Participation in the Project Cycle

Lecture 4
 Participation
Participation in development can be defined as a process through
which people with a legitimate interest (stakeholders) influence and
share control over development initiatives, and the decisions and
resources that affect them.
Thus, participation often comprises:
• the involvement of stakeholders in any or all phases of the
project cycle;
• promotion of the role of civil society in the development
process;
• specially designed facilitation methodologies and techniques;
• decentralised or devolved decision-making; or
• the institutionalisation of decentralised or devolved decision-
making such that broad stakeholder involvement becomes a
normal, expected part of the development process.
 Participation can serve two broad purposes:

• Participation as a Means: a process by which

development initiatives can be implemented more
effectively. Different participatory methods and
techniques can be used to incorporate people's
ideas in the development plans and activities.

• Participation as a Goal: empowering the people

by helping them to acquire skills, knowledge and
experience to take greater responsibility
(ownership) for their development. Often this asks
for a more structural relationship and participation
is the instrument of change.
 Participation in the Project Cycle: why bother?
• To ensure design reflects the real priorities of beneficiaries
• To ensure feasibility from people’s viewpoint
• To ensure relevance of interventions
• To ensure sustainability beyond the project period
• To ensure the project is reaching and listening to the voices
of the peoples it targets
• Increase ownership and therefore motivation
• Makes projects accountable to beneficiaries
• Generates learning/power to facilitate advocacy at the top
(partnerships) and at the bottom (by demanding political
entitlements)
• Provides early warning on problems
Arguments for participation:
• Increased effectiveness by basing activities
on local knowledge and understanding of
problems
• Building local capacities and abilities to
manage their own development
• Increase coverage and responsibility
• Better targeting of benefits to the poor
• Secure the sustainability of activities through
increase ownership
• Improve the status of women
Arguments against participation:
• It takes time and money
• In situations of poverty, participation is a luxury and
comes after livelihood security
• It may unbalance existing socio-political
relationships
• Is driven by 'ideological fervour' and less concerned
with securing direct benefits for people
• It is shifting the burden unto the poor and local
governments
• It can imply uncertainty, politicization and “loss of
control”
 Different degrees of participation
Empowerment

Consultation Source: Pretty (1994)

 Tools for Participation
• Workshop based:
– Appreciation-Influence Control (AIC)
– Object-Oriented Program Planning (ZOPP)
– TeamUp
– …
• Community based:
– PRA/PPA
– SARAR
– …
Source: Handbook of Participation, The World Bank
Source: Handbook of Participation, The World Bank
Source:DFID (2002)
Tools for Development
 Minimum Criteria for
Considering Participation

Source: Crosby (2000)

 Participation Assessment Checklist
• Will increased participation bestow the policy/ project with the
required legitimacy?
• Is additional participation necessary/enabling to assure transparency
and responsiveness?
• Will adding new participants unacceptably dilute the objectives sought
by the new policy?
• Are mechanisms available to respond to demands made by additional
participants?
• Will benefits of additional participation outweigh the costs? What
have they to offer to the project? Will they bring new insights?
• Will failure to take into account participation cause a project to fail or
create problems in other areas?
• Will participation of one group attract/deter other group’s
support/demand for participation?
• Could the group share costs of implementation? Provide resources that
will assist project implementation and reduce burden to manager?

Source: Crosby (2000)