with; " Strengthening commitment to gender equity; " Making information relevant and useful to the people who use produce it, receive it, and who need to make decisions; " The information provider must receive feedback; " Making the best use of staff time by cutting down on the amount of written information needed; " Relating financial expenditure to programme quality; " Promoting critical learning that enables the organisation to learn from their successes and failures.

This report covers the main outcomes of a workshop held by Oxfam on its UK Poverty Programme's (UKPP) participatory appraisal (PA) approach. Two practices that are commonly used overseas by Oxfam have been applied to the UK: increasing the participation of people experiencing poverty in decision making processes; and increasing awareness of how poverty impacts differently on men and women. At the workshop there was much enthusiasm for PA due to its fun, different, inclusive, flexible, challenging, and empowering characteristics. This was also matched by concerns about PA and its use:
" that PA tools are becoming separate from the PA process;
" problems in establishing and maintaining standards and quality without compromising PA's ability to be flexible, complex and responsive;
" changing attitudes and beliefs of decision makers requires a major, long-term strategy, requiring time, resources and will on the part of participants;
" that PA is presented as a consultation tool and not as an empowering process.