COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGIES COURSE OUTLINE

AIM/PURPOSE OF THE COURSE:

This module unit is designed to equip the trainee with knowledge skills and attitudes that will
enable him/her apply appropriate methods in facilitating community development activities. a

OBJECTIVES

By the end of this module unit, the trainee should be able to:

i. Apply appropriate methodologies in carrying out community development work

ii. Appreciate the importance of community participation in development activities
iii. Understand various approaches used in community development
iv. Appreciate the importance of community mobilization in development

TOPICS

INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGIES

 Meaning of development methodology

 Rationale of community development methodologies
 Principles of community development methodologies

SOCIAL ACTION DEVELOPMENT MODELS

 Meaning of social action model

 Types of social action models
 Importance of social actions models

EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY ENTRY

 Meaning of community entry

 Types of community entry
 Techniques of handling issues in community entry
 Steps in community entry exit

COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION

 Concepts of community mobilization

 Importance of community mobilization
 Underlying assumptions of community mobilization
 Challenges of community mobilization
 Strategies of mobilizing people

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COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

 Meaning of community participation

 Techniques of promoting community participation
 Determinants of community participation
 Stages of community participatory
 Components of effective community participation
 Importance of community participation
 Impact of community participation on development
 Principles of participatory development
 Obstacles of participatory development

PARTICIPATORY DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGIES

 Importance of participatory methodologies

 Types of participatory methodologies
 Impact of the participatory methodologies

MONITORING PARTICIPATORY IMPACT

 Steps in monitoring participatory impact

 Ways of creating indicators
 Documentation decisions
 Changes in monitoring

PARTICIPATORY EVALUATION

 Domain of evaluation
 Purpose of participatory evaluation
 Planning for participatory evaluationc
 Tools for participatory evaluation

APPROACHES TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

 Community development approaches

 Impact of the development approaches on community development

DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES

 Types of funding agencies

 Challenges facing development agencies.
EMERGING TRENDS IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

 Emerging trends in community development

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGY

Meaning of development methodology

Rationale of community development methodologies

Principles of community development methodologies

CHAPTER TWO

MODES OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Models of community development

Types of models

i. Quasi stationary equilibrium model

This model was introduced by Lewin (1970) and it was noted to be more suitable and suitable
where work is in group, more particularly in crisis types of situation. This model is placed on
three assumptions;

a) There are positive forces in a situation that support a given level of behavior and
negatives forces which opposes this kind of behavior.
b) When positive and negative forces are imbalance, a state of equilibrium.
c) There is a change in a level of behavior which can result when positive forces are
strengthened or when new forces are added or when negative forces are weakened or
eliminated.
Lewin believed that change could be brought about in three steps;

a) Unfreezing – it has to do with studying the situation to discover the existing level of
behavior. Effort is made to find out the positive and negative forces that exist in a
situation.
b) Moving- it has to do with altering forces in a desired direction by adding to or
strengthening the positive forces, weakening or eliminating the negative forces or doing
both.
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 c) Freezing- has to do with stabilizing the situation at a new level of the behavior.
Positive forces may be factors such as; education provided to the community members,

Negative forces includes the cultural practices opposed to the practices

Vileden (1970) hope that the model works better in crisis rather than in normal situation, but
conception outlined appears to equally in normal situation. It can also be used to work with the
individual clients.

ii. Spontaneous social action model

In what is called the ‘nuclear theory of social action’ an idea conceived by a single individual
may form a basis of a social action. He sees social action in this case as developing through steps
which are;

a. At least one individual who interpret it in terms of jobs to be done identifies the job- it is
where some need.
b. I step- the I step is where the individual has to think of the job , its various dimensions
and has to convince as to be willing to invest time and energy and some instances
financial resources and reputation to get it done.
c. We step- is the one which individual talk to others people about the task to win their
interest and get their help. Wileden sees those individual who may get concerned about
getting the task done as likely to serve as local sparks plugs that will motivate others to
be interested in the tasks. They will talk to each other and to and to other members of the
about envisaged task.
d. Do step - it begins when members actually organizes themselves for instance forming
committees or deciding to use existing organization. This is followed by actual action
which are those agreed upon by the members of the and not necessarily those that were
originally conceived by the initiators.

iii. Diffusion of innovation models

This model shows the way social action could be about in a given community through adoption
of innovation by the members of the community. The model empathize adoption of innovation
by individual members in the societies. The discussion of the model is justified in the view of the
facts that, works calls for instance of not only groups and communities, but also the individual
members. According to this model, innovation can be introduced to a few members of a social
unit e.g. village. From few members innovation could diffuse, trickle down or be communicated
to the other members of the social unit.

The factors, which influence the diffusion process, include;

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 a. The innovation diffusion process
b. Personal characteristics of adopters
c. Attributes of an innovation
d. Process of communication of innovation to them would be adopters.
Stages in the Adoption Process

The extension worker can play a key role in each of the stages:

a. Awareness- during which an individual has heard of a new idea

b. Interest creation/Assessment- he/she seeks more information about new idea
c. Persuasion stage- during which an individual compares the pros and cons of an ideas
based on information collected at the second stage.
d. Trial (help with knowledge and skills) or learning- during which he/she tries out the idea
on a small scale where possible.
e. Adoption/usage- during which an individual opt to use the new ideas as part of his or her
ongoing operations.
f. Discontinuance stage- an idea which is opted for can be discontinued depending on the
individual’s experience.

Categories of Adopters

A – Innovators C – Early majority E – Laggards.

B – Early adaptors D – Late majority

Innovators

 About 2.5% 0f the population

 Often leaders in the organization
 Often of young age
 Often educated

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  Are risk takers
 Are widely travelled
 Have large farms
Early adaptors

They are often

 11.5% of the population

 Educated
 Young in age
 Leaders in organizations
 They benefit more after innovators (mitigate on challenges experienced by innovators)
Early majority

 About 34%
 Have moderate education
 Are middle aged
 Adapt after early adapters
 Hav

 e moderate farms
Late majority

 Adopt later after confirming working of technology

 They have almost similar characteristics like early majority
Laggards

 About 16%
 Old in age
 Are conservative
 Adopt last
 Have little or no education
 Fear new things

iv. Social action model

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Kotler defines social action as undertaking of collective action to mitigate or resolve social
problems. He argues that social actions rest on the recognition that has to come into being in the
last few hundred years following industrial revolution; before this there was much social distress
but very little social action.

Stages of social action

Social action occurs through the following stages;

i. Exploratory stage- it starts as soon as a change agent has been located in a

community. The agent visits members to their homes or meet them at the public
places like village shops, a market centers or a baraza. Where the agent is not invited
to visit or meet and talk to individual members or groups in the community, the agent
may invite an invitation by introducing himself to few of the local people and
making them aware of his/her presence and the to a few of local people and making
them aware of his/her presence and the type of assistance he or she can provide. The
conversations held cover various aspects of their presence and they may reveal
suspicious that they hold towards each other and towards the others including change
agencies. In these discussion the agents keenly look for ideas that suggest potential
for cooperative efforts or local initiatives
ii. Organization stage- this is the stage that becomes unavoidable when the members
who appears to be most concerned need to be invited for the meeting for the further
discussion of the problem and the need of the community. They could be persuaded
to invite other members of the community, their friends, relatives and their neighbors
to come to the subsequent meeting. The persons who come to these meetings
constitute a ‘basic nuclear ‘action or frontline. At this meeting of this group, an
interim or steering committee with or without sub-committees is usually chosen.
iii. Discussion stage- this begins when agent encourages a widespread discussion of the
problems in the community. This will help the development of discussion skills
especially among the members of interim committees who will get knowledge to
present, explain and defend the ideas and how to disagree without arousing
resentment. During these discussions, the officials of the interim committee need to
be encouraged to choose of problem among the many alternatives and focus the
discussion of the chosen problem and alternative ways of dealing with it.
iv. Group decision making- this is the stage that becomes necessary where there is need
for consensus among the members of a community or a group. A decision may be
made in a wide meeting. Such meeting may bring the proposed action to the attention
of members of the whole who may be having been unaware or who may have shown
little interest in the past. It also provides opportunity for further discussion of the
problem during and after the meeting. At a larger meeting of this type, all facts
collected in the previous stages may be presented to the community.
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 v. Planning for action- this entails the a details examination of the chosen problem by
the management committees or by specially chosen task force. Alternative solution is
also examined in details. Goals that are to be achieved are set and agreement is ms
reached on the resources needed for implementation and how they are to be acquired
both from within and outside the community Programming of the required activities
in terms of ‘who does what’ and ‘when’ is done. The experts may be consulted about
cost estimates, building plans and on other matters.
vi. Action- this is an activation stage where people may carry out actual activities as
planned. Adjustments are made as need arises. The types and nature of the activities
varies from a project to another and include the obtaining of the resources, visiting
the sources of help, organizing funds rally doing manual work etc. depending on the
nature of the project, implementation may last a few hours, days, weeks, months and
even years. This stage call for active involvement through contributions of labor,
money, materials and other resources.
vii. Evaluation – this is the stage of measuring success of every the action in all stages for
social action. This may be done at every stage of implementation, reveals progress
made at each step, and constrains. Mistakes can be rectified and the constrains taken
to account during subsequent stages of implementation. Overall evaluation is needed
at the end of the progress. Members need to be assisted by change agent to carry out
this evaluation.
viii. Subsequent stage- this is the stage regarded as new project and continuation stage.
Following experience gained with the first project, members of the community take
on new projects along the lines already outlined. Based on experience gained, they
are likely to move faster as they complete the project one after the other.
Impacts of models on community development

i. It helps in creating good relationship between community members and the agents
ii. It helps in introduction of new methods of technology which enhances productivity in the
community. (Diffusion of innovation model)
iii. It helps in expansion of ones persons ideals which enhances productivity in the
community
iv. Helps to explore the problems of the community through discussion.
v. It facilitates team work and enhances cost sharing from the community members.
vi. Helps in sustainability of the projects through equipping the members with skills and
knowledge.
vii. It helps to motivate the community members to participate in the projects.
viii. Models also help to plan on how to go through community development process.

