Module 3
Module 3: Gender, Water, and Meaningful
Participation in Decision-making Processes
Part 4: Practical tips on integrating gender and
participatory approaches to IWRM
Before engaging in a participatory approach in IWRM we need to ask ourselves when is a
participatory approach appropriate?
According to Participatory Methods Toolkit: A Practitioner’s Manual (2003), the participatory
approach is particularly appropriate for addressing:
▪ Themes that require ethical, social, or cultural study and may call for a choice between
fundamental values and principles.
▪ Policy issues that call for a combination of public awareness, learning, a search for
solutions and emotional or moral acceptance of the eventual decision.
▪ Public policy choices that will rely on the precautionary principle or the weight of evidence.
▪ Underlying values and principles that must be clarified before detailed proposals or risk
management options are brought forward.
▪ A clearly defined set of options or proposals that support the search for consensus or
innovative solutions.
The GWP Action Piece, Gender Equality and Inclusion in Water Resources Management, advises
practitioners to ask the following questions to drive better practice and make interventions more
participatory:
▪ Have we considered the need for participation of intended beneficiaries throughout the
planned project/programme/initiative?
▪ Who is marginalised in a given context? Which groups have specific needs that should be
accounted for? Is it all women, or women from certain classes and castes? Is it people with
disabilities, young or old women?
▪ To what extent are marginalised people represented in consultation and decision-making
opportunities? To what extent can they and do they contribute to and hold decision-
making influence and power? Are changes to decision-making processes needed to
enhance participation?
▪ To what extent are marginalised people supported to meaningfully engage in ways that
are appropriate to them? Is capacity building and/or support needed?
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Module 3
Ethical issues are also an important component of participatory planning and decision-making in
IWRM. Researchers Daniell et al. (2009) 1 reflect on this in the following way:
Greater attention needs to be given to ethics related to the use, organisation
and coordination of participatory forms of water planning. Working with
diverse groups of people on water management issues requires the ability to
understand and collectively make a range of decisions on the content, design,
and implementation of participatory processes. Ethical questions and
sensitivities arise in such work including issues of changing existing power
structures, privacy conditions and cultural sensitivities. Existing procedures
for ethics clearance and codes of ethics, conduct and professionalism aim to
increase adherents’ awareness of ethical issues and mitigate risks. Yet it is
common in some jurisdictions involved in participatory water planning to
overlook both codes and the ethical implications of the processes in which
they are involved.
For the purpose of common ground, Daniell et al (2009) define ethics using the Oxford dictionary
as “moral principles that govern a person's or group's behaviour”. When we ask if something is
‘ethical’ we are questioning the ‘rightness’ or ‘goodness’ of action, as defined by personal values,
reasoning, and feeling or by societal norms and rules. In participatory practice, decisions are
therefore likely to be made based on a variety of different versions of ‘right’ or ‘good’.
Water managers, engineers, researchers, consultants, government officials and other
stakeholders are often charged with the responsibilities of determining and collectively managing
conflicts and issues arising from their differing values, beliefs, relations and practices during the
creation and implementation of water management plans. This includes working through
questions of the allocation and development of sustainable water systems, such as:
▪ Why should a water plan be created?
▪ What should be the goals of the water plan?
▪ What should be the actions to achieve these goals?
▪ Who should be responsible for funding and implementing these actions and when?
▪ How should progress towards these goals be measured?
▪ How should the plan be adjusted based on these evaluations?
Equally important, they should also ask questions about the participatory process itself related to
its design, implementation and the evaluation of its effectiveness. For example, this may include
debating:
▪ Who should be responsible for organising and managing the participatory process?
▪ How should the scope and purposes of the water management plan be decided?
1
Daniell, K. A., Ian White, and Dominique Rollin (2009) Ethics and participatory water planning,
pp. 1476–1489. In 32nd Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium, Newcastle, Australia.
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▪ How should the decision be made on who should participate and when?
▪ Which participatory methods should be used and why?
▪ Who should design, implement, or facilitate the use of these methods with the
participants?
▪ Who should analyse and synthesise the results stemming from the participatory process?
▪ How should evaluation of the process take place and who should be allowed access to the
raw data and final results? (Adapted from Daniell et al. (2003))
General challenges need to be addressed to ensure meaningful participation for all members of the
community.
▪ Communication should be in a language that is understood by all participants or
translation should be provided to minority languages. Technical language needs to be
brought down to the level of understanding of all participants.
▪ If payment is given to participants for covering the costs of their participation, it may be
important to understand a) local costs, b) provide payment in kind for all participants (food,
items for domestic consumption (sugar, soap etc) to avoid appropriation of the funds by
relatives etc.
▪ In case of meetings held at a distance from people’s homes, ensure safe transport and/or
accommodation for all to avoid exposing participants to risks.
▪ Childcare facilities should be provided to women participants.
▪ Facilitators should ensure that all participants get a voice, and this can be done using a
variety of facilitation approaches, including those found at these excellent free resource
sharing sites:
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
Practical exercise
Read the 21 tips on how to plan and organise a workshop by Robert Chambers at the link below.
Read and prepare a draft plan for your next event (it can be a made-up event). Practice preparing
a one-page guideline taking into account these tips.
[Link]
21-tips
For additional training and information on participatory workshops see also
[Link]