Modes of Participation - Experiences from RETA 5894: Capacity Building and Participation Activities

"Modes of Participation" is a collection of brief case studies of Asian Development Bank (ADB) projects that include participatory elements. They range from Kazakhstan in Central Asia to Vanuatu in the Pacific, and a wide variety of policy, project, and capacity building activities. All received support for these elements from an internal grant fund, RETA 5894.

The cases are arranged to illustrate increasing depth of participatory development -- from information sharing to consultation, collaboration and empowerment. Decision making and accountability are increasingly delegated to citisens and to local and intermediate level institutions of civil society and the private sector as well as government. According to this authors, the stakeholders' sense of ownership, motivation and commitment to a proposed activity grows with increased engagement.

The paper notes many places where social capital, defined as 'trust-based social networks within and among communities on which people rely for both assistance and opportunity', may be developed or enhanced through participation. It also addresses the importance of training, and argues in favor of a balance between employment of participatory methods, institutional support, and establishment of a learning environment to optimise participation and its contributions to enhanced effectiveness and sustained impact.

Though possible areas for intensification of participation are indicated in all cases, the paper supports choice of modes of participation with reference to the nature of the activity, the context where it will take place, the skills of the stakeholders who will be involved, and the available resources to support and sustain it.

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

• Background
• Building Social Capital through Participatory Activities
• Incorporating Participatory Approaches and Methods

II. Exemplary Case Studies in Modes of Participation

• Participation by Sharing/Gathering Information
• People's Republic of China: National Planning on Poverty
• Viet Nam: Study of Human Capital of the Poor
• Participation through Consultation/Seeking Feedback
• East ASEAN Growth Area: Small and Medium Enterprise Development
• India: Urban Development Projects
• Tajikistan: Participatory Poverty Analysis for Power Rehabilitation
• India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement
• Participation through Collaboration/Joint Decision Making
• Kazakhstan: Country Poverty Reduction Program
• Participation through Empowerment/Shared Control
• Philippines: Development of Poor Urban Communities
• Philippines: Cordillera Highlands Agricultural Resources Management
• Summary

III. Discussion and Analysis: Optimizing Participation

• Training in Participatory Approaches
• Exemplary Case Study of Capacity Building: Skills Development, Vanuatu
• Strengthening ADB's Framework for Participatory Development
• Mainstreaming Participatory Approaches and Methods
• Ensuring Institutional Support
• Support within the Development Institution
• A Participatory Planning Framework within the Development Institution
• Support within Member Countries
• Fostering a Learning Environment
• The Traditional Approach
• The Learning Approach

IV. Achieving Optimum Participation Through Planning
V. Conclusion

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