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Challenges

i. Time consuming- because of involving members in decision making, it may lead s to

disagreement.
ii. Ignorance- community members may fail to participate if they do not see the need for
the change.
iii. Illiteracy- due to lack of knowledge and skills community members may may not able
to adopt the new methods of technology.
iv. Gender discrimination- some community have customs and believes which may
discriminate a certain [Link] some communities believe that they cannot be led by
a woman.
v. Language barrier- due to lack of common language, in some communities where
there is illiteracy. Community members may not cooperate with change agent because
of language difference.
vi. Lack of inadequate resources- inadequate resources is a major challenge in
development issues. It is the major determining factors if development has to take
place. Lack of resources leads to failure of the project.

CHAPTER THREE

EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY ENTRY

Go to people, live with them, love them, learn from them, begin from what they know, build
from what they have and of the best leaders, when the job is done, the task is accomplished, the
people will say, “we have done it ourselves”

The lesson shared here are drawn from profound field of observation, leading to attempt to
provides some basic guideline for facilitating optimum participation in people’s self-
development. This refers to participatory processes of need identification.

Types of community entry

There are two types of community entry;

i. Frozen community theory

ii. 3Cs in community entry

Frozen community theory of entry

According to this theory, it is assumed that communities have potential for self-mobilization and
self-development. However, research tends to point out that communities will often fail to realize
this potential because of inertia. Conflict and competition within families and among the
community members have tended to usurp their energies that could be utilized for constructive

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purpose and common good. This reality could be coupled with the limited exposure for the larger
numbers of rural communities, have led to passivity. The often authoritarian political systems
and uncontrollable local leadership are part of the factors that constellate together to reinforce
people’s inertia. This explains the state of fear and despondency which characterized ‘frozen’
communities.

Different people have played different roles in respond to this reality. The world of development
agents has made a contribution to defrost such communities through creative ideas aimed at
community mobilization for transformation. These embrace the role player such as bona fide
politicians, scholars, prophet’s activists etc.

In the frozen community are the local structures which have to be recognized and acknowledged
by the foregoing set of change agents. Recognition of these structures serves to legitimize future
development initiatives within the community. Without such legitimacy, one would be sure to
get it wrong right from the community entry stage. Such people include the chiefs, political
power brokers (gate keepers) religious leaders, local leaders and clan leaders

Frozen community theory

You only need to quoted legitimizer or be seen with them to be accepted by people. Once the
new ideas are legitimized by the local structure and external change agents are accepted by the
community mobilization can now begin. The idea of mobilization assumes that the said
community has not been active enough and therefore, the latent potential can now be tapped and
unleashed for the development for the development of the area. The process of mobilization will
embrace the identification and orientation of existing and new community groups (CBO). Some
of these are traditional top down structure which need to given orientation into participatory and
democratic form of leadership. Other may be developmental groups which started with
excitement but soon went dormant. In some cases, the process will include the formation of new
group.

In all cases, however, capacity building for the community members through training and
exposure is imperative. It is through such training activities that adopters will emerge, people
who are quick to grasp the new ideas and have the motivation to creativity to creatively adapt
them into the local context. These are the people to be identified and drawn in for further training
as internal community animators or community mobilizers. Community animators or mobilizers
should remain responsible to the community. It is paramount that the training of the community
mobilisers ensures that the teams or groups of the community mobilisers are trained as opposed
to individuals. Training of individuals is likely to reinforce, a concentration of power. Once
community mobilizers are trained and appropriately equipped, it is believed that the frozen
community starts to defrost and locally driven community development process begins to take
place. This assumes that the community mobilizers have the motivation and commitments,

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whose quality can, only assumed where these are chosen by community and therefore ultimately
remains accountable to the community.

3Cs in community entry

This is the model used to mobilize people on an issue which has been decided upon by the
community for implementation, but which is meeting resistance. The research has shown that
people will cluster themselves into three main categories on an issue that needs s popular
support.

i. Co-operating group – they are willing to undertake the issue and see it implemented.
ii. Campaign for awareness group- apathetic group those that are not decided on a choice
and hence will need a campaign for awareness to draw them in. they will not support
either side until won over.
iii. Conformers with status quo - those that are against and they oppose at all cost; they can
even use their resources and power in order to maintain their status quo.

Strategy to win over people to cooperating group

i. First is to identify in each situation that are in each categories. For those who are
cooperating, plan how to get them actively involved.
ii. Plan campaign of awareness for apathetic or passive group. The campaign will aim at
encouraging them to agree and cooperate, as they get more and better informed on the
facts.
iii. The opposing group will need to be engaged in constant dialogue both as a group as well
as individuals. If dialogue does not succeed, some form of social pressure may be
considered e.g. boycotting purchasing from business of individual members of the
opposing group. No violence should be involved at any time under whatever
circumstances. This would be a sign of weakness. Legal redress is a sign of maturity,
responsibility and integrity.

Some tips of winning over

i. Avoid temptation of doing for the people what they can do for themselves.
ii. Gather facts for sharing information to as many people as possible. Understand the
views of the opponents to be able to counter effectively with facts.
iii. Use peers to win over their friends; youth to youth, elders to elders, women to women
professional to professional.

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 iv. Take counsel from view of opinion leaders but be aware of attempts to manipulate
you. In other words be critical but politely so.
v. Take care when you ask for permission. Sometime it is enough to inform, otherwise,
should permission be denied, you are demolished with no option left.
vi. Be friendly to all in order to win trust and confidence, hence, be open.
vii. Understand people’s reality as well as their fears and limitation to. Be able to see
through their eyes and speak in their language. The better you can understand and
speak people language the more you appeal directly toothier hearts and not just their
intellect.
viii. Make clear the end benefits of sacrifices you are calling them to make.
ix. Appeal to both reason and emotions, by using eloquent speakers, role plays drama,
stories and music.
x. Never accept “no” for an answers easily; do not give up too early.
xi. Where possible advise members of your team to behave unpredictable towards the
opponents. For instance, corporate with the opposition when they least expect it, such
as attending their meetings when they invite you and be friendly even when they
scorn you.
xii. Where possible accept compromises without betraying your team of co-operators.
xiii. Seek to forge larger networks and alliances of support both internally and externally.

Steps in Community entry to exit

i. Familiarize with the people in the community – community development workers

partially visit the community and dialogue with them. This helps you to get the leaders
and other organization who are working with the community.
ii. Negotiation with stakeholders – CDW begins to explain approaches and method, which
are going to be used. You should give the conditions of the partnership e.g. what is the
contribution as a NGO.
iii. Awareness rising- create awareness so that people can participate in decision making so
that you can be able to identify their felt needs and able to come up with the resources.
iv. Target selection- this help to avoid the possibilities of high jacking of the resources or
even the whole projects.
v. Deciding the action plan- CDW and community members come up with the project and
target group involved in the project actively.
vi. Training for sustainability- it is done through capacity building and empowerment.
vii. Participation monitoring and evaluation- community members must participate in M and
E and should share the outcome of their effort equitably.
viii. Organization formation and strengthening the community- the community involved
should be strengthened so that they can be able to take up sustainability. It is also
important because groups are strengthening to take some programmes in the future.

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 ix. Withdrawal- encourages community to carry their own effort but the CDW should be
coming to check how project is going on.
x. Documentation – it help to put down the CDW experiences. It is also document the
lesson learnt by community development worker.

CHAPTER FOUR
COMMUNITY MOBILISATION
Concept of community mobilization
Community mobilization is a process through which action is stimulated by a community itself,
or by others, that is planned, carried out, and evaluated by a community's individuals, groups,
and organizations on a participatory and sustained. basis to improve the health, hygiene and
education levels so as to enhance the overall standard of living in the community. A group of
people have transcended their differences to meet on equal terms in order to facilitate a
participatory decision-making process. In other words, it can be viewed as a process which
begins a dialogue among members of the community to determine who, what, and how issues are
decided, and also to provide an avenue for everyone to participate in decisions that affect their
lives.

Importance of community mobilization

i. It promote sustainability
ii. It encourages training and impartation of skills and knowledge
iii. It encourages independence in the community
iv. It promotes accountability and transparency
v. It creates sense of community ownership
vi. It promote creation of awareness
vii. It facilitates understanding between the change agent and community members.
Underlying assumption of community mobilization
i. Problems are experienced collectively
ii. People are highly resourceful and aim at maximizing their own resources
iii. Community define its own needs and objectives
iv. Community resources are supplemented when necessary and can be done through
selecting external resources
v. Participation is the key where people must be involved
vi. Planning and decision making are responsibility of the community and it occurs in a
bottom up rather than top bottom approach.
vii. There is sense of ownership on part of people themselves.

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Challenges of community mobilization
i. Negative attitudes towards new innovation and new ideas- people realized that they
lived with their problems long enough to know how to cope. Any new possibilities
tend to appear threatening as they can change the existing traditions and disturb the
comfort of the community.
ii. Outsiders are accepted but often with suspicious over their purpose. Are outsiders
genuine in their concerned about our fate? What is their interest? What do they gain
from helping us? These are quinine questions which should be addressed through
open dialogue. Creation of good rapport and trust can becomes a critical challenges.
iii. Poor infrastructure
iv. Resistance from community members
v. Illiteracy and ignorance
vi. Language barrier
vii. Lack of technical expertise
viii. Political interference- defined as the willingness to grant political rights to disliked
groups, is central to studies of democratic values given its links with civil liberties
and political freedoms.
ix. Unfavorable community traditional, belief and practice
Traditions are long-established patterns of actions or behaviors, often handed down
within a community over many generations. These customs are based on the beliefs
and values held by members of the community. Traditions are often protected
by taboos, which strong social prohibitions (or bans) are relating to human activity or
social custom based on moral judgment and religious beliefs. This means that
traditions are not easy to change, because people adhere to these patterns of behavior,
believing that they are the right things to do.

CHAPTER FIVE

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

Meaning of community participation

It is involvement in shaping, implementing and evaluating programs and sharing benefits. It is
also an active process where intended beneficiaries influence program outcomes and gain the
growth. Research has shown that communities which participate in community endeavors raise
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more resources, achieve more results and develop in more holistic way. Participation is
voluntary contribution by the people in one way or another in the development program or
projects which are supposed to contribute to their own development.
Participation is an active process by which beneficiaries influence the direction and execution of
a development project with view of enhancing their wellbeing in terms of income, personal
growth, self-reliance or the value they cherish.

