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Intergenerational Transmissions: cultivating agency?
Publisher
Institute of Development Studies
Bottom up planning? Participatory implementation, monitoring and evaluation of PRS processes in Bolivia
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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
Encounters with violence in Latin America: urban poor perceptions from Colombia and Guatemala
Abstract
Latin America is one of the world's fastest developing regions, yet also a hub area for crime and violence, where the links between social exclusion, inequality, fear and insecurity are clearly visible. This book explores the meaning of violence and insecurity in nine towns and cities in Colombia and Guatemala to create a framework of how and why daily violence takes place at the community level. It uses participatory urban appraisal methods to ask people about their own perceptions of violence as mediated by family, gender, ethnicity, and age. It develops a typology which distinguishes between the political, social, and economic violence that afflicts communities, and which assesses the costs and consequences of violence in terms of community cohesion and social capital. The featured towns and cities in Colombia are: Embudo, 14 de Febrero and Jerico in Bogotß, and Portico, el Arca, Amanecer, Rosario, Cachicamo and Colombia Chiquita; and in Guatemala: Concepcion, Nuevo Horizonte and La Merced in Guatemala City, and San Jorge, Sacuma, Limoncito, Gucumatz, El Carmen and Villa Real. Based on the experiences in these sites, the book examines the following aspects of urban violence: the role of participatory research methodologies in policy planning; the complexity of daily violence; community perceptions of underlying structural factors; the family as a violent institution; linkage to substance abuse; organised violence at the community level; social institutions and social capital; and community perceptions on strategies of dealing with violence.
Publisher
Routledge
Crisis and coping strategies of the poor: the role of local institutions in Bangladesh
Abstract
This book explores the qualities of relationship, behaviour and effectiveness that the poor of Bangladesh consider important in the institutions with which they interact during periods of crisis. It arose out of a perceived lack by the World Bank's Participatory Poverty Assessment (undertaken to contribute towards the World Development Report 2000/01) to look at the area of crisis and institutions. The main findings are: " Crisis is multi-dimensional, and related to exposure to mishaps, stresses and risks, as well as to dangers in the physical environment, in society and in the economy, and in administrative and legal systems. Events like floods, droughts, deaths, etc., which affect almost everyone in the community trigger community actions for coping with the situation; " The poor have developed a number of survival strategies to cope with crisis, which are linked with the way assets are pooled and managed to reduce vulnerability; " The poor interact with a range of formal and informal institutions during crisis. Local government, police and court systems are manipulated for political purposes by successive governments, making the poor most vulnerable since they lack political connections. Flaws in the health system have created the opportunity for corruption. Despite unanimous trust of NGOs by the poor, allegations of misuse of funds, gender discrimination, and nepotism have been made. The poor place much more of their trust in their local Community-Based Organisations for security and survival, and their inability to access state organisations". " A number of recommendations are made in the area of state institutions: pro-poor formal administration, anti-corruption, pro-poor health services, increasing women's security; in the area of pro poor policies: land reforms, safety nets; in strengthening NGO-state links; and the need for overall coherence in these initiatives".
Publisher
PRA Promoter's Society
Making ends meet: a Participatory Poverty and Hardship Assessment of Montserrat (PPA), July 2000
Abstract
This report provides an assessment of the conditions in Montserrat by people in Montserrat. It begins by discussing the impact of the start of a volcanic eruption in 1995 on peopleÆs lives and government action. By 1998 a four-year Sustainable Development Plan was set out with a strategy to rebuild Montserrat and its social fabric. The report discusses peopleÆs own perceptions and definitions of poverty and hardship with reference to a wide range of factors. Three groups emerged as being particularly vulnerable: single headed households; the elderly; and the mentally challenged. A discussion is then made of coping strategies people have developed that illustrate a high degree of resilience and resourcefulness. Finally, a discussion is made about how PPA can help the sustainable development process. It is found that it provides a more disaggregated assessment of who is facing what levels of poverty and hardship; it can help to assess the impact of policies on peopleÆs lives; and it provides a more informal channel for feeding peopleÆs views up to the government.
Crying out for change
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Abstract
'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.
Publisher
OUP for the World Bank
Participatory urban appraisal and its application for research on violence
Abstract
This paper describes the use of participatory research on violence and discusses a range of participatory urban appraisal (PUA) tools that can be used for this purpose. This includes tools that can document the perceptions of poorer groups regarding the kinds of violence (economic, social or political), the extent, causes (and the links with poverty and exclusion) and consequences of violence, as well as the strategies for coping with or reducing it. In addition, it outlines a conceptual framework on violence, poverty/exclusion, inequality and social capital, drawing on examples from Guatemala and Colombia.
They cry 'respect! : urban violence and poverty in Jamaica.
Publisher
Centre for Population, Community and Social Change
Urban Poverty and Violence in Jamaica
Abstract
This report presents the preliminary results of a participatory study of urban poverty and violence in Jamaica carried out during September - October 1995 using a Participatory Urban Appraisal (PUA) methodology. It describes findings from 5 poor urban communities in Jamaica on local perceptions of poverty and violence, and the causal relationships that produce and reproduce violence. The PUA began by eliciting local people's conceptions of poverty and vulnerability as an "entry-point" to discuss the sensitive theme of violence. The study clearly identified that violence in the selected communities erodes two key assets - labour and social capital - which are vital for reducing poverty, and ends with conclusions of specific relevance to the design of the Jamaican Social Investment Fund.
Training Workshop on Participatory Appraisal Methods for Participatory Assessment of Urban Poverty and Violence in Jamaica, 12-22 September, 1995
Abstract
This document describes, in detail, the processes and the outcomes of a training workshop on participatory appraisal methods, the main objective of which was to develop a methodology for the study of urban poverty and violence in Jamaica. The training workshop, which was participated in by over a dozen people including the Bank staff, was carried out in three phases: an introduction to the methodology in classroom sessions, pilot fieldwork and review, and the planning for the main fieldwork . The report provides an example of how PRA tools can be used successfully in studying more sensitive issues in the urban context as well. The fact that a good PRA in practice can help to bring about changes in 'outsiders' view regarding the importance and practicality of PRA tools is demonstrated. The report contains annexes with tables and diagrams.