Resources

Farmer communities of Sta. Josefa, a fifth class municipality in Agusan del Sur, take center stage in this 25-minute video. It highlights the value of people's participation in the local development planning process in the Philippines, a result of the 1991 Local Government Code, which provided a mandate for democratisation at the village level. The video explores the different participatory tools used to identify, prioritise and analyze problems, and which facilitate the communities in making their own development plans. Also featured is the willingness of local government units to lead communities in making claims through the participatory planning process, as seen in the experience of Toboso, Negros Occidental. This video features the partnership and interplay of the roles of vital community actors, such as non-governmental organisations, people's organisations and local government units, in assisting the communities to achieve socio-economic advancements. Importantly, it highlights the commitment to building empowered and sustainable communities.

The author narrates a personal journey to participation, through her work with local fisher communities in Tanzania, who were trying to stop dynamite and other illegal fishing methods. The use of video as a medium of communication empowered local villagers, giving them a means to forward their claims directly to those in authority. She describes the experience of lobbying the government at the national level, and how she stepped outside her role of NGO worker to accompany the villagers she had been working with to confront the Prime Minister. This act drew on an awareness that a facilitator is not neutral, and that commitment must be personal and political, not just that of professional duty. However, along the way, her journey has been fraught with personal risks as they confronted powerful local elites and opposed vested interests. She reflects on the need to change attitude and behaviour in institutions, and to put our own interests last, for participation and peoples' empowerment to go beyond rhetoric.

IInfluencing government policy formation and monitoring together with influencing policy implementation has become a key goal for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in ensuring the success and sustainability of local programmes. This document brings together a collection of Institute for Development Research (IDR) reports which draws on a long-term program aiming to identify examples of successful development NGO participation in influencing policy. Three papers are included. The first is an analysis of alternative approaches by civil society organizations in influencing policy. The second paper compares a series of policy campaigns led by grassroots coalitions and groups situated in the Philippines. Five Filipino case studies are compared and the successes are described as well as some of the difficulties of policy work experienced by civil society. The final paper compares national and international campaigns to influence policies across a number of regions and countries. Lessons and implications for the transparency and the effectiveness of such campaigns are detailed.

This manual draws on CARE's field experience in working with communities using participatory approaches. Part One uses case studies from countries such as Bangladesh, Madagascar, Somalia and Peru to review and critique CARE's experience with participatory approaches. Part Two focuses on conceptual reflections, which include looking at participation and the project cycle as well as using quantitative surveys to complement PLA findings. Part Three gives a comprehensive step by step guide to participatory tools and techniques, which is preceded by an overview of PLA and finishes with a look at tackling documentation, analysis, synthesis and report writing.

Learning with the community, through PRA, is the theme of this issue of World Neighbours in Action. The article describes some of the key features of PRA and participatory methodology. It details some of the methods and tools used in PRA, such as participatory mapping and modeling, trend analysis and trend diagramming, transect maps, matrix ranking and scoring, seasonal diagramming and analysis, wealth ranking, daily activity profiles and chapati diagrams. The article discusses how to move forward after the information-gathering phase of a PRA, suggesting means by which to assist the community in analysing the information collected, in identifying issues that need to be addressed, in identifying resources that are available both within and outside the community, in prioritising the problems and developing a plan of action. It also suggests how to bring such village management plans to the government and NGOs, and to manage, evaluate and monitor any projects that may result. It concludes by warning against the manipulation of PRA tools, and urges for a process of 'handing over the stick'.

This issue of World Neighbours in Action focuses on helping communities plan for the future. In particular, it describes Community Participatory Planning (CPP). This is a planning process facilitated by community leaders and animators, in which the major social interest groups participate in creating a community development programme aimed at solving their priority problems. The article discusses the aims of CPP, who it should be undertaken by, and when and where the CPP is done. It then details the two major stages of the CPP approach, which are supporting the CPP process through community preparation, and facilitating the CPP process in the community. It also discusses some of the conditions that need to be in place before training community leaders in the CPP process.

This Framework for Mainstreaming Participatory Development Processes into Bank Operations presents an overview of how participatory development processes fit into the operations of the Asian Development Bank, and of how these processes will be systematically incorporated into its business practices. The Framework complements other recently established policies that have provided for greater openness and accountability by the Bank in regard to its operations. The aim is to catalyse a wider sense of ownership of the development activities that the Bank supports. An overview of participatory development is presented, while discussing the benefits and risks that are associated with it, as well as the mechanisms through which participation can be facilitated. The operational implications of mainstreaming participatory development for both the Bank and agencies in borrowing countries, and the operational costs of doing so, are discussed. The approach that the Bank will follow for mainstreaming participatory development into its operations is further elaborated.