Types of community participation (adapted from Pretty 1994 and Cornwall 1996)

i. Manipulative participation- Community participation is simply a presence, with people's

representatives on official boards who are unelected and have no power.
ii. Passive participation (Compliance): Communities participate by being told what has been
decided or already happened. Involves unilateral announcements by an administration or
project management without listening to people's responses. The information belongs
only to external professionals.
iii. Participation by consultation: Communities participate by being consulted or by
answering questions. External agents define problems and information gathering
processes, and so control analysis. Such a consultative process does not concede any
share in decision-making, and professionals are under no obligation to take on board
people's views.
iv. Participation for material incentives: Communities participate by contributing resources
such as labor, in return for material incentives (e.g. food, cash). It is very common to see
this called participation, yet people have no stake in prolonging practices when the
incentives end.
v. Functional participation (Cooperation): Community participation is seen by external
agencies as a means to achieve project goals. People participate by forming groups to
meet predetermined project objectives; they may be involved in decision making, but
only after major decisions have already been made by external agents.
vi. Interactive participation (Co-learning): People participate in joint analysis, development
of action plans and formation or strengthening of local institutions. Participation is seen
as a right, not just the means to achieve project goals. The process involves
interdisciplinary methodologies that seek multiple perspectives and make use of systemic
and structured learning processes. A groups take control over local decisions and
determine how available resources are used, so they have a stake in maintaining
structures or practices.
vii. Self-mobilization (Collective action): People participate by taking initiatives
independently of external institutions to change systems. They develop contacts with
external institutions for resources and technical advice they need, but retain control over
how resources are used. Self-mobilization can spread if governments and NGOs provide

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 an enabling framework of support. Such self-initiated mobilization may or may not
challenge existing distributions of wealth and power.

Techniques of promoting community participation

Determinants of community participation
i. Level of awareness- determine how will voluntarily give themselves to the projects.
ii. Nature of the project- e.g. in manual work most of the participants will be men.
iii. Skills of the mobiliser- ability to influence the community to bring and accept change.
iv. Involvement in project identification- the community members should be involved
right from the identification of the project or conception of the project ideas to the
sharing of the benefits.
Stages of community participatory
Components of effective community participation
Importance of community participation
i. There is more accurate and representation of information about the needs, priorities
and capabilities of the people.
ii. The scarce resources can be employed more efficiently.
iii. It helps in tapping local technical information and unleashing potential of the people.
iv. There is sharing of responsibility of innovation
v. It brings about self-reliance

Disadvantages of community participation

i. Participation does not occur automatically. It is a process. It involves time, hence it may
led to delay to start a project.
ii. In bottom up participation process we have to move along the path. This entails an
increased requirement of materials as well as human resources.
iii. Participation led to decentralization of power. People at the top must be willing to share
power with the people or community members.
iv. Participation sometimes can develop dependency syndrome.
v. Participation can result in shifting of the burden to the poor.
Impact of community participation on development
i. Through participation community project are owned by people hence sustainability is
assured.
ii. Involvement of community members build their management ability by going
through their experience with experts the people learn by doing.
iii. Through community participation the constrains that hinder project development are
eliminated since community will reduce/solve conflict from the beginning.
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 iv. Participation leads to attainment of community responsibility and accountability
hence improve self-reliance.
Principles of participatory development
i.
Obstacles of participatory development

i. Illiteracy- it causes inferiority complex among the people. It makes people abstain
from taking initiatives thinking that they cannot make a worthwhile contribution due
to lack of know how.
ii. Corruption and uncountable leadership- community with wrong motives impedes
against attaining general participation and misuse resources which hinders
participation of the community members.
iii. Limited resources and expertise- rural communities which often have organizational
and managerial skills has said to expose community initiatives not only to
vulnerability against intention and mismanagement but also causes project to fail due
to inadequate planning.
iv. Un-conducive customs and beliefs- customs and traditions hinder people from
participation of the development activities.
v. Central control- this is considered as obstacles to authentic community participation
as the community will not gain necessary awareness and freedom to conduct their
own affairs without interference from the authority.
vi. Absence of confidence and ability of the people in the machinery of health
administration.
vii. Legal hurdlers-
viii. Rigid bureaucratic set impending the people to participate
ix. Unequal domination of power in relation in favor of rich and to the disadvantage of
the poorer sections of the society

CHAPTER SIX

PARTICIPATORY DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGIES

Introduction

Participatory approaches are a product of long lasting interaction between researchers,

development workers, government agents and local populations. Participatory approaches offer a
creative approach to investigating issues of concern to poor people, and to planning,
implementing, and evaluating development activities. They challenge prevailing biases and
preconceptions about people's knowledge. The methods used range from visualization, to

17
interviewing and group work. The common theme is the promotion of interactive learning,
shared knowledge, and flexible, yet structured analysis.

The history of participatory methods in development co-operation began in the late 1970s with
the introduction of a new research approach called rapid rural appraisal (RRA), which
immediately became popular with decision-makers in development agencies. Building on close
collaboration with local populations RRAs were designed to collect first-hand data from the local
people about their perceptions of their local environments and living conditions in rural areas. A
limitation of RRA, however, was that it was extractive; the role of the local people was limited to
providing information, while the power of decision-making about the use of this information
remained in the hands of others.

Types of participatory methodologies

i. Participatory Rural Appraisal

ii. PAME
iii. Participatory Poverty Assessment
iv. Participatory Learning Action

Participatory rural appraisal

PRA can be described as a family of approaches, methods and behaviors that enable people to
express and analyze the realities of their lives and conditions, to plan themselves what action to
take, and to monitor and evaluate the results. Its methods have evolved from Rapid Rural
Appraisal (RRA). The key elements of PRA are the methods used, and most importantly the
behavior and attitudes of those who facilitate it. PRAs use similar methods and tools as RRA, but
the underlying philosophy and purpose changed. While RRAs aim at extracting information,
often in a single event, PRAs were designed to follow more the peoples’ own concerns and
interests.

One of the most important principles in PRA is the sharing of results of analysis, decisions and
planning efforts among the community members by open and public presentation during
meetings. PRAs strongly supported and facilitated the introduction of more demand-responsive
ways of managing development interaction, and process-oriented thinking. It built up rural
people's own capacities for analyzing their circumstances of living, their potentials and their
problems in order to actively decide on changes.

PRA employs a wide range of methods to enable people to express and share information, and to
stimulate discussion and analysis. Many are visually based, involving local people in creating,
for example: maps showing who lives where and the location of important local features and
resources such as water, forests, schools and other services; flow diagrams to indicate linkages,
sequences, causes, effects, problems and solutions; seasonal calendars showing how food
availability, workloads, family health, prices, wages and other factors vary during the year;

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matrices or grids, scored with seeds, pebbles or other counters, to compare things - such as the
merits of different crop varieties or tree species, or how conditions have changed over time. PRA
activities usually take place in groups, working on the ground or on paper.

The core principles are:

i. Sustained learning process: enhancing cumulative learning for action by participants is

the focus and has three outputs: identifying strategies for improvement, motivating
people to undertake these strategies, and enhancing their capacity for solving problems
ii. Different perspectives in group-based analysis: PRA explicitly seeks insights from and an
understanding of the needs of different individuals and groups, which may be conflicting
but will better show the complexity of local situations
iii. key role for facilitators: to include different perspectives often means challenging local
traditions of communication, which requires sensitive facilitation (often someone from
outside the area but also increasingly a role taken on by someone with a local stake in the
process);
iv. Systemic and methodological basis: creating a structured process that explores problems
within the wider context and not just focusing on a narrow slice of reality - from
description to analysis and action.
v. Context-specific: unique social/physical conditions means building a process of
discussion, communication and conflict resolution which by necessity evolves out of the
specifics of the local context.

Advantages and disadvantages of PRA

The advantages of adopting a more participatory approach to development planning have been
well-documented although there has been less discussion of the disadvantages. The ways in
which these advantages and disadvantages might effect aquaculture planning are more difficult
to establish as documentation of cases of PRA use specifically for aquaculture are few and far
between. One reason for this is that PRAs are generally not specific to any particular discipline
but are, almost by definition, part of an integrated approach which might or might not include
aquaculture.

However, here the principal positive and negative features of PRA are listed and how these
features might manifest themselves for aquaculture workers is mentioned.

Advantages

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i. Identification of genuine priorities for target group- PRA allows local people to
present their own priorities for development and get them incorporated into
development plans. Where aquaculture is identified as a priority during the course of
a PRA, planners can be more secure that this responds to a real need among local
people, whether that be for increased income, better fish supply or more intensive
water use and management. The risks of outside planners “imposing” aquaculture as a
solution and then discovering that local people are not really interested or committed
to its development can be significantly reduced.
ii. Devolution of management responsibilities- An important goal of PRA is to
encourage self-reliant development with as much of the responsibility for the
management and implementation of development activities devolved to local people
themselves. This can greatly improve the efficiency of development work and
eliminate many of the problems regarding proprietorship of development activities at
the community level.
iii. Motivation and mobilization of local development workers- Participation in PRA by
local development workers, whether from NGOs, government or other agencies can
greatly increase the motivation and level of mobilization in support of the project or
programme of which it is part. Where changes in development approaches are being
introduced, such as a shift to a more integrated development planning mechanism, a
PRA type activity which illustrates how these new mechanisms will work on the
ground can help to ensure better understanding and commitment by local workers.
This is one reason why involvement of people from different administrative and
organizational levels can be vital so that commitment is built up right through the
chain.
iv. Forming better linkages between communities and development institutions.
PRA can assist in forming better links between communities and the agencies and
institutions concerned with rural development.. A PRA which encourages a better
understanding of the environmental issues at stake in local communities and develops
activities which enable them to benefit from better management could also lead to
better monitoring of mangrove exploitation by the communities themselves. PRAs
involve intensive interaction between communities and outsiders which can have
lasting effects in breaking down the barriers of reticence and suspicion which often
characterize these relationships.
v. Use of local resources- Where local people have more say in the design of projects
they are also more likely to design activities which make full use of existing
resources. In the case of aquaculture this might mean the use of local instead of exotic
fish species, the improvement of existing water bodies rather than the creation of new
ones or the design of activities which fit into current livelihood strategies rather than
creating new strategies.
vi. Mobilization of community resources- Greater commitment from the community can
also mean greater mobilization of community resources for development and less
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 reliance on outside inputs. This can take the form of labor inputs, savings or time
devoted to management functions.
vii. More sustainable development activities- This combination of effects will generally
lead to more sustainable development activities which are less reliant on support from
outside agencies and is technically, environmentally and socially appropriate to local
conditions. These benefits from participation can only be realized where the full
implications of participation for the development agencies which are encouraging it
have been taken into account and accommodated and the institutions involved are
willing to support the sort of long-term changes in social, political and institutional
frameworks which proper participation, and PRA, can set in motion.

