Plan using participatory

approaches
Group
Participatory planning is a way of
doing planning that puts residents
at the centre of decision-making in
their community. That can be done
in many ways, but the end result
should be the same: the community
feels ownership over the process
and the results.
They see their hard work reflected
in a community vision or projects
that get built because of their
involvement. Participatory
planning addresses some common
problems that exist with current
engagement in community
planning.
Participatory planning is an urban
planning paradigm that emphasizes
involving the entire community in the
community planning process.
Participatory planning emerged in
response to the centralized and
rationalistic approaches that defined
early urban planning work.
It has become a highly influential
paradigm both in the context of
traditional urban planning, and in the
context of international community
development. There is no singular
theoretical framework or set of
practical methods that make up
participatory planning.
Rather, it is a broad paradigm which
incorporates a wide range of diverse
theories and approaches to
community planning. In general,
participatory planning programs
prioritize the integration of technical
expertise with the preferences and
knowledge of community members in
the planning process.
They also generally emphasize
consensus building and collective
community decision making, and
prioritize the participation of
traditionally marginalized groups in
the planning process.
The participatory approach involves:
The use of visualization and
1 Sharing of knowledge
and experience 4 analytical tools, imagination
and drama an open-ended
creative learning process
Recognizing and
2 encompassing
different perspectives
5 The development of shared
understanding and jointly
owned plans or other products

3 Working in teams on
practical tasks 6 The capacity for reflection
and self-assessment
 Who is involved in
participatory planning?
ACTORS
 There are many actors involved in participatory
planning processes. These include central
government, local government, civil society
organizations, private sector/business
organizations, “ex- perts” like academics, and
even donors, to name a few.
 Involves people who are directly concerned
by the result of his or her work.
Advantages
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 They give local people the skills and confidence to
work as equal partners with NGOs and aid agencies.
 It gives you a better perspective on both the initial
needs of the project’s beneficiaries, and on its
ultimate effects.
 It can produce information you would not get
otherwise.
 It tells you why something does or doesn’t work.
 It teaches employment and life skills, as well as
boosting self-confidence among participants.
 It is generally more inclusive and encourages
ownership of the project.
 It encourages working collaboratively and builds
trust between NGO staff and the local community.
 It can be particularly helpful where there are issues
in the community or population that outside
evaluators may not know, fully appreciate or be able
to collect.
Disadvantages
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As regards the disadvantages, these are likely to be more
manageable as NGOs become more familiar with M&E
techniques and feel confident about empowering local
people to become fully engaged in M&E. They include:

 It takes more time than a professional evaluator or

evaluation team would.
 It can require considerable time and effort to ensure
buy-in and the establishment of trust among all
participants.
 You have to make sure that everyone is heard, not
just dominant voices and ‘leaders’ of various groups..
 You have to make sure that everyone is heard, not
just dominant voices and ‘leaders’ of various groups.
 You may have to adapt the way that information is
collected to reflect, for example, high local levels of
illiteracy.
 You must check that your funder is open to the idea
of participatory evaluation.
 HOW DO YOU CONDUCT A PARTICIPATORY
EVALUATION?
A participatory evaluation really has two stages: One
comprises finding and training stakeholders to act as
participant evaluators. The second - some of which
may take place before or during the first stage -
encompasses the planning and implementation of the
project and its evaluation, and includes six steps:
 Six Steps
Naming and Collecting
framing the issue information

Developing a theory Analyzing the

of practice to
address it
Deciding what questions to
ask, and how to ask them to
get the information you need
information you've
collected
Using the information to
celebrate what worked,
and to adjust and improve
the project
WHAT ARE THE LEVELS
OF PARTICIPATORY
PLANNING?
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There are a number of ways to consider
participatory planning. This kind of process
always presents, even at best, a trade-off between
efficiency and inclusiveness, time pressure, the
needs of the community, the skills and experience
of those participating, and the nature of the
intervention, among other factors, all help to
dictate the actual shape of the planning process.
 The following are the model of the different
possible levels of participation:
 Information - The least you can do is tell
people what is planned.
 Consultation - You offer a number of options
and listen to the feedback you get.
 Deciding together - You encourage others to
provide some additional ideas and options, and
join in deciding the best way forward.
 The following are the model of the different
possible levels of participation:
 Acting together - Not only do different
interests decide together what is best, but
they form a partnership to carry it out.
 Supporting independent community initiatives -
You help others do what they want - perhaps
within a framework of grants, advice and
support provided by the resource holder.
WHO SHOULD BE
INVOLVED IN A
PARTICIPATORY
PLANNING PROCESS?
The ideal answer here is everyone who is affected by the
proposed intervention, but that's seldom possible, or
even desirable. You may be talking about thousands of
people, too many for an effective planning process. In
reality, there should be strong and effective
representation for everyone involved, including:
 TARGETS OF CHANGE
Targets of change are the people at whom the
intervention is aimed or whom it is intended to benefit.
That could be very specific (e.g. teen mothers, for a job
training program aimed at teen parents) or very general
(the community as a whole, for a smoking prevention
and cessation initiative aimed at everyone in the
community).
 There are really two groups to be considered
here:
Members of the target community, both those on whom
the intervention is specifically focused, and others who
share their culture, age, language, or other
characteristics.
People whom the target community sees as significant
opinion makers. They may be members of the target
population itself, or outsiders - clergy, advisors, former
community members who now move in circles of
power, politicians, etc. - whom people in the target
community trust and rely on.
PARTICIPATORY
PLANNING PROCESS
 RECRUIT STAKEHOLDERS
The obvious first step toward starting a participatory
planning process is finding
people to participate. Some of that relies simply on
networking and old-fashioned legwork,
but there's a logical process that accompanies it as
well.
 RECRUIT STAKEHOLDERS

