Resources

The article argues that strategic planning is crucial for tackling poverty, and looks at the anti-poverty strategy and plan of action in Bulgaria. The article first describes poverty in Bulgaria, and how low levels of income and low levels of employment make women particularly vulnerable. The author looks in detail at the anti-poverty strategy and plan of action as strategic planning tools, and argues that the planning processes have to be made fully participatory and reflect the vision of the poor and vulnerable people. To achieve this, the author suggests that NGOs and CSOs have to be supported further through training in strategic thinking to enable efficient and effective participation in planning processes.

This overview introduces the concept of community-based planning (CBP) looking back at its development and how it has evolved in the light of an increased emphasis on decentralisation in many countries during the 1980s and 90s. In this context it also considers the relevance of community-driven development models, including participatory poverty analysis, being promoted by parts of the World Bank over the last five to ten years, which typically have included a CBP component. It looks at the end uses of CBP in integrated development planning and sectoral planning; in promoting community action and control over development; and to comply with policy or legislation for public participation in planning. It examines approaches and methodologies, with the use of PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) methods; the role of facilitators and training; community managed funds; accountability, monitoring and evaluation; and linkages to local government and higher-level planning. It evaluates the impacts of CBP on different policy levels, the quality of services and community participation and action. The future development of CBP is discussed with a need for an increased effectiveness and widening of the approach. It concludes by linking the topics discussed with the following articles of pla notes 49.

As part of the special 50th edition of PLA notes, the authors reflect on the evolution of PRA from its early days as Rapid Rural Appraisal to its current form as Participatory Learning and Action. The article looks at how criticisms about quality and approach have been incorporated and responded to during the evolution of PLA, as has the increasingly important idea of empowerment. The article also touches on scaling-up participation and the appropriation by some of the ideals by international agencies such as the World Bank. Overall the authors look at the innovating ideals and attitudes that underlie RRA, PRA, PLA, and other embodiments in policy research, learning, participatory governance and rights-based development work. The authors conclude by asking how to recapture the dynamism that gave rise to PRA to inspire a new generation of innovators and pioneers to help meet the challenges that development now faces.

This research report provides an interesting example of participatory tools and approaches applied in the context of a developed country. Responding to local tensions within the Somali community and also the wider community in Lewiston Maine, USA, researchers from Clark University's Department for International Development decided to conduct a pilot participatory needs assessment of 60 Somali households resident in Hillview, a large public housing unit in Lewiston. The overall objective was to enable Hillview Somalis to bring together their different clan, gender, age, class and educational diversities to build unity and to speak with one voice about their needs. In conclusion, the report suggests that participatory approaches were useful, and that three process goals were achieved: good local support, meaningful and probing discussions, and local ownership. In addition, five products were also created: the assessment of achieved consensus, a community action plan, an action committee with strong backing from the community, support and involvement from a local NGO focusing on Somali community services, and partnerships between different stakeholders. Overall, the needs assessment worked because it combined all the ingredients for creating sustainable actionùinclusiveness, public group processes, transparent ranking, listening to others, visual data gathering techniques, building consensus rather than voting, creating a community action plan, organising information, mobilising resources, and building partnerships. As the report concludes, these are æthe qualities that will enable the Hillview Somali community to continue listening to each other as well as to become the managers of their own community.

The National Association for NGOs (NANGO) in Zimbabwe has developed, with an external consultant, a method for participatory capacity assessment and planning. In this paper, the authors describe the process, emphasizing that capacity building is a much wider-ranging process than simply training or staff development. Following on from individual organisational processes, network members came together to see whether and how they could support and integrate their capacity building strategies. The article is thorough in its discussion with diagrams to illustrate key points. It concludes with reflections on the participatory capacity building methodology and future developments.

This article looks at government operated rice farming in Mbiabet in the state of Akwa Ibom, Nigeria. Government operation of the Mbiabet Ikpe rice farm enabled expansion of the cultivable rice paddy, building of drainage systems, provision of silos and generators, improved infra-structure, and gave access to technical expertise. But it also generated massive fraud in allocating rice plots to farmers leading to conflicts and killings; inadequate maintenance of drainage systems; silos that remained unused and vandalised; and farmers refused to maintain their plots effectively as they could not keep it to the following year. In 1994 an Africa Development Bank (ADB) project funded a rice development survey in the area and a PRA (Participatory rural Appraisal) approach was applied with public meetings, workshops and action research involving the local community. The villages of Mbiabet were encouraged to set up Village Development Associations (VDAs) which were later coordinated in the Mbiabet Ikpe Community Development Association (MICDA). Within this network of organisations a framework was set up for participative identification of the main community problems their possible solutions. The MICDA then requested the handing over of the operability of the Mbiabet Ikpe rice farm and their proposal was accepted by the government. The authors conclude that the overtake of the rice farm has been successful and that the intensive nature of the facilitation where community members played active roles, coupled with long periods of engagement, which accorder people time to adjust to new challenges, contributed to the success of the programme.