Disadvantages

i. Raising expectations which cannot be realized- One of the most immediate and
frequently encountered risks in PRA is that it raises a complex set of expectations in
communities which frequently cannot be realized given the institutional or political
context of the area. This can be due to the political situation, the local power and
social structure or simply to bureaucratic inertia in institutions which are supposed to
be supporting development. In some cases the intended aim of the PRA may be to
deliberately raise expectations “at the grassroots” so as to put pressure on the
institutional and political structures above to change. However, not all development
agencies are in a position to support such activities and there is a risk that agencies
which are not properly equipped to respond to PRA-type planning may use the
approach inappropriately. Aquaculture agencies might well be encouraged to use
“PRA”, by donors for example, only to find that they are encouraging local people to
participate in planning and decision-making in a society or political framework which
positively discourages grassroots participation.
ii. Proposal of development plans which participating agencies cannot respond to
Linked to this first point is the risk that the development priorities which communities
identify during the course of a PRA may be ones which participating agencies simply
cannot respond to adequately in the technical sense, thus again raising expectations
only to disappoint them. This again comes back to the problem that the “playing
field” in PRA has practically no boundaries and this can make the approach
inappropriate for sectorally oriented agencies. This would include many aquaculture
departments organized along traditional lines.
iii. Risk of “capture” of activities by local interests- By devolving decision-making
responsibility to communities and leaving the identification and planning of activities
to them, there is also a real risk that particular elements in communities - the more
educated, the wealthiest, those with authority - may find it easier to “capture” the
activity and monopolise its benefits. The relative lack of outside involvement in a
participatory planning process can make this much easier. Poor people in the

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 community might support “community” decisions which will not benefit them at all
because they are supported by their wealthier and more influential patrons.
Aquaculture can be particularly prone to this as it is often proposed as a means of
making better use of “common” land or water areas. The act of “developing” those
areas may bring them into the sphere of influence of local authorities and deprive
poorer people of access.
iv. Failure to take account of stratification in communities
The fact that PRA is often carried out with the community as a whole can mean that
stratification within the community, whether by wealth, social status, gender or ethnic
group, can often be obscured and ignored. This may happen even though preliminary
research in the community has clearly identified that there are strata and different sets
of interests in the community. In PRA, decisions about how to accommodate the
conflicting interests of different groups have to be left up to the community itself and,
while one of the roles of outsiders involved in PRA is to encourage negotiation and
arbitration between different interest groups, if the “community” decides that they
want to resolve problems by ignoring the interests of the poor and weak, it may be
difficult for “outsiders” to do much about it, especially if they are committed to
devolving responsibility to the community.

Situations regarded by PRA teams as “informal” may be considered, by contrast, extremely

formal by villagers. What can and cannot be said in such a formal setting is generally strongly
conditioned by cultural and social factors. Women in many cultures may have great difficulty in
speaking or even just in being present in such formal situations. The form of such social and
cultural conditioning is unpredictable unless good ground work has been done on the
communities involved.

For workers in aquaculture, these types of problem can be very real. Outsiders coming to the
community to talk about aquaculture may be seen to represent “development” and this could
induce people to support the idea of aquaculture development in public when in fact, in private,
they would regard it as a very low priority.

PRA Teams

PRA “teams” are likely to be more mixed than RRA teams. While, in RRA, the team is still
largely envisaged as a group of outsiders trying to learn about a community or area, in PRA the
“team” should involve local people as quickly as possible and encourage them to carry out the
appraisal themselves. The team should be there to guide and support them and provide them with
technical expertise as and when required.

i. Local people on PRA teams- The local people who take part in the PRA exercise
clearly have to be selected by the community, but care has to be taken that the activity

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 is not “hijacked” by the most literate, powerful and confident members to the
exclusion of poorer, less educated groups. As far as possible, representatives from all
the key social and economic groups within the community should be sought out to
participate in some way in the PRA. It is very easy for outside teams to encourage
participation by those community members who are “most like themselves”
(educated, articulate and “progressive
ii. Outsiders in PRA teams- The role of the PRA team is primarily to stimulate local
people's own capacity for analysis and action. Technical expertise in key fields which
are liable to be important is necessary so that ideas and proposals from the
community can be assessed on the spot and refined in the light of the broader
experience which external experts may have. In some cases, outsiders may be able to
suggest solutions unfamiliar to local people but nevertheless appropriate and worth
testing. However, the key skill required in PRA teams is effective communication. In
the context of the participatory techniques used in PRA, the ability to stimulate and
allow communication by others (i.e. local people) is often more important than being
able to communicate team members' own ideas or opinions.

PAME

Participatory monitoring & evaluation (PAME) is a process through which stakeholders at

various levels engage in monitoring or evaluating a particular project, program or policy, share
control over the content, the process and the results of the M&E activity and engage in taking or
identifying corrective actions. PM&E focuses on the active engagement of primary stakeholders.

Participation is increasingly being recognized as being integral to the M&E process, since it
offers new ways of assessing and learning from change that are more inclusive and more
responsive to the needs and aspirations of those most directly affected. PAME is geared towards
not only measuring the effectiveness of a project, but also towards building ownership and
empowering beneficiaries; building accountability and transparency; and taking corrective
actions to improve performance and outcomes.

Conventionally, monitoring and evaluation has involved outside experts coming in to measure
performance against pre-set indicators, using standardized procedures and tools. PM&E differs
from more conventional approaches in that it seeks to engage key project stakeholders more
actively in reflecting and assessing the progress of their project and in particular the achievement
of results.

Core principles of PAME are;

i. Primary stakeholders are active participant and not just sources of information.
ii. Building capacity of local people to analyze, reflect and take action.
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 iii. Point learning of stakeholders at various levels.
iv. Paralyzes commitment to taking corrective actions.

PARTICIPATORY POVERTY ASSESSMENT

According to the World Bank, participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA), is an iterative,

participatory research process that seeks to understand poverty in its local, social, institutional,
and political contexts, incorporating the perspectives of a range of stakeholders and involving
them directly in planning follow-up action. PPAs can be defined as an instrument for including
poor people's views in the analysis of poverty and the formulation of strategies to reduce it
through public policy.

The purpose of PPAs is to improve the effectiveness of public actions aimed at poverty
reduction. PPAs are generally carried out as policy research exercises, linked to governmental
policy processes, aimed at understanding poverty from the perspective of poor people and what
their priorities are in terms of actions to improve their lives. PPAs can strengthen poverty
assessment processes through:

i. broadening stakeholder involvement and thereby increasing general support and

legitimacy for anti-poverty strategies;
ii. Enriching the analysis and understanding of poverty by including the perspectives of the
poor.
iii. Providing a diverse range of valuable information on a cost-effective, rapid and timely
basis.
iv. Creating new relationships between policy-makers, service providers and people in poor
communities.

PARTICIPATORY LEARNING ACTION

Participatory learning and action (PLA) can be defined as “a growing family of approaches,
tools, attitudes and behaviors to enable and empower people to present, share, analyze and
enhance their knowledge of life and condition and to plan, act, monitor, evaluate, reflect and
scale up community action.”

Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) represents an umbrella for a wide range of similar
approaches and methodologies, including Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), Rapid Rural
Appraisal (RRA), Participatory Learning Methods (PALM), Participatory Action Research
(PAR), and Farming Systems Research (FSR)

Local people have a rich knowledge base and experience of making a living in a complex
environment. Within PLA the role of outsiders is more of facilitating a process, where by local
people identify priorities and analyze their own problems, and develop their own solutions.

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The following are the characteristics of PLA;

i. Participatory and interactive

ii. Flexible
iii. adaptable
iv. Exploratory
v. Empowering and enabling
vi. Inventive and innovative

PLA is therefore a way of learning from and within the community members and together as
partners to;

i. Develop a profile of the problems

ii. Analyze the problem
iii. Rank and prioritize the problems
iv. Identify the opportunities
v. Develop community action plan(PLA)
vi. Monitor and evaluate the activities

PLA tools are user friendly and offset biases such as;

i. Meeting only a certain kinds of people

ii. Coming up with one’s own preconceptions/ prejudices
iii. Being in hurry trying to do much within a short span of time
iv. Disregarding cultural and traditional values
v. Misinterpreting through translation

The objective of the PLA are;

i. Carry out PLA exercises in one’s area of work for the purpose of community needs
assessment, community education as well as CAP
ii. Appreciate the trust and general philosophy behind PLA as a tool to facilitate
people’s optimal participation towards social empowerment

The pillars of PLA

There are three pillars of PLA which are method sharing and behavior/attitudes.

i. Behavior and attitude

PLA challenge both the experts and community members to change their attitudes and behavior
towards each other by;

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 a) Unlearning stereotypes e.g. women are lazy, rural communities are ignorance and
illiterates etc
b) Embracing error- allows people to make mistake and learn from them
c) Sitting down listen, respect people’s culture but give challenges instead of criticism.
d) Accept people as they are.
e) Handling over the sticks- let the people be in charge
f) Relaxing- you are there for them but not them for you.
g) Not underestimating their ability.
h) Using ones best judgement all the times
i) Being flexible

ii. Method

PLA uses methods and techniques that are interactive/allowing all the stakeholders to share their
knowledge. These includes

a) Dialoging on ideas and not on personalities

b) Mapping diagram for collecting data not interviews alone.
c) Ranking, comparing, scoring to analyze the data.
d) Presenting material collected so that the community does not feel it is being manipulated.
e) Preparing and implementing CAP
f) Monitoring and evaluating

iii. Sharing

It promotes

a) Mutual sharing between outsiders and insiders without fear

b) Sharing out experiences and knowledge in sincerity
c) Sharing knowledge and analysis of the data by community members.
d) Sharing or offering hospitality by community members.

