Resources

This is a resource book designed primarily for development workers working within the field of the rural poor. It describes a range of first-hand experiences with participatory approaches in the context of projects funded by The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and governments in Asia and the Pacific. The book is divided into a number of sections. Part One examines poverty and participation and explains why the poor should be targeted and in what ways this is possible. Part Two describes in detail the actual participatory approaches. Part three concentrates on participation in the project planning and implementation stage. Part Four assesses the monitoring impact and Part Five examines issues in participation with regards to institutions, partnerships and governance.

The paper is a case study of the way that World Neighbors used PRA in a process of community development in one sublocation in Kenya. The paper gives some background as to the practices of World Neighbors, the conditions in the community, and the role of government in the area. It then explains how PRA was used with a representative body at the sublocation level for analysis and planning. The PRA discussions led to development activities that had impacts on the physical well-being of community members, as well as less tangible social effects. The social effects included new modes of operating for the village leadership, changed relationships between community members, and supportive attitudes of local government officials for community led development strategies. The case study raises a number of general strategic choices facing non-governmental organisations using PRA and presents the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies chosen by World Neighbors.

This article is about a workshop for Oxfam partners in the Yemen. Its key objectives were to introduce community participation as a tool for sustainable development work; to develop and understanding of the role of Oxfam partners for community mobilisation/participation; to introduce participants to PRA tools and show the relevance to their work; and to enhance mainstreaming gender analysis in Oxfam partner's work. Most participants at the workshop represented local NGOs who receive funding form foreign donors, including Oxfam. They represented diverse fields of work, such as women's development, marginalised communities, disability and Social Fund for Development.|The workshop involved discussions around the concepts of community and participation and the changing roles of the partners in the light of using participatory approaches and tools. It includes a discussion of PRA for people with disabilities including methodological innovations.

'Voices of the Poor' is a series of three books that collates the experiences, views and aspirations of over 60,000 poor women and men. This second book of the series draws material from a 23-country comparative study, which used open-ended participatory methods, bringing together the voices and realities of 20,000 poor women, men, youth and children. Despite very different political, social and economic contexts, there are striking similarities in poor people's experiences. The common underlying theme is one of powerlessness, which consists of multiple and interlocking dimensions of illbeing or poverty. The book starts by describing the origins of the study, the methodology and some of the challenges faced. This is followed by an exploration of the multidimensional nature of wellbeing and illbeing. Most of the book comprises the core findings - the 10 dimensions of powerlessness and illbeing that emerge from the study - and is organised around these themes. These include livelihoods and assets; the places where poor people live and work; the body and related to this, accessing health services; gender roles and gender relations within the household; social exclusion; insecurity and related fears and anxieties; the behaviour and character of institutions; and poor people's ratings of the most important institutions in their lives. These dimensions are brought together into a many-stranded web of powerlessness, which is compounded by the lack of capability, including lack of information, education, skills and confidence. The final chapter is a call to action and dwells on the challenge of change.

This article focuses on Participatory 3-D Modelling (P3-DM), a tool which merges Geographic Information System (GIS)-generated data and peoples' knowledge to produce a stand-alone relief model. P3-DM was used in the Philippines, by the National Integrated Protected Areas Programme (NIPAP), to give due weight to the interests of local communities in delineating protected area boundaries, identifying resource-use zones and formulating policies on protected area management. The model provides an efficient, user-friendly and relatively accurate spatial research, planning and management tool. Regular updating of the model allows for monitoring change and for integrating time into the system. By combining 3-D models with GIS, it is possible to implement (participatory) monitoring and evaluation over large areas. The article explores the process and the lessons learned.

This article argues that there are both practical and principled reasons for improving the standards of ægood governanceÆ within international organisations. The author argues that if the IMF and the World Bank are to achieve the same standards of good governance that they have defined for borrowing members, reform of the constitutional rules, decision-making procedures and practices within both institutions is required. The article argues for change in the voting structure, respective roles played by the Executive Board, consensus decision-making, nongovernmental organisations, and the staff, management and research in both organisations. The author suggests that ôwhile both the IMF and World Bank often write of the necessity of including stakeholders in the initiation and design of programs and policies, neither institution has adequately included all present-day stakeholders in its own governance.ö In conclusion the author also makes links with increased participation within member countries as well as an increased recognition and value of ælocal knowledgeÆ by the two institutions.