Pambayang Dalubhasaan ng Marilao

Module 6 – Week 13-15 / PARTICIPATORY PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION

(National Service Training Program-NSTP 2)

I. INTRODUCTION

Planning refers to directing and guiding the people who are involved in a certain project.

Social Planning includes the areas of health, education, housing, and social welfare. It aims to improve
the quality of life and the standard of living of a particular minority group in a community (e.g, the poor,
women, children, persons with disabilities and indigenous people) Assessment means to gauge the
impact of a community project on the social development of a community.

II. OBJECTIVES: Specifically, after working on this module, you should be able to do the following:

1. Relate the importance of participatory planning to implementation;

2. Explain the different concepts of participatory planning and

3. Execute the methods of participatory planning

PARTICIPATORY PLANNING

Participatory Planning

- is the process of laying out the courses of action needed to attain a set of socioeconomic
goals.
- it resolves community issues or problems by giving concerned community members the
chance to identify problems and propose solutions.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PARTICIPATORY PLANNING

In the 1970s, professional development workers became aware of the mismatch between the
reality they constructed and the reality others experienced. They were dissatisfied with the short rural
visits of development technocrats, with questionnaire surveys and their results. They also acknowledged
that people from the provinces themselves knew more about their situations and communities are
compared to those from urban communities (chambers, 1997), Thus, these workers developed new
methods and approaches to social planning as an alternative to centralized, top-down planning.

PRINCIPLES OF PARTICIPATORY PLANNING

@ Development should be seen more as a bottom-up change than a top-down change

@ The development process should be managed naturally rather than mechanically (i.e., unduly focused
on plans, goals, objectives, targets and schedules)

- This implies that the aforementioned variables may change and that, therefore, they should
be made flexible.

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@ The development process should be also strengthen local organizations and local government
bureaucracies.

- A community program should be chosen according to its ability to enhance local

development.
- It should start with a few schemes to solve immediate local problems, build confidence and
earn experience.

@ The development process should be supported by local institutions with the villages, primary
cooperatives, religious and youth groups, and community-based and self-help associations playing major
role.

[ An example of the application of this principle is the following case. According to Rina Jimenez-David,
former Department of the interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jessie Robredo’s legacy is the
empowerment of his constituents. When he was the Mayor of Naga City from 1988-2012, he laid down a
clear and comprehensive framework that allowed his constituents to take an active part in governance.
The Naguenos were able to voice their concerns and suggestions to the city hall and act in various
project stages, from procurement to budgeting. They also devised a plan to set up a golf course. As a
result, 193 non-governmental and people’s organizations now work with the local government through
the Naga City People’s Council.

@ The development process should be based on confidence-building and learning, as well as expertise
and training.

- It is important for the people who will make decisions at the local level to be trained experts
and have the full trust of the people they represent.
- This implies that the technical staff of central government departments should work in
tandem with local interest groups and acknowledge the plans prepared by the latter.

Levels of Participation

TYPOLOGY RESULT
Passive The people are told of what will happen or what is taken place.
Information-Based The people will answer a survey team’s questionnaire (without follow-up)
Consultation-Based The people will answer a questionnaire that is defined or designed by “outsiders”
(i.e.,non-community members
Incentives-Based The people will work for cash, food, or other incentives
Functional The decisions made by “outsiders” and interest groups are synthesized to meet
the objectives.
Interactive Joint analyses, decisions, and action plans are made, implemented and
monitored by interest groups
Self-mobilization Initiatives are taken independently from official institutions

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 - A Project is described in Merriam-Webster as a planned undertaking.
⮚ The initial step is to identify the specific acts that must be undertaken to meet a set of
objectives.
⮚ The next step is to lay down the project as reflected in the acts to be taken.

A project’s common elements include the following:

1. Objectives – describes what the project aims to do and what it is for.

2. Boundaries – specifies the scope and limitations of the project.

3. Location – identifies where the project will be implemented.

4. Target beneficiaries - states who will benefit from the implementation of the project.

5. Duration – determines the schedule of the project (i.e., when the project will be implemented and
when it will end.)

6. Budget – itemizes the expected expenses that the project will incur upon its implementation.

7. Methodology – indicates the approach or manner by which the project will be implemented.

Project Development Cycle

- Projects may vary according to their objectives, boundaries, locations, target beneficiaries,
duration and methodologies. However, all projects undergo a process called the project
development cycle, which consist of the following stages:

Although the phases may appear sequentially separated they are, in fact circular (i.e., the phases
continually interface with each other)

1. Identification – In this stage, a potential project design is organized after having adequate consultations
with the different stakeholders of the community.
2. Preparation – Here, the planners determine how and when a chosen project will be implemented.
3. Implementation – Meanwhile, this is the stage where the project is carried out by the planners and the
local community members based on an agreed-upon timetable.
4. Evaluation – In this stage, the planners and the community members determine whether or not the
project objectives have been met.

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III. SEATWORK

Instruction: Write your reflection on the spaces provided.

1. What should your frame of mind be when conducting participatory planning with community
members?

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2. What are your expectations before engaging in participatory planning?

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REFERENCES

Villasoto, Herminigildo S., Villasoto, Noemie S., Roxas, Maristela B., Service-Learning and Immersion
towards Community Building: NSTP-CWTS 2, A Worktext for College Students. Third Edition. C&E
Publishing, Inc. 2022. Espiritu, Regelio I., NSTP with Common and Specific Modules. Mutya Publishing
House Inc. 2018.