The steps of PLA

There are few steps of PLA that should be followed if community participation is to be achieved.
These are;

i. Site selection- the area where PLA is to be carried out be accessible to PLA term and
all community members and agreed by all stake holders e.g. government, donor
agency, PLA term and the local community
ii. Selection of PLA team- the PLA team should be gender balanced and includes
members of the community and members of the various sectors. These team members

26
 should have undergone or willing to undergo a PLA training. The composition of the
PLA team influences the quality of the outcome.
iii. Preliminary site visit- the team should visit the site to familiarize themselves with the
area and community. They establish contact, learn the culture and community
communication channels and hold review meeting to sort out administrative issues.
iv. Launching- the local government depending on the PLA coverage area should be
informed of the activities e.g. CC and chiefs. The PLA team is launched in a public
meeting attended by the local leaders so as to give legitimacy to the exercise. The
objectives of the exercise are explained without raising false expectations to the
community. Members of the team are also introduced. The team should then cut links
with the leaders gradually and use community informants.
v. Data gathering- the type of the data to be collected includes spatial time,, social
economic and secondary technical data. The team should observe the following
during data collection;
a) Respect every members contribution
b) Adhere to the time they give community for activities
c) Observe community traditions and culture
d) Make plans that suit community activities
vi. Data synthesis and analysis- after collecting data from the field the PLA team should;
a) Identify and list problems, their causes and opportunities
b) Rank the identified problems
c) identify and rank the opportunities

NB this step shall be done at the community with smaller groups. This will ensure
that communities and identify their own opportunities and they own the process of
identification.

vii. Preparation of the CAP- the members of the PLA team and community groups
discuss the problems, opportunities and interventions identified further with the
community members. A cap is then prepared after the community has agreed on the
outcomes of the analysis

Kamiu sub-location CAP

problem opportunitieAction and Who will Date to Who will comments

s Resources provide start follow up
required
Inadequate To start a Consent Community 28th march Chief
water permanent from village members 2020
and well elder,
managed mobilization,

27
 water project request
money from
NGO and
map kamiu
viii. Adoption of the CAP- the community discusses the implications of the CAP. If there
is any details and clarification to be done, it should be done before adoption of the
CAP. Those who have responsibilities should be aware and resources required should
be detailed. Community and external resources should be clearly understood.
ix. Implementation of the CAP- the community should decide on the implementation
process. The supervision aspect should be discussed and structure to oversee the
implementation should be agreed upon.
x. Monitoring and evaluation- the PLA team should guide the community members so
the community does its own monitoring and evaluation. The community should come
up with monitoring and evaluation indicators.

How it works

PLA is designed to be a truly participative process, in which communities have significant

influence over how work is carried out. This means it is not possible (or desirable) to provide a
standardized methodology or process. However, the following steps are usually included. Firstly,
the goals and objectives of the PLA work are clarified and agreed with the communities. If there
are multiple or conflicting goals then issues are resolved before proceeding. The goals and
objectives should reflect the communities’ needs as much as, if not more than, the needs of the
outsiders. Next, a set of relevant tools and approaches are selected. PLA comprises many
different tools and approaches, some of which are described in the next section. The tools and
approaches should be applied in a participatory manner. Often, this involves a series of exercises,
carried out in the field. These exercises are normally carried out with the help of a trained
facilitator. Any information acquired through the tools and approaches is triangulated (cross-
tchecked) and is validated by the community. In PLA, data analysis is done cumulatively in the
field by community members and facilitators. PLA contains no specific methods for analysis, but
it is important that any analysis methods used can be applied by community members. Analysis
typically includes the identification of connections, relationships, gaps, contradictions and new
areas of inquiry. Often this is based around: • interpreting descriptions, stories, statements,
pictures, maps, diagrams and other visual data; • identifying themes and patterns emerging out of
the data collection; • assessing the frequency with which particular ideas or themes are
mentioned; • testing the strength of feeling about specific issues; • identifying points of
convergence or divergence between different sets of data, collected through different sources,
methods and perspectives; and • identifying gaps in the data where further information needs to
be collected, or where more probing of existing data is needed.

PLA tools and techniques

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A community map is a drawing of an area, used to describe the area and identify key features
from the perspective of the community. It is frequently produced on the ground or on flip-charts,
using local resources (e.g. stones, plants, wood). The type of information shown often depends
on the group producing the map. For example, men might highlight different features of an area
than women or children. There are many kinds of maps, including the following;

i. Transect diagrams or maps- these are diagrams of the main land use zones in a
community. They compare the main features, resources, uses and problems of
different zones. Transects can be constructed by walking in a line through an area
with a key informant, using direct observation to note specific features and factors
and talking to people met on the way.
ii. Social maps -these are maps of a village or area which shows where groups of people
live for example, rich, poor, different ethnic or religious groups etc. Maps drawn by
different groups may show different features that highlight issues which are important
to them.
iii. Mobility maps- these record, compare and analyze the movements of different groups
in a community or area, and are a useful indicator of these groups’ contacts with other
groups and communities.
iv. Historical maps can be drawn at different points in time, showing how movements of
groups, or access of groups to different areas, have changed. Diagrams present
information in an easily understandable form. They are usually developed in a
participatory way. Like maps, they can be developed using local resources. It can be
useful to compare diagrams developed by different groups. Some examples of
diagrams are as follows.
v. Daily routine diagrams -These help to compare the daily or monthly routines of
different groups of people, and their different roles and responsibilities. They usually
show the type and distribution of workload, and can enable comparisons to be made
between men and women, young and old, domestic and agricultural roles etc. They
can be useful in assessing the impact of a programme over time (for example, in
changing women’s workload, or children’s school attendance). They can also help to
identify suitable times for community meetings, project visits, M&E events, training
courses, etc. Livelihood analysis diagrams, these can help to interpret the behavior,
decisions, and coping strategies of households with different socio-economic
characteristics and / or living in different types of agro-ecological or pastoral systems.
vi. Flow diagrams Flow diagrams are a visual tool for tracking the flow of resources,
benefits or negative effects in order to explore the potential or actual impacts of a
project, or a wider change. People, institutions, resources and so on are represented
diagrammatically, and arrows are drawn to indicate the flow or the linkages between
them.

29
vii. Venn (or chapatti) diagrams- These can be used to show the key institutions and
individuals in a community, and their relationships and importance for decision-
making and/or their influence on different people or groups. Different sizes of circles
are drawn, indicating different institutions and individuals and their relative influence.
The circles can be placed closer or further away to each other depending on the level
of contact, or closeness of the relationships between the different institutions or
individuals. Ranking and scoring exercises are good for comparing the preferences,
priorities and opinions of different community groups or social actors. They are a
good way of stimulating discussion. Preference ranking People vote to select
priorities. For example, a few issues or options are listed, and people allocate a score
out of 10 for each one.
viii. Pairwise ranking- In pairwise ranking a matrix is used to compare different options
against each other to identify which is the preferred option, and the reasons why.
Scores are then aggregated to find out the overall favorites.
ix. Direct matrix ranking -Direct matrix ranking is used to generate different criteria for
decision-making and to score different options against these criteria. It can be used as
a means of understanding the reasons for local preferences for such things as different
seed or crop varieties, tree species or types of food.
x. Wealth ranking- This can be used to investigate perceptions of wealth differences and
inequalities in a community, in order to discover local indicators and criteria of
wealth and well-being, and to establish the relative wealth of households in the
community. Wealth ranking can be useful if a project is trying to target the poorest
people. It is done by making a list of all households and asking different people to
sort them into categories according to their own criteria of wealth or well-being. Like
all participatory tools, this must be done sensitively and appropriately to avoid
stigmatizing particular groups.
xi. Timelines and time trends are constructed to show changes over time. This makes
them particularly useful for M&E – seeing not just how things have changed, but also
understanding the reasons and contributing factors. Timelines A timeline is an
illustration of key events in the life of an individual, household, community or
organization over a specified period. Often this will involve drawing a linear timeline,
and asking people to mark the timeline with key events. Timelines can be used to plot
the progress of a project or programme over time, highlighting achievements and
challenges faced along the way. Time trends Time trends are graphs that show how
things have changed over time. They can be used for many variables such as crop
yields, areas under cultivation, livestock population, prices, and rainfall. Calendars
can show key events and how they change over time – years, seasons, months, days
and hours.

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 xii. Seasonal calendars- These are useful ways of representing seasonal variations in
climate, crops, income-generating activities, nutrition, health and diseases, debt, etc.
They can help identify times of shortage of food, money or time and the best time of
the year for particular kinds of development work.
xiii. Daily schedule- A daily schedule is a diagram to show an individual’s pattern of labor
over the course of a day. This usually shows the type and distribution of workload
and enables comparisons to be made between men and women, young and old,
domestic and agricultural roles etc. Many kinds of performing arts can be used to
encourage people to discuss and analyze their situations in a relaxed and light-hearted
way. However, it is always important to make sure that people are comfortable with
performing in these ways.
xiv. Role play Groups- role plays a situation or a change in the community. Different
groups (e.g. men, women, young or old people) may role play the same situation from
very different points of view. People can then compare how different groups see the
same problems or challenges. Theatre Particularly effective when working with
children, theatre might involve discussing issues with children, selecting a key issue
on which to make a play, developing a drama, and performing that to a wider
audience. Issues arising can then be discussed more widely

Once again, it must be remembered that this represents only one interpretation. In practice, they
are widely used almost interchangeably and some people and agencies make little distinction
between them. The table is intended as a clarification of potential differences between the two
approaches which development workers need to be aware of.

Rapid rural appraisal

Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) is a process of learning about rural conditions in an iterative and
expeditious manner. More often than not, it is multi-disciplinary in nature and has an in-built
flexibility in the process of collecting information. It has been defined as "any systematic activity
designed to draw inferences, conclusions, hypotheses or assessments, including acquisition of
new information in a limited period of time" The methodology is gaining recognition and is
being used in the identification of community problems, and for monitoring and evaluation of
ongoing activities. In the field of nutrition for example, the RRA approach can be useful to
gather information on a broad range of community activities; to develop a better understanding
of systems' dynamics; and to appreciate the interlinked factors influencing nutritional status.

History of Rapid Rural Appraisal

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Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) emerged in the late 1970s in response to some of the problems
with large-scale, structured questionnaire surveys. It provided an alternative technique for
outsiders often scientists carrying out research into agriculture to quickly learn from local people
about their realities and challenges. RRA practitioners worked in multi-disciplinary teams and
pioneered the use a suite of visual methods and semi-structured interviews to learn from
respondents. While it was largely about data collection, usually analyzed by outsiders, RRA
contained the seeds from which other PMs grew in the 1980s. Reflections on RRA led to the
development of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), which focused more strongly on
facilitation, empowerment, behavior change, local knowledge and sustainable action.

The fundamental principles of RRA

RRA is never the same in different circumstances and never follows a predetermined pattern; its
usefulness as a means to information generation lies in this fact. Nevertheless, there are certain
principles that must be kept in mind, and often sharing one's experience is valuable for the wider
use of this methodology.

i. Triangulation relates to the use of more than one, often three, sources of information for
validation. In order to obtain information, there is no way that can be termed the "best."
Therefore, in order to improve accuracy of information, triangulation becomes an
important element of RRA.
ii. Optimal ignorance means knowing the difference between what is worth knowing and
what is not, enabling the collection of information that is required for the research
projects. This avoids collection of too much irrelevant data.
iii. Appropriate imprecision. In conventional surveys, many of the data collected have a
degree of precision that is really unnecessary. It is often more useful to obtain causes of
problems, trends and directions of change, rather than accurate information on the
absolute numbers affected by the problem.
iv. Rapid and progressive learning can occur because of the exploratory and iterative nature
of RRA. Many new issues are raised along with better insights into the problems.
However, it is these new issues and insights that lead to an understanding of the real
problems and their solutions.
v. Learning from, and along with, rural people. Local perceptions and comprehension of
situations and problems are essential to learn and understand, since the intention is to
plan programmes that are viable and acceptable to the local inhabitants. The knowledge
base of local inhabitants must be tapped in order to avoid misconceptions about the lives
and constraints of this population. Also, by involving the local community in both
defining community needs and identifying possible solutions, the people develop a "sense
of ownership" of the activity. This reduces the possibility of failure.

Techniques for data collection

32
The process of information generation involves a combination of various research methods and
techniques. These techniques vary from one research study to another. There is no standard set of
techniques that can be used in all circumstances, and a deliberate selection of a combination of
tools should be used. Nonetheless, data must be collected from secondary as well as primary
sources.

Secondary data collection

Collection of information from secondary sources is vital prior to the initiation of actual field
work. Various secondary sources should be tapped, depending upon the objectives of the
particular research. Secondary sources include:

i. Review papers on the issue for the particular region under study.
ii. Published government data/statistics.
iii. Discussions with selected experts from various disciplines.
iv. Informal discussions with selected key-informants, which may constitute village leaders,
members of local voluntary agencies or organizations, local health personnel, school
teachers, etc.
v. Maps and aerial photographs can also be used to mark the region for study and assess the
topographic and other characteristics of the area selected.
vi. Knowledge of existing programmes for community development, both regional and
national.

Primary data collection

i. Semi-structured interviews At best these are conducted by developing an outline or

a guideline in order to maintain the direction of the interview. Such a guideline
should indicate the major issues to be covered in the interview and should be referred
to frequently during the process of the interview, which is an informal one. The
interviewee is allowed to put forward his/her views on a particular issue and the role
of the interviewer is to listen and maintain focus and direction to prevent the
conversation from going off on a tangent.
ii. Group discussions -Group discussions have a special advantage over personal
interviews in that a larger body of information can be collected, covering larger
groups of people, in a short time. Group discussions are also useful to cross check
information. Also, certain information that may be sensitive is more easily obtained in
larger gatherings where the source cannot be pin-pointed to one individual alone.
Such information often relates to misuse of funds and resources or to maltreatment or
violence directed against certain groups of people. However, selections of the group
should be done carefully and it must be homogeneous in nature.

33
 iii. Focus group discussions -Focus group discussions are particularly useful to elicit
information regarding social customs, food patterns and behavior, infant feeding
practices, and also local food fads and taboos. Small clusters of five to six women
may be sufficient for this purpose. Group and focus group discussions have an
advantage of the self-correcting mechanism within the group, whereby an individual
who gives an overly favorable picture of herself is immediately corrected by the
others in the group.
iv. Direct observations- Direct observations of all major activities may not be possible
with RRA. However, taking the time to just walk around in the community, observing
activities and asking questions at opportune moments, may yield important
information. Lack of correlation between actions and beliefs may sometimes be
revealed through such observations. The best way to study the socio-cultural patterns,
customs and local behavior of the community is by simply being there. Direct
observations are valuable for checking differences between knowledge and actual
practice.
v. Key informants -Key informants can be a major source of information. People from
the community who, because of official position or informal leadership have access to
information about the community rather than individual problems are good resources.
Key informants can be government officials, local health service personnel,
traditional healers, community leaders (elected or self-appointed), local shop owners
and members of nongovernmental organizations.
vi. Village or community profile- Simply being around in the community and
observing facilitates information gathering. In the initial days, when efforts are being
made to develop a rapport with the people and to make your own presence less
conspicuous, it is useful to map the village. All that would be required for this is a
notebook, pen/pencil and observational skills. Simply making a note of the location of
health facilities, water sources (location and type), location of farms and households,
segregation of households based on caste or class, location of livestock, etc. can be
valuable. Often, information on all these aspects can be gleaned over a period of time
through mere observation. It is a handy tool, once completed, and gives a total view
of the area under study at a glance.
vii. Aerial surveys- Aerial surveys are particularly useful in obtaining firsthand
information on natural resources and their management. The usefulness of aerial
surveys for counting animals and certain types of natural resources has been
established [3]. However, it is expensive and therefore less popular where cost is a
major constraint.

Selection of respondents

The most crucial aspect of any successful RRA is the selection of respondents, both for
secondary and primary data collection. Some of the aspects that must be considered are:

34
 i. Villages selected must be far from urban influence and should not be the "ideal" villages
where development projects have been in place for a while.
ii. Since the objective is to establish causes of under nutrition and help resolve the problems,
efforts must be made to seek out the undernourished themselves. Respondent households
selected for detailed primary data collection must include the impoverished. As put
forward by Chambers [4], RRA does not involve just putting people first but putting the
poor people first, in thinking, actions and priorities.
iii. Social barriers must be broken and the less vocal and no influential must be contacted.
iv. To reach out to the impoverished, efforts will have to be made to go far into the villages
and identify the neglected and isolated population. Such locations are often difficult to
reach.
v. Biases of "rural development tourism" and "tarmac" will have to be dealt with. If only the
visible and active people are contacted, the information obtained will have an obvious
bias.

Specific research issues

Some of the nutrition-related issues for which the RRA methodology can be utilized to elicit
information are as follows:

i. Crop production patterns and consumption profiles of the less popular food crops,
especially coarse grains.
ii. Intra-family food distribution and factors influencing inter-family food
accessibility.
iii. Women's role in the household food and financial economy.
iv. Better understanding of household demographics, especially labor patterns and
household capacity to grow their own food or to purchase it.
v. Migration behavior - causes and patterns; its influence on the nutritional well-
being of the family, particularly the vulnerable members of such households.
vi. Study of food market system and the capacity of the existing food system to meet
income, nutrition and employment requirements of the local population.
vii. Influence of national and regional food policies on the food acquisition behavior
of the households.
viii. Assessment of the food security system in a primarily agrarian society.
Cyclical food shortages are caused by dependence on rainfall for local farming
practices.

Comparison between Multi-disciplinary teams and one/two person teams

CHARACTERISTIC/ISSUE ONE/TWO PERSON MULTI-DISCIPLINARY

TEAM TEAM

35
1. Team Size One to two Up to 20 experts
2. Cost Relatively low High
3. Arranging Accomodation Easier Problematic
4. Time to organize schedules for field Easier Difficult: a lot of time and
work and report writing effort
5. Community confidence generation Easier Difficult: large teams can be
intimidating [6]
6. Organizing work schedules More flexible Less flexible
7. Selection of team members Easier Difficult
8. Expertise Each member must have Each member has his/her
expertise in areas other than own discipline of
that of specialization specialization
9. Secondary and primary data Need to gather data on Each member gathers
collection various subjects information in area of
specialization
RAPID PARTICIPATORY DRYLAND APPROACH (RPDA)

It is development approach that attempt to intermarry and utilize the various techniques
applicable to both RRA and PRA. The focus of RPDA is arid and semi-arid areas which also
need to be developed.

Characteristics of RPDA

i. Time is observed
ii. Low cost due to time consciousness
iii. Involvement of community members
iv. The approach is both bottom up and top down approach
v. There is integration of relevant discipline.

How to operationalize/apply

i. Coordination officer from development agency

ii. Integrate other departmental head e.g. governmental heads, gate keepers, and other
organization dealing with same organization.
iii. Divide the team into small groups and each should have facilitator and community
members. They should have questionnaires.
iv. First week subdivide groups and go around the community providing the community
with proper guidance.
v. Sub groups should converge every day and gate keepers should give final
recommendations.

36
 vi. All the groups should converge at the end of the week.
vii. Call for a Barraza for people to make consensus
viii. Implementation of activities
ix. Participatory monitoring and evaluations.
x. Sharing of the benefits and losses

Importance of participatory methodologies

i. Participatory techniques break the silence of the poor and the disadvantaged.
ii. It promotes generation of ideas from the community members which promote
development.
iii. It helps the community members to satisfy their fundamental needs and to enhance
the qualities of their life.
iv. It gives chances for community members to participate in decisions that affect their
lives.
v. It build human capacity through capacity building programmes.
vi. It promotes mobilization of resources necessary for the development.
vii. It enhance the community members to participate in community development and
gives their total support to initiatives they have created.

