Development Studies

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    Participation-- who owns it? : enhancing community participation on Bohol Island, Philippines : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2005) Vos, Robert John
    Community participation has been seen as a means of improving project outcomes with participatory development practices being mainstreamed by most multilateral development agencies. However, 'participation' remains an overused, poorly understood and subjectively defined concept with various partners in the development process concurrently exhibiting different understandings of the concept. A critique of participation also suggests that the rhetoric of participation not only exceeds the practice but that practitioners can use participatory development in an unjust and abusive manner. A problem development organisations in the Philippines face is how to enhance community participation in project communities. Using a case study approach, this research studies a non-government organisation (NGO) and a rural community in the Philippines, partners in implementing two development projects during 1995 - 2003. Research on Bohol during June - July 2004 sought to understand the factors which influenced the willingness and ability of community members to participate in the projects, and the strategies used by the NGO to enhance community participation. This research finds that project participation was enhanced by the community's social cohesion, the NGO's authentic planning and implementation with the community, and the project personnel's respectful and trusting relationships with community members. Similarly, the manner in which project components explicitly met felt need, the enthusiasm generated by the NGO, and the high degree of community ownership of the projects, led to community participation. In contrast, community conflict, the community's negative experience of historical events, selective participation, and the high perceived costs of participation led to non-participation.
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    Participation and project sustainability : Participatory Integrated Development in Rain-fed Areas (PIDRA) project in East Java-Indonesia : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2008) Komalawati
    This thesis examines the relationships between participation and project sustainability. By using the Participatory Integrated Development in the Rain-fed Areas (PIDRA), an integrated rural development project, in three districts of East Java, Indonesia, as a case study, it addresses the question about what kind of participation will lead the intended beneficiaries to continue to use and benefit from the services that remain beyond the project period. The research found that the project mostly targeted the poor, marginalised, and vulnerable people, and widows as household heads. However, some high school graduates and wealthy villagers were also included as target beneficiaries. Most participants were actively involved and participated in the project implementation activities, but rarely participated in project planning and design as well as monitoring and evaluation. The results also show that factors influencing participation of the intended beneficiaries of the PIDRA Project in the target areas were: the responsibility of the beneficiaries to the groups as members and as leaders part of the management team; the level of education, knowledge, and skills of participants; incentives provided to access credits; the availability and use of sanctions; the geographical situation; poverty; age; support from the government; and the role of facilitators. Analysis of the case study shows that the PIDRA Project in East Java will likely have some sustainable activities and benefits in the short term. Furthermore, participation is likely lead to the project sustainability of some project elements when participation is not only used as a means but also as an end. However, the results also suggest the increasing cooperation and collaboration of government and the NGOs, and defining participant groups based on similar educational background and socio-economic situation will enhance participation and project sustainability. This study would also raise the attention of development practitioners of the dangers of the participatory approach in their practice because it could be manipulative, harm people who are supposed to be advantaged, and hence create “new tyranny” in development interventions.
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    Participatory approaches to development : an analysis of the experiences of development projects in Sudan : a thesis presented in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2007) El Gack, Nawal El-Gaili
    This thesis aims to explore and analyse the experiences of participatory development projects in Sudan. The study focuses on participation in development, an issue that has attracted debate and discussion since the early 1970s. To contribute to this discussion and create more knowledge on this issue the White Nile Agricultural Services Project (WNASP) and North Kordofan Rural Development Project (NKRDP) were selected as case studies. Through various methods the nature and potential of participatory development approaches and interventions have been explored with the aim of identifying the factors that influenced people's participation, and suggesting ways to improve the practice of participatory development at grassroots level. The study found that although the projects encouraged and claimed to adopt participatory approaches, people were not engaged in a process through which participