Chapter 6

PARTICIPATORY PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION

"Have a bias towards action-let's see something happen now. You can break
that big plan into small steps and take the first step right away." -Indira
Gandhi

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this chapter, the learners should be able to:

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.

GETTING STARTED

This chapter deals with participatory planning and implementation.

Specifically, it discusses the meaning, principles, and levels of planning, as well
as the historical development of participatory planning

LET US TALK

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

1. 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 peoples).

2. Assessment means to gauge the impact of a community project on the social

development of a community.
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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, who
only drop by the offices of, or talk to, local male leaders, and disillusioned with
questionnaire surveys and their results. They also acknowledged that people
from the provinces themselves knew more about their situations and
communities as 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

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

change.

2. The development process should be managed naturally rather than

mechanically (ie, 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.

3. The development process should 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.

4. 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 a 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 to 2010, he
laid down a clear and comprehensive framework that allowed his constituents
to take an active part in governance. The Nagueños 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.
5. The development process should also 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

-Results

1. Passive

The people are told of what will happen or what is taking place

2. Information-based

The people will answer a survey team's questionnaire (without follow-up).

3. Consultation-based

The people will answer a questionnaire that is defined or designed by

"outsiders" (ie, non-community members).

4. Incentives-based

The people will work for cash, food, or other incentives.

5. Functional

The decisions made by "outsiders and interest groups are synthesized to meet
the objectives.

6. Interactive

Joint analyses, decisions, and action plans are made, implemented, and
monitored by interest groups.

7. Self-mobilization

Initiatives are taken independently from official institutions.

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:

1. Identification

2. Preparation

3. Implementation

4. Evaluation

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.

SUMMING UP

Successful participatory planning will help identify and transform community

weaknesses into strengths. With the support of the local government,
community members may contribute in the planning of projects that can solve
the problems that beset them. Because participatory planning creates a sense
of urgency among the members of the community, it should be followed by the
implementation of the project that is incorporated with their ideas.