CHAPTER SEVEN

PARTICIPATORY MONITORING

Definition of Monitoring

Monitoring is a continuous process of collecting and analyzing information to compare how well
a project, programme or policy is being implemented against expected results. Monitoring aims
at providing managers and major stakeholders with regular feedback and early indications of
progress or lack thereof in the achievement of intended results. It generally involves collecting

37
and analyzing data on implementation processes, strategies and results, and recommending
corrective measures

Advantages

i. Involving beneficiaries in monitoring increases its reliability and provides the opportunity
to receive useful feedback and ideas for corrective actions
ii. Participatory monitoring allows for flexibility ― Activities should be stopped or adapted
when evaluation makes it clear that they are not contributing to the intended
improvements
iii. Strengthens ownership regarding successful outcomes of planned initiatives
iv. Widens the knowledge base necessary for assessing and if required correcting the course
of action
v. Increases the motivation of stakeholders to contribute ideas to corrective actions
vi. Creates trust in Local Government policy and action (provided that the stakeholders’
input is genuinely taken into account)
vii. Contributes to the learning of all involved

Disadvantages

i. Needs skilled facilitator to ensure everyone understands the process and is equally
involved
ii. Can be dominated by strong voices in the community (for example, men dominating
women in discussions, political, cultural or religious leaders dominating discussions and
decision making)
iii. Can be time consuming - needs genuine commitment
iv. Needs the support of donors as does not always use traditional indicators
v. Those responsible for implementation of certain projects may not want the administration
or public to learn about failures or mistakes due to a fear of disciplinary action.
Evaluation should be conducted in a fair and constructive way.

Steps in monitoring participatory impact

In monitoring process consider the following;
i. Objectives and the activities of monitoring
ii. Develop monitoring questions
iii. Establish the indicators
iv. Decide of information gathering tools
v. Decide who will do monitoring
vi. Collect, analyze and presentation of the report

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Ways of creating indicators
What is an indicator?
An indicator is a variable that is normally used as a benchmark for measuring program or project
outputs. It is “that thing” that shows that an undertaking has had the desired impact. It is on the
basis of indicators that evidence can be built on the impact of any undertaking. Most often,
indicators are quantitative in nature, however, in some few cases, they are qualitative.
Most often indicators are confused with other project elements such as objectives or targets.
Indeed, understandably so. Unlike targets or results which specify the level of achievement,
indicators do not. For example, in a project on access to safe water, statements such as “an
increase in the proportion of households reporting the consistent use of chlorinated drinking
water” or “70% of households reporting the consistent use of chlorinated drinking water” are
not indicators. Rather, an indicator could be “The proportion of households reporting the
consistent use of chlorinated drinking water.”

Importance of Indicators
Indicators are an important for any project, particularly for monitoring and evaluation purposes.
Some of the benefits of indicators are highlighted below.

i. At the initial phase of a project, indicators are important for the purposes of defining
how the intervention will be measured. Through the indicators, managers are able to
pre-determine how effectiveness will be evaluated in a precise and clear manner.
ii. During project implementation, indicators serve the purpose of aiding program
managers assess project progress and highlight areas for possible improvement. In
this case, when the indicators are measured against project goals, managers can be
able to measure progress towards goals and inform the need for corrective measures
against potential catastrophes.
iii. At the evaluation phase, indicators provide the basis for which the evaluators will
assess the project impact. Without the indicators, evaluation becomes an audacious
responsibility.

Types of indicators
The three widely acknowledged types of indicators are process indicators, outcome indicators
and impact indicators.

i. Input indicators-
ii. Output indicators-
iii. Process indicators: are those indicators that are used to measure project processes or
activities. For example, in a Safe Water project, this could be “the number of chlorine
dispensers installed at water points” or “the number of households that have received
training on chlorination of water.”
iv. Outcome Indicators: Are indicators that measure project outcomes. Outcomes are
medium impacts of a project. For example, in the case of a Safe Water project,
outcome indicators could be “the proportion of households using chlorinated drinking
water” or “the percentage of children suffering from diarrhea.”

39
 v. Impact Indicators: Are indicators that measure the long term impacts of a project,
also known as the project impact. In the case of the Safe Water project, it could be,
“the prevalence of under 5 mortality.”

Characteristics of good indicators

i. Valid: accurate measure of a behavior, practice, task that is the expected output or
outcome of the intervention
ii. Reliable: consistently measurable over time, in the same way by different
observers
iii. Precise: operationally defined in clear terms
iv. Measurable: quantifiable using available tools and methods
v. Timely: provides a measurement at time intervals relevant and appropriate in terms
of programme goals and activities
vi. Programmatically important: linked to the programme or to achieving the
programme objectives (Gage and Dunn, 2009)

Documentation decisions
To ensure successful monitoring, we need to rely on the implementation of variety of fully
documented monitoring techniques. Adequate documentation includes the following as well as
other formats resulting from the use of a specific techniques;
i. Monitoring plan- the purpose of this manual is to assist the project offices in
developing a formal monitoring plan. This manual is also lays out minimum areas and
required information that must be included in a plan. This monitoring plan must serve
as the foundation for all monitoring activities.
ii. Monitoring tools/instruments- are the forms used to organize the review. The form
provides factual information about administration of the grants. Enables projects
office staffs to evaluate risk area. The monitoring tools/ instruments designs to
accommodate both desk review and onsite monitoring or if needed separate forms can
be designed for each activity.
iii. Working paper papers-they are written record created during the monitoring review.
This important document serves as the record from beginning of the review until the
report is written, documenting all steps taken in the review process. Working papers
includes monitoring instrument and detailed notations taken during a review. Well
working papers make easier to transfer material written during the review to
evaluation and monitoring report. They should be neat, understandable and restricted
to relevant matters.
iv. Summaries- this provide an overview, put findings into perspective and can tie
together other related areas.

40
 v. Monitoring result reports- this are clear and accurate formal report of the results of
the monitoring review to present the compliance picture to the management and the
organization providing a funds. Report should contain balancing statements to
provide a complete assessment of the situation. Additionally, report should provide an
accurate statement of the condition found compared to legal or regulatory
requirement. For example, a monitoring report could not only the conditions found
during the monitoring review, but also those found by the audit report.
vi. Reports on review and follow up of audit finding-monitoring includes a review of
recent audit findings. Be sure to address the audit finding with the project office to
verify the corrective action was taken and any debt collected. Communication with
the auditor will help you learn about any current audit work that is relevant to the
compliance monitoring review.
vii. Notifications- notification in a written form to report to the project office is necessary.
It is important to document the result of monitoring and outline any findings and
associated corrective action is required.
viii. Corrective action plans- a corrective plan outlines the steps the project management
proposes to take to address the findings of non-compliance. Timely corrections of
issues identified as a result of monitoring reviews could prevent findings or
disallowed costs during the next audit.
ix. Closure letter- a closure letter formally accepts the project office corrective action
plan. It formally accepts the project offices corrective plan and indicates that projects
management believes that monitoring results’ noncompliance issues have been
adequately addressed.
Changes in monitoring

CHAPTER EIGHT

PARTICIPATORY EVALUATION

Meaning of Participatory Evaluation

41
Participatory evaluation is an approach that involves the stakeholders of a programme or policy
in the evaluation process. This involvement can occur at any stage of the evaluation process,
from the evaluation design to the data collection and analysis and the reporting of the study. A
participatory approach can be taken with any impact evaluation design, and with quantitative and
qualitative data. However, the type and level of stakeholder involvement will necessarily vary
between different types, for example between a local level impact evaluation and an evaluation
of policy changes. It is important to consider the purpose of involving stakeholders, and which
stakeholders should be involved how, in order to maximize the effectiveness of the approach.

Campilan (2000) indicates that participatory evaluation is distinguished from the conventional
approach in five key ways:

i. Why the evaluation is being done

ii. How evaluation is done
iii. Who is doing the evaluating
iv. What is being evaluated
v. For whom evaluation is being done.

Advantages of participatory evaluation

i. Identify locally relevant evaluation questions

ii. Improve accuracy and relevance of reports
iii. Establish and explain causality
iv. Improve program performance
v. Empower participants
vi. Build capacity
vii. Develop leaders and build teams
viii. Sustain organizational learning and growth

Challenges in implementing and using participatory evaluation

i. Time and commitment

ii. Resources constrains because it involves different stakeholders including community
members.
iii. Conflicts between approaches
iv. Unclear purpose of participation, or a purpose that is not aligned with evaluation design
v. Lack of facilitation skills
vi. Only focusing on participation in one aspect of the evaluation process, e.g. data collection
vii. Lack of cultural and contextual understanding, and the implications of these for the
evaluation design

Types of evaluation

42
i. Formative Evaluation- Formative evaluation is used before program design or
implementation. It generates data on the need for the program and develops the baseline
for subsequent monitoring. It also identifies areas of improvement and can give insights
on what the program’s priorities should be. This helps project managers determine their
areas of concern and focus, and increases awareness of your program among the target
population prior to launch.
ii. Process Evaluation- Process evaluation occurs once program implementation has begun,
and it measures how effective your program’s procedures are. The data it generates is
useful in identifying inefficiencies and streamlining processes, and portrays the
program’s status to external parties.
iii. Outcome Evaluation (objective-based evaluation’)- Outcome evaluation is
conventionally used during program implementation. It generates data on the program’s
outcomes and to what degree those outcomes are attributable to the program itself. It is
useful in measuring how effective your program has been and helps make it more
effective in terms of delivering the intended benefits.
iv. Economic Evaluation(also known as ‘cost analysis’, ‘cost-effectiveness evaluation’,
‘cost-benefit analysis’, and ‘cost-utility analysis’)- Economic evaluation is used during
the program’s implementation and looks to measure the benefits of the programs against
the costs. Doing so generates useful quantitative data that measures the efficiency of the
program. This data is like an audit, and provides useful information to sponsors and
backers who often want to see what benefits their money would bring to beneficiaries.
v. Impact Evaluation- Impact evaluation studies the entire program from beginning to end
(or at whatever stage the program is at), and looks to quantify whether or not it has been
successful. Focused on the long-term impact, impact evaluation is useful for measuring
sustained changes brought about by the program or making policy changes or
modifications to the program.
vi. Summative Evaluation- Summative evaluation is conducted after the program’s
completion or at the end of a program cycle. It generates data about how well the project
delivered benefits to the target population. It is useful for program administrators to
justify the project, show what they have achieved, and lobby for project continuation or
expansion. Conduct a review of internal reports and a survey for program managers and
target populations. The aim should be to measure the change that the project has brought
about and compare the change to the costs.
vii. Goals-Based Evaluation (also known as ‘objectively set evaluation) - Goals-based
evaluation is usually done towards the end of the program or at previously agreed-upon
intervals. Development programs often set ‘SMART’ targets Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Relevant, and Timely and goals-based evaluation measures progress towards
these targets. The evaluation is useful in presenting reports to program administrators and
backers, as it provides them the information that was agreed upon at the start of the
program.

