Resources
- (-) Remove Show downloadable documents only filter Show downloadable documents only
Results
84 items
Sort by
Amplifying children's voices on climate change: the role of participatory video
Download available
Publisher
International Institute for Environment and Development
Articulating the rural voice - a case study from Northern Ireland.
Download available
Abstract
The Rural Community Network (RCN) in Northern Ireland embarked on a six-month feasibility study that examined the potential use and benefits of participatory research techniques to policy change and conflict resolution. This article discusses the findings of this research and critically assesses how participatory techniques can contribute to the aforementioned two areas. It also discusses consultation fatigue and the key contributing factors. The article concludes by describing a follow up action research programme, which will address some of the issues raised in the feasibility study.
Assessing damage after disasters: a participatory framework and toolkit
Download available
Assessing the need to manage conflict in community-based natural resource projects
Download available
Abstract
This issue of Natural Resource Perspectives from ODI (Overseas Development Institute) considers the role of æconflict management assessment in community-based natural resource projects. The importance of conducting an assessment of the potential for conflict and its management in relation to a project intervention is stressed, and an assessment framework described. Within this framework the advantages of managing conflict through a consensual æwin-winÆ process of stakeholder negotiation are discussed. The following policy conclusions are made. Interventions to assist in the management of conflict within community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) should be preceded by a æconflict management assessment (CMA). This assessment should consider: (a) whether the conflict is likely to overwhelm the existing customary, institutional and legal approaches to conflict management, and if so whether it is appropriate to try to strengthen these; (b) whether, if the conflict is left alone, new conflict management mechanisms will organically materialise within an acceptable time-frame; and (c) whether the long-term benefits of allowing the conflict to transform itself into a positive force for social reform are outweighed by the short-term costs. Interventions for improved conflict management should be guided by an overall strategy which considers the full range of management options. Capacity building is a critical component of effective conflict management and a process of stakeholder negotiations is where the most creative and durable solutions will be found. Two factors support consensual æwin-winÆ negotiations as an effective strategy for managing conflicts in CBNRM: (a) the multi-stakeholder nature of such conflicts; and (b) the common ground that exists for sustaining renewable natural resources. Implementation of an overall strategy of conflict management will need to be periodically monitored to ensure that new external forces are neutral to the conflict, and that either a ædo-nothingÆ strategy is having the expected impact, or that the commitments embodied in a negotiated agreement are implemented in full and are effective.
Publisher
ODI
Being a Born-free. Violence, Youth and Agency in Zimbabwe
Download available
Abstract
This research report presents the findings of case study research with youth in six locations in Zimbabwe, carried out within the Power, Violence, Citizenship and Agency (PVCA) programme. It shows how young people experience growing up as citizens in a country known for its repressive regime, and highlights the differences for young men and young women.
Young people consider political violence as one of many forms of violence and other challenges they face in life. Election periods bring increased risk, when youth feel targeted. After the turbulence of elections has waned, surveillance by state security agents persists, affecting how young people use the public sphere. Between elections, forms of structural violence pose more challenges to youth than physical, political violence: patronage along party or ethnic lines is a major barrier to finding jobs, and generational differences deny young people a voice. High unemployment levels can result in youth participating in violence orchestrated by political actors.
This research shows also that family and peers have a strong influence on how young people choose to engage in the public sphere and respond to the polarised political environment. Youth empowerment strategies thus need to go beyond economic empowerment. This report argues that a shift in vision is required so that government, aid agencies and civil society recognise the importance of active citizenship among youth and make it a priority area for interventions. Programmes should build the citizen capabilities of young people and improve relations between them, their parents and communities, and public authority.
Beyond continuum thinking: participatory development is possible even in wartimes!
Download available
Abstract
Contributing the special 50th edition of PLA notes, the author argues that continuum thinking may not be useful for promoting development under conditions of violent conflict or civil war. Continuum thinking is defined as viewing relief, rehabilitation and development as distinct sequential processes in a time-frame model that is, a linear process moving from one stage to the next. The author criticises this approach for 4 main reasons: social conflicts and civil warfare are often circular processes, meaning that periods of relative calmness are often interrupted by violence; it is virtually impossible to distinguish between a pure emergency situation and a development situation; rehabilitation and reconstruction approaches tend to focus on re-establishing a status quo that in fact held the seeds of the conflict; efforts need to find an approach that prevents a reappearance of such destructive patterns and find a new way forward; and emergencies (and aid distribution) do not take place within a social and political vacuum. The article then looks at examples of participatory development in Sri Lanka, during times of war, as an example. The case study looks at how the Integrated Food Security Programme Trincomalee (IFSP) lobbied for a development-oriented participatory approach in Sri Lanka. In conclusion, the author argues that the experiences of IFSP show that participatory development requires a process of continuous negation with local implementing partners, and that only if aid agencies use this kind of process can their work contribute to the social and economic recovery of a war-ridden society.
Publisher
International Institute for Environment and Development
Bottom up planning? Participatory implementation, monitoring and evaluation of PRS processes in Bolivia
Download available
Abstract
This article explores links between the social unrest in Bolivia in October 2003 and the processes involved in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Poverty reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). The article suggests that the participation of civil society organisations has been limited and ineffective in these processes for a number of reasons. The author analyses the role that civil society has played in monitoring and implementing the PRSP, focusing on how the Grupo Nacional de Trabajo para la Participacion (GNTP) has worked with the government, NGOs and other civil society organisations. Specifically, the author looks at one case of successful peopleÆs participation in Vallegrande and concludes by drawing out lessons learnt from the Bolivian experience. These include: bottlenecks for peopleÆs participation can in part be overcome by strengthening networks and learning communities; key factors enabling peopleÆs participation in PRSP processes include government openness to participatory processes, access to information, organisational capacity within civil society organisation and commitment to participatory processes; and the role that South-South exchanges can have in strengthening learning communities.
Publisher
International Institute for Environment and Development
Can stratified PRA platforms improve dialogue and build consensus?
Download available
Abstract
Based on a case study in Nigeria this article examines stratification of PRA sessions as a tool when using PRA in conflict ridden settings.
Children's participation in community-based disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change
Download available
Publisher
International Institute for Environment and Development
Children's participation in the context of forced migration
Download available
Abstract
Global knowledge of the experience and perspectives of displaced children is limited. Much of the knowledge is researcher-centred and does not reflect the perspectives of the children, other documentary evidence is anecdotal. Based on the author's previous experience and secondary sources in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Peru, this paper examines some of the key questions and issues regarding the participation of refugee and displaced children in societal and programmatic processes. It begins by reviewing some of the structural, operational and conceptual reasons why children's participation is, as a rule, highly restricted in refugee and displaced communities, and concludes by considering some recent development in the field. It includes examples from Cambodia, Laos, South Africa, Rwanda, Bosnia and Kosovo.
Publisher
International Institute for Environment and Development
Combining different knowledges: community-based climate change adaptation in small island developing states
Download available
Publisher
International Institute for Environment and Development
Combining rapid appraisal with quantitative methods : an example from Mauritania.
Download available
Abstract
This article outlines the complementarity between the RRA techniques and the household survey adopted to study the exchange strategies used by villagers in the Assaba region of Mauritania. Giving specific examples, the article outlines how preliminary RRA work provided an understanding of indigenous terms, concepts and strategies which enabled a more meaningful survey to be drawn up. RRA techniques were discovered to provide information on typical behaviours of different sub-sections of the community whilst household surveys were able to give details on individual lives.