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Part 1 (1997): If development means good change, questions arise about what is good, and what sorts of change matter. Answers can be personally defined and redefined. The changing words, meanings and concepts of development discourse both reflect and influence what is done. The realities of the powerful tend to dominate. Drawing on experience with participatory approaches and methods which enable poor and marginalised people to express their realities, responsible well-being is proposed as a central concept for a development agenda. This links with capabilities and livelihoods, and is based on equity and sustainability as principles. The primacy of personal actions and non-actions in development points to the need for a pedagogy for the non- oppressed. This includes self-critical awareness, thinking through the effects of actions, and enabling those with power and wealth to experience being better off with less. Others are invited and encouraged to reflect, improve on this analysis, and write their own agenda.|Part 2 (2004): Since 1997, the polarisation of power and wealth in the world has become even more extreme. The personal dimension is central in mediating every big issue but continues to be relatively neglected. Words and concepts used in development have remained potent. Social capital and sustainable livelihoods have met needs in powerful organisations and have been widely adopted and influential. Responsible well-being, pointing to individual agency, has languished at the same time as the scope for action and impact has been enhanced by growing interconnectedness. The methodologies proposed earlier are needed more than ever. So are new lines of thinking: to complement rights of the poorer and weaker with obligations of the richer and more powerful, worldwide and between all levels; to recognise power and relationships as central issues; to integrate institutional and personal change; to ground pro-poor policies and practice in realism; to think for oneself and take responsibility; to choose words and identify priorities personally; and to seek guidance by reflecting on what a poor person would wish one to do.|Author's summary

This publication reports on development, outcomes and experiences of the Mexican Regional Sustainable Development Programme (PRODERS) developed and implemented by the Mexican ministry of environment, natural resources and fisheries between 1996 and 2000. This programme was designed as the anchor point for MexicoÆs sustainable development policy, and was founded on the principles of participation, decentralisation and integrated development. Participatory policy analysis was used to understand the successes and shortcomings of institutionalising participatory approaches in government and civil society organisations working at the local, regional and national level. While PRODERS failed to live up to expectations, the experience raises some interesting lessons that implementing a national public policy of sustainable development and participation: implementation at the regional level helps create visions and alliances, as well as spaces for regional debate and planning; strategies for coordinating different departments and ministries for integrated and inter-sectoral institutional activities are essential; efforts must be made to change the attitudes and behaviour of those responsible within public and social sector institutions; the personal experiences and background of the team involved in policy-making, institutional change or organisational learning are critical: field-based, participatory practical experience is indispensable; and the different scales of decision-making and management must be linked and anchored at the regional level; and community transformation needs to be linked with an institution at the regional level for decision-making and management, set within a framework of national coordination.

In this reflective article, as part of the special 50th issue of PLA Notes, Robert Chambers recalls the milestones and breakthroughs in the evolution of participation. He comments that many of the innovations are occurring everyday in workshops and practices in the South, but sadly this is not represented in the literature which tends to be dominated by Northern writers. The author echoes the request from the very first edition of RRA Notes (which has since become PLA Notes), calling for people to write in with stories, innovations, reflections from the field, spelling mistakes and all, to help amplify the voices of those working at the cutting edge of participatory approaches in practice. The author reflects on what we have learnt during the evolution of participation, including they can do it; difference matters; PRA approaches and methods can open up hidden and sensitive subjects; behaviour, attitudes and good facilitation matter more than methods; methodological pluralism works best; the importance of combining practice and critique; scale with quality needs commitment, continuity and congruence; institutional change is a progression and an art; and that participatory professionalism challenges power. The article concludes by looking at where we are now, and we are going, particularly focusing on the dimensions of power and the necessity of transforming power from above as well as from below. This includes looking at approaches and curricula in training and education as well as looking at change and transformation at the personal as well as institutional level.

In an article for the special 50th edition of PLA Notes, the author provides a case study of the work in participation, communication and change in Nigeria, in the context of Theatre For Development (TFD). The author looks at the use of the performance arts to facilitate collaborative development through the use of accessible communication strategies. The article explores the difficulty of communication, acknowledging the likely differences in perceptions, understandings and power relations of the participants involved, particularly when the aim is to promote change. The overall role of popular and collaborative communications in development is presented as about developing understanding and meanings of the phenomena that underpin our everyday lives. The article concludes by suggesting that the manner and structure of popular communication for change must therefore respond to the context in which the work is taking place; for it is determined by the nature of the society, community and target groups in which one is working.

In this article, as part of the 50th issue of PLA Notes, the authors look at the distinct but interconnected areas of participation and transformation. They explore how these processes can be brought together to shift the deeply embedded forces of power and social exclusion. The authors also explore how the language and practices of rights and advocacy can contribute to the effort, and how practitioners can best engage with rights-based approaches to development. The article provides a summary of some key insights that have emerged from the collective efforts of many people and organizations. Some of the key lessons emerging include the importance of understanding power, exclusion and social change; the need to think through strategy and vision before methods and tools; the value of drawing from diverse traditions; integrating work on human rights and development needs; working with multiple actors and building knowledge and awareness; accountability; and the need for time and patience to rights and advocacy work to affect meaningful change. In conclusion, the authors identify several challenges ahead, such as misuse or non-reflective use of participatory methods; dimensions of power and professional dominance; the need to strengthen community-based organisations while also looking beyond the local to the public sector; issues of donor dependency; and finally, dimensions of individual learning and change.