CHAPTER 6

PARTICIPATORY PLANNING AND

IMPLEMENTATION
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 At the end of this chapter, the students should
be able to:
 1. identify the importance of participatory
planning and implementation;
 2. discuss the different concepts of
participatory planning; and
 3. apply the steps in participatory planning.
 OVERVIEW
 This chapter deals with participatory planning
and implementation.
 Specifically, it discusses the meaning,
principles, and levels of planning, as well as a
brief historical development of participatory
planning.
 LECTURE
 Planning means to direct and guide 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,
disabled, and indigenous people.
 2. Assessment means to gauge the impact of a
community project on the social development of a
community.
 Participatory Planning
 Participatory planning is the process of laying
out the course of actions needed to attain a set
of socio-economic 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;
dissatisfied with the short rural visits of development
technocrats only to 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 to those from the
cities (Chamber, 1997). Thus, these workers developed
new methods and approaches in social planning as an
alternative to centralized, top- down planning.
Principles of Participatory Planning
 1. Development should be seen more as a change from the
bottom-up than from the top-down.
 2. 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.
 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.
Principles of Participatory Planning
 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. This is a case in point. According to Rina
Jimenez-David, former Department of 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. 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 scuttled 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.
Principles of Participatory Planning
 5. The development process must be based
primarily on confidence-building and learning
rather than on expertise and training. It is more
important for the people who will make
decisions at the local level to have the full trust
of the people they represent rather than to be
trained experts. This implies that the technical
staff of central government departments should
work in tandem with local interest groups rather
than just sit idly and dismiss the plans prepared
by the latter.
 LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION
 Typology
1. Passive
2. Information-based
3. Consultation-based
4. Incentives-based
5. Functional participation
6. Interactive
7. Self-mobilization
 LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION
 Results
 1. People are told of what will happen or is taking place.
 2. People answer a survey team's questionnaire (no follow-up).
 3. People answer a questionnaire defined or designed by
"outsiders," i.e., non-community members.
 4. People work for cash, food, or other incentives, Decisions by
"outsiders” and interest groups are synthesized to meet
objectives
 5. Joint analyses, decisions, and action plans are made,
implemented, and monitored by interest groups.
 6. Initiatives are taken independently from official institutions.
 LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION
 A project is described in the Webster's Dictionary as a
planned undertaking, The initial step is to identify the
specific acts that must be taken to meet a set of
objectives. The next is to lay down the project as
reflected in the acts to be taken. A project's common
elements include the following:
 1. Objectives - This element describes what the project
aims to do and what the project is for
 2. Boundaries - This element specifies the scope and
limitations of the project.
 3. Location - This element identifies where the project
will be implemented
 LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION
 4. Target beneficiaries - This element states who
will benefit from the implementation of the project
 5. Duration - This element determines the schedule
of the project, i.e., when the project will be
implemented and when it will end.
 6. Budget - This element itemizes the expected
expenses that the project will incur upon its
implementation.
 7. Methodology - This element indicates the
approach or manner by which project will be
implemented.
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT CYCLE
 Projects may vary according to their objectives,
boundaries, locations, target beneficiaries,
duration, and methodology. However, all
projects undergo a process called the project
development cycle consisting of these stages:

Identification Preparation Implementation Evaluation

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT CYCLE
 Although the phases may appear sequentially separated, they
are, in fact, circular, i.e., the phases continually interface with
each other both back and forth,
 1. Identification - In this stage, a potential project design is
organized after adequate consultations with the different
stakeholders of the community,
 2. Preparation - In this stage, the planners determine how and
when chosen project will be implemented,
 3. Implementation - In this stage, 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.
 CONCLUSION
 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. Since
participatory planning creates a sense of
urgency among the members of the community,
it should be followed by the implementation of
the project which has incorporated their ideas.