Resources

Official policy documents are outcomes of intensely fought internal struggles. Through an analysis of a series of publicity booklets produced by the British aid programme between 1986 and 1998, this article explores how particular ways of thinking about women and gender were taken up by one donor agency. Based on the author's own experience, the article identifies the underlying processes related to power and knowledge that shaped a protracted and evolving bureaucratic contest over the text and pictures each booklet contained. The article explores how certain gender myths were used by the various contestants either to preserve or transform a policy agenda as represented in these booklets. In that contest, myths or stories were selected to resonate with the wider currents of ideology that were shaping aid policy at the time of each booklet's production. The article considers the external and internal political environment to which each booklet was responding and links the key policy messages of the booklets with the gender myths that each contains.|Author's abstract

This critical essay is published as part of the institutionalising participation project, which explores the dynamics of institutionalising people-centred processes and participatory approaches for natural resource management. This book in particular examines the evolution of policymaking in natural resource management and the emphasis on community control over planning, implementation and management of projects in the specific contexts of watersheds. It traces the major trends in policy over a decade from the landmark 1995 guidelines for watershed development to the Haryali guidelines of 2003, and the incorporation of participatory approaches. The report indicates that a well-drafted policy is not enough to achieve a complex set of objectives, and looks at how organisational cultures and capacities need to be considered. It also argues that local people need to be involved directly. The report is based on a case study of five districts in Andhra Pradesh and draws on the wider experiences of some government agencies, NGOs, research, donors and secondary literature.

This is a digital resource that allows users to direct and monitor their learning on facilitation at their own pace. It has been compiled for use by a diversity of people who have different levels of understanding and practice of facilitation, and comprises two CDs. The first is designed to give the user a choice of learning pathways appropriate to their interest or needs. These include personal assessment and reflection, interactive games and exercises, video clips and stimulating questions to challenge and probe the learnerÆs thinking processes. The second CD is aimed at those who would like to think about training others to become better facilitators and includes a comprehensive set of training materials and some video material of other trainers in action.

This newsletter looks at development and other activities in the villages in the Upper Kahayan area of Indonesia. It is the newsletter of Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta (YTS), an organisation established by a mineral exploration company to facilitate community development in the villages close to the exploration area. YTS has recently been shifting to using PRA approaches with local villages, and the newsletter describes some of the findings from these processes. Main issues covered include insights gained from specific villages as well as more general information about field activities on broader themes such as education, health, economics and governance. The newsletter also contains general updates and news items concerning YTS, and is published quarterly.

This article introduces the 51st edition of PLA Notes, on civil society and poverty reduction. The PLA notes edition aims to capture the experiences of southern civil society organisations (CSOs) that are engaging in monitoring, evaluating and implementing poverty reduction strategy (PRS) processes. This introductory article describes how the authors involved in this edition of PLA notes came together for a writeshop in Nairobi, Kenya, July 2004. The key issues identified include the diverse nature of civil society; the conditional nature of poverty reduction strategies; the quality and degree of participation of CSOs; and the existing power dynamics that challenge the effective monitoring of poverty reduction funds and consequently the implementation of policy reduction policies. The article concludes by looking at issues of capacity building, shifting accountability relationships, and strengthening facilitatory partnerships between CSOs. In the final section, the authors look at how we can build on these reflections and move forward.