This is for MA Rural Development first semeter

1. Participatory Approach (PA)
By:
Khemraj Subedi
Associate Professor
M. Phil
PhD Scholar

2. Participatory approach (PA)
 Chinese Philosopher Lau Tse embodies the
essence of the participatory approach to
community development in the following
poem. "Go and meet your people, live and stay
with them, love them, work with them. Begin
with what they have, plan and develop from
what they know, and in the end, when the work
is over, they will say: "we did it
ourselves"(Dennis, 1977).

3. Participatory Approach Cont…
 Participation evokes involvement of the community
in the decision making process of implementation of
development projects (Maser, 1997).
 According to Oakely (1991) the term participation
refers to harnessing the existing physical, economic
and social resources of rural people in order to
attain the objectives of community development
programs and projects.
 Paul (1987) also refers participation as the shift and
a self-transformational process and learning by
practice.

4. Participatory development Approach in
Broad sense
 Participatory development is broadly understood as an active involvement
of people in making decisions about implementation of processes, programs
and projects that affect them (Slocum, Wichhart, Rocheleau, & Thomas-
Slayter, 1995).
 The basic element of participatory development is to view the term
participation as the exercise of people’s power in thinking and acting, and
controlling their action in a collaborative framework. Accordingly, the key
concept of participatory development includes the collaborative effort of
people, taking initiatives by themselves in terms of their own thinking and
deliberations (Rahman, 1993; Oakley, 1991).

5. Participatory Approach
 According to Waishbord (2001) participatory theories
criticized the modernization paradigm on the ground that
it promoted a top-down ethnocentric and paternalistic
view of development.
 They argued that the strategic model proposed a
conception of development associated with a western
vision of progress.
 The top-down approach of persuasion models implicitly
assumed that the knowledge of governments and
agencies was correct, and that indigenous populations
went either ignorant or had incorrect beliefs.

6. Participatory Approach cont…
 The main essence of participatory development
theory is an active involvement of people in
making decisions about implementation of
processes, programs and projects, which affect
them.
 Participatory development approaches view the
term “participation” as the exercise of people’s
power in thinking, acting, and controlling their
action in a collaborative framework.

10. Purpose of Participatory Approach
1. Identification of the felt needs of the people
2. Bring forth consensus
3. Empowerment of local disadvantaged groups
4. Integration of local knowledge systems into
project design
5. Two-way learning process between the
project and local people
6. Political commitment and support
7. Accountability in local governance

11. Rationale and principles of participatory approach
 The rationale behind the emergence of the
participatory development approach is that the
participation and involvement of beneficiary
groups develop and strengthen the capabilities
of beneficiary groups in development initiatives.
 This is empowering, and leads to self-
transformation and self-reliance thereby
ensuring sustainability.

12. Principles of the participatory
approach includes (Dennis, 1997)
 Inclusion,
 Equal partnership,
 Transparency,
 Sharing power,
 Sharing responsibility,
 Empowerment,
 Cooperation

13. Advantages of a Participatory Planning Approach
 Feelings of ownership,
 Broader range of perspectives and ideas due to wide range of
participation,
 Identification of aspiration of people in real sense,
 Provides opportunity to all to have their say,
 Fosters trust amongst individuals, community and organizations,
 Reflects the mission and goals of grass roots and community-
based organizations,
 Embodies the ideas of collaboration, inclusiveness, and
empowerment,
 Finally, It respects everyone's intelligence, values everyone's
ideas and experience, and affords everyone a measure of control.

14. Disadvantages of Participatory
Approach Participatory process takes longer,
 Members may contradict with the idea of experts,
 One determined individual can wreck the whole process,
 Difficult to assure that all the right people get to the table,
 A few misplaced words, or one or a small number of key people losing
interest can upset the whole process,

15. Tools of Participatory
 Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA): RRA can be defined as a qualitative survey
methodology using a multi ‐ discipline team to formulate problems for
research and development. It involves external experts teaming up with
local community in a process of knowledge sharing.
 Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA): Participatory rural appraisal evolved
from rapid rural appraisal ‐ a set of informal techniques used by
development practitioners in rural areas to collect and analyze data. PRA is
a label given to a growing family of participatory approaches and methods
that emphasize local knowledge and enable local people to make their own
appraisal, analysis, and plans. This tool is efficient in terms of both time
and money. PRA work intends to gather enough information to make the
necessary recommendations and decisions.

16. Tools of PRA
 Other tools common in PRA are:
 Semi-structured interviewing,
 Focus group discussions
 Preference ranking,
 Mapping and modeling,
 Seasonal and historical diagramming.

17. Key Tenets of PRA
 Participation. Local people's input into PRA activities is essential to its
value as a research and planning method and as a means for diffusing the
participatory approach to development.
 Teamwork. To the extent that the validity of PRA data relies on informal
interaction and brainstorming among those involved, it is best done by a
team that includes local people with perspective and knowledge of the
area's conditions, traditions, and social structure and either nationals or
expatriates with a complementary mix of disciplinary backgrounds and
experience. A well-balanced team will represent the diversity of
socioeconomic, cultural, gender, and generational perspectives.
 Flexibility. PRA does not provide blueprints for its practitioners. The
combination of techniques that is appropriate in a particular development
context will be determined by such variables as the size and skill mix of
the PRA team, the time and resources available, and the topic and
location of the work.
 Optimal ignorance. To be efficient in terms of both time and money, PRA
work intends to gather just enough information to make the necessary
recommendations and decisions.

18. Key Tenets of PRA cont…
 Flexibility. PRA does not provide blueprints for its practitioners. The
combination of techniques that is appropriate in a particular
development context will be determined by such variables as the size
and skill mix of the PRA team, the time and resources available, and
the topic and location of the work.
 Optimal ignorance. To be efficient in terms of both time and money,
PRA work intends to gather just enough information to make the
necessary recommendations and decisions.
 Triangulation. PRA works with qualitative data. To ensure that
information is valid and reliable, PRA teams follow the rule of thumb
that at least three sources must be consulted or techniques must be
used to investigate the same topics.

19. References
 Dennis M. (1977). Ineffability in the Lao Tzu: the taming of a dragon. Journal of
Chinese Philosophy, 4 (1977), pp. 357-82.
 Maser C, (1997). Sustainable community development, principles and concepts.
USA. St. Lucie Press.
 Oakley, P. (1991). Projects with people: The practice of participation in rural
development. Geneva, International Labour Office.
 Paul, S. (1987). Community participation in development projects: The World Bank
experience. Washington, The World Bank.
 Rahman, MDA. (1993). People’s self development: Perspectives on participatory
action research. London, University Press Ltd.
 Slocum, Wichhart, Rocheleau & Thomas-Slayter, (1995). Power, processes and
participation: Tools for change. London. Intermediate Technology Publications.
 Waisbord, S. (2001). Family tree of theories, methodologies and strategies
in development communication: convergence and differences.
http://www.comminit.com/stsilviocomm/sld-2891.html (Accessed on
September, 22, 2003)

20. Any Query