Agyarko, Robert deGraft

This paper, in examining whether 'participation' is 'empowering', starts by looking at the theoretical context and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) methodology. It then critically examines two case studies from Ghana, which draw on participatory projects carried out by the Centre for the Development of People. The first concerns the training of local Assembly persons so as to support District Assemblies in implementing decentralised planning and decision-making, while the second is about Participatory Poverty Assessments (PPAs).

This dissertation argues that the Ghana Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA) was successful methodologically, in terms of obtaining the views of the poor concerning their priorities and strategies to combat poverty. However, in spite of the exercise receiving wide international attention, the results have yet to be accepted as a relevant data source within Ghana itself, owing to a strong preference for statistical data in social policy research.