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Planning for participatory evaluation
Program evaluation should be integral part of the program management for the availability of
timely evaluation information to inform decision marking and ensure the program management
is able to demonstrate accountability of to its stakeholders. The plan, for process outcome and
impact evaluation should be built into your overall program plan prior to its actual launch. While
it is never too late, to evaluate the program, you should plan your evaluation as early as you can.
In planning evaluation activities, decisions should be made in advance about;
i. Why- the purpose of evaluation, including who will use the evaluation finding and how.
ii. What- the main objectives of the evaluation and the questions it would address.
[Link]- the data sources and collection methods to be used in evaluation.
iv. Who- who will undertake the evaluation; what expertise will be required?
v. When- the timing of each evaluation so that the results in each case or combination can
be used to take important program related decisions.
vi. Resources- the budget required to implement the evaluation plan.
Evaluation can cover entire programs; program component; thematic areas such as gender,
capacity building strategies and other management issues within the program; and innovative or
pilot projects.

Tools for participatory evaluation

While it may seem impossible to actually measure such intangible outcomes, there are tools for
doing just that kind of evaluation. You’ve probably used or at least heard of all of them. They
include:

1. Surveys. Typically, surveys are carefully crafted tools that allow you to take the pulse of a
group of people before the start of a project, and then again after the project is completed.
Surveys can measure almost anything, from prior and post knowledge of content you’re
teaching to attitudes, preferences, achievements, self-esteem… you name it. When you
survey your intended audience, you’re setting the bar for success. If your post-program
survey shows improvement, you’ve done what you set out to do. Surveys can be conducted
in one of several ways: electronically (using online systems like Survey Monkey), with
paper and pencil, or through a person-to-person interview. Electronic surveys offer the great
benefit of being easy to distribute and easy to tabulate, but users may share limited
information. Paper and pencil surveys are a good way to start a program that requires
participants to show up, sit down, and engage in a classroom like situation. Interviews are
versatile and flexible, and may gather a good deal of information – but they are time
consuming and expensive.
2. Observation. How do you know that youngsters are more interested in fine art after a
workshop than they were before the workshop? One way to find out is to observe the group
prior to and after the workshop. Using a stopwatch, you can compare the amount of time
they spend in front of individual works. Listening to conversation, you can hear which
words they use to discuss and describe the art. You can also note body language: are they

44
 zipping past the works? Stopping to look? Pointing and discussing? All of these
observations are data points to help you assess outcomes.
3. Case Studies. Your nonprofit is running a program that prepares unemployed individuals
for job placement by crafting resumes, building interview skills, honing business skills, and
providing career-appropriate clothing. Each week, dozens of people go through the program.
You know that X number are getting jobs – but you don’t really know which part of your
program is most useful, or how clients feel about their experience. One way to find out is to
conduct a series of case studies, in which you choose representative individuals and study
them in depth. In the end, you’ll come out with transcripts of interviews, pre- and post-test
results, and other data to help you tell the story of how several unique individuals arrived at
your door, experienced your program, and either succeeded or failed in reaching their goals.
4. Focus Groups. Your youth development program helps teens improve grades, build self-
esteem, get involved with community service projects, and learn study and workplace skills.
You have lots of participants, but you really don’t know how those participants’ attitudes
and abilities changed as a result of their experience. To find out, you might run a focus
group. A focus group usually consists of 3-5 individuals who, together, represent a cross
section of your target audience. Through directed, open-ended questions, you can learn a
great deal about how they perceive and are impacted by your program before it begins, as it
runs, and after it ends. Focus groups are typically “facilitated” by someone with specific
experience, recorded, and transcribed.
5. Interviews. Have you ever walked into a museum or zoo and been accosted by a person
carrying a clipboard who asks whether you will answer a few questions? If so, you’ve seen
the interview process in action. Typically, interviews are used to gather marketing
information (who is coming, why are they coming, what are they coming for, are they
satisfied, etc.) – but interviews can also be used to assess knowledge, interest, and so forth.
For example, a museum might interview visitors to find out what they already know about
the Impressionists, what they might like to know, which Impressionists they prefer, and so
forth. That sort of information can provide a baseline for later comparison.

Whatever your project or your budget, there are tools available to evaluate your level of success.
When you use those tools, you improve your ability to make your case for support, you gain
critical information for refining your program, and you build a database of knowledge for
developing new programs and projects for the future.

CHAPTER NINE
APPROACHES TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Community development approaches

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The education that is provided through community development is a form of enlightens which
increases local people awareness and the desire to do something about their problem. This
includes technical and organizational skills intended to help any community or group to grow.
i. Directive/ top down approach- this is where by change agent facilitate program which
he/she perceive will benefit his/her client i.e. community. There is often no
participation and the views of the community members are really taken into account.
This approach also foster and encourages superior’s attitudes on the part of agencies
and change agents.
De vries 1980 summarizes this in examining the assumptions underlying the top
down approach as one where;
i. Change agent teaches and community members are taught
ii. Change agents knows everything and community members knows nothing
iii. Change agents think and community members are thought about
iv. Change agents/agencies assumes that teaching leads to learning
v. Change agents/agencies confuses the authority of knowledge with his/her own
knowledge.

ii. The non-directive or bottom up approach- the decisions are made by the community
members together with the change agency/[Link] state that activities should be
designed to reflect the needs aspirations, aspirations, problems and cultural transitions
of people. If this is done community people become more motivated and participate
in community development activities;
Clark 1982) summarizes bottom up approach as;
i. There is participation of the community members an all stages of the
development
ii. Change agents has a role of facilitators rather than a teacher.
iii. There is two way of information flow system.
iv. Using a bottom up approach the people in the community and agents are
active because they are both involved in learning and planning for the
programme.
Impact of development approaches on community development
i. It facilitate learning and impartation of skills and retention of skills.
ii. It promotes better relationship in the community.
iii. It encourages participation in the community projects
iv. It is a source of harmony and unity.
v. It facilitate ownership of the projects.
vi. It helps to initiate new projects
vii. It promote problem solving skills.

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 CHAPTER TEN
DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES
Types of funding agencies
i. Microfinances- these are organizations that give credit /loans to the community to pay
in return and they charge interest depending on amount of money borrowed from
them.
ii. Cooperatives- these are agencies that offer savings and members are issued with loans
to pay. It is also type of business organization in which members of cooperative
society makes effort to achieve any common objectives on voluntary and democratic
basis.
iii. Self-help groups and CBO- these are institution which are formed by the group of
people who come together for a certain goal. They contribute amount of money and
in return this amount of money is meant to benefit the stakeholders. Some may give
funds even to the people and pay on the interest.
iv. Public development funding schemes- these are schemes that are developed by the
government in collaboration with other agencies to support community members in
development activities. e.g. IFAD
v. Capacity building agencies- this are types of agencies that aim at promoting the
welfare of the community. They organize capacity building and empowerment
programs in the society e.g. NGOs
Challenges facing of development agencies
i. Government policies- the government may impose some policies that hinder the
growth and development of these agencies.
ii. Inadequate resources- resources are essential factors in the development and this pose
a challenge to this agencies.
iii. Competition- due to the condition of the market i.e. many funding agencies
iv. Lack of community participation
v. Poor management- this result to failure of these agencies
vi. Poverty
vii. Lack of accountability and transparency

PLA tools and techniques

The PLA, particular instrument or method that would best give the community a chance to
participate and learn is considered as a tool. According to oxford dictionary, a tool is any
47
 instrument or utensil held by hand and used for cutting, hitting, digging and robbing e.g.
knives, saws, hammers shovels and lakes.
To scholars, anything that serves in the manner of a tool is which provides information such
as books and therefore to them books are tools or means through which they can gather
various ideals and thinking. An effort has been made to develop as many tool or techniques
as possible and more tools are being developed;
i. Spatial (tool related to space) - these tools gives us information related to the space of
the area under study e.g. community maps, transects, house sketch maps, mobility
maps etc.
ii. Tome related (sometimes referred to temporal) these tools are used to gather
information related to changes that have taken place in the community over time. Eg
timelines/historical profile trends lines seasonal calendar etc
iii. Social economic tools- these tools enable us to collect data on the community’s way
of life and means of livelihood e.g. gender daily calendar, venn/chapatti diagram,
livelihood diagram, focus group discussion, semi structured interviews and
indigenous technical knowledge.
iv. Analysis tools – these tools are used to refine data collected for easy interpretation
e.g. pairwise ranking, preference ranking, direct matrix ranking and flow diagram.

v. Technical/secondary tools- these tools are used to enrich in information gathered eg

all published materials, official reports, ordnance maps, research papers

Principle/features of PLA
Feature are prerequisite for successful PLA
i. Multidisplinary team- the PLA team members should have different skills and
backgrounds. The different viewpoints of the team members will complement each
other and provide a more comprehensive picture. All members of PLA team are
involved in all aspects of the study design, data collection and synthesis. Some
community members should be in the PLA team.
ii. Mix techniques- the PLA techniques are taken from a wide range of possible tools,
which are tailored to the specific requirement of the study.
iii. Flexibility- plans and research methods are semi structured and are revised adapted
and modified as the PLA field work proceed.
iv. In the community- the main aspect of PLA is learning from and by community
members. It is important to have community members who can facilitate the
interpretation, understanding and analysis of the data collected.

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v. Optimal ignorance and appropriate imprecision- the PLA team should avoid
unnecessary detail accurate and collection of data. The purpose of PLA is to make the
community start their own development strategies.
vi. On sport analysis- learning takes place in the field and analysis of the information
gathered is an integral part of the field work itself. The team constantly reviews and
analyses its findings in order to determine which direction to proceed.
vii. Offsetting biases ness and being self-critical – the PLA team actively seeks out the
socially and economically challenged and other disadvantaged groups, avoids
influences from well off and the better educated.
viii. Triangulation- it is a form of crosschecking. Accuracy is achieved through diverse
information and different kinds of sources of information. Triangulation is done in
relation to composition of the team, sources of information and mix techniques ie
from outsiders,/insiders

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