The obvious first step toward starting a

participatory planning process is finding
people to participate. Some of that relies simply
on networking and old-fashioned legwork,
but there's a logical process that accompanies it as
well.
 A. Identify the Stakeholders

These should always include, at the very least,

members of the organization's staff
and Board and the target population.
In general, it also makes sense to include members
of the community, especially if:
 The intervention needs community support or
participation in order to succeed
 The intervention affect the community as a whole
 The community is being asked to change in some
way - its attitudes, behavior, assumptions, bylaws,
etc.
 B. Get the Word Out

If you're trying to inform only specific groups in

the community, start with people in
those groups you already know. They'll help to
spread the word to their friends and
acquaintances, who'll pass it on further still.
 B. Get the Word Out
They can also help you decide where to
place other information so the target groups will be
likely to encounter it. Be sure that
your message is simple and clear, and in the
languages that the community speaks. Be
sure also that your message appears in places where it
will be seen or heard by those
subjectively concern.
CONVENE THE
PLANNING PROCESS
 A. Choose Someone to Convene the Process

Regardless of what happen afterwards, someone

needs to call people together and run
a first meeting. If that person is identified with a
particular group, then that group will
probably be seen as in charge of the planning process.
 A. Choose Someone to Convene the Process

Sometimes it is best to find someone from outside the

group - often an elected official
or other respected figure - to run a first meeting. This
type of choice both lends credibility to
the intervention, and identifies it as a community
effort, rather than that of a particular
organization
 B. Hold an Initial Meeting

An initial meeting might be open to a very large

number of people (the whole
community, or all of the target population, for
instance) or to a smaller group (one
representative from each of several agencies and
organizations, a few selected members of
the target group, etc.).
 B. Hold an Initial Meeting

The time, place, and tone of this meeting are all

important in making
sure that people will be willing to participate in it
and in the process that follows.
 MAINTAIN THE PLANNING PROCESS
Once the planning process has started, it has to be
maintained. Participants have to be
continually interested, support be provided when it's
needed, conflicts have to be resolved,
methods have to be devised to keep the process
reasonably efficient, goals and deadlines
have to be set, etc.
 A. Choose Someone to Guide the Planning Process

Someone - realistically, it is usually the director or

another administrator of the
organization that will conduct the intervention, but it
could be a Board chair, an outside
facilitator, or a community member thus to monitor
what's happening and make sure that
nothing derails the planning.
 B. Decide Who Will Issue Final Approval On A Plan

This body might take one of several forms:

a. A meeting of all stakeholders
b. A diverse group chosen to oversee the
intervention
c. A community meeting
d. The Board of the organization
e. A very small group - the director and Board
chair, for instance, or even just one of them
 C. Determine How Long The Planning Process Will Go
On
If the planning group is meant to continue, either to
furnish oversight of the final plan, or
to keep developing and changing the intervention as
circumstances and the
community's needs change, an ongoing participatory
approach may be even more
important to the intervention's success.
 In summary, a participatory planning process
- one in which all the stakeholders are
involved - is often the most effective and
inclusive way to plan a community
intervention. A participatory process provides
community ownership and support of the
intervention; information about community
history, politics, and past mistakes; and
respect and a voice for everyone. It also takes
time, care, mutual respect, and commitment.
 In order to conduct such a process well, you
have to carefully consider what level of
participation is most appropriate under the
circumstances. You also must identify the
stakeholders, and make sure they all get to the
table, using communication techniques
designed to reach them.
 Care must be taken in getting the process
under way. The person and methods chosen to
convene it can both send messages about your
intentions, and have a great effect on which
and how many participants you attract.
 Finally, the process must be maintained over
time, so that momentum will not be lost. If
you can manage a planning process that
meets all these requirements, the chances are
that you will come up with a successful
community intervention, one that truly works
and meets the community's needs..
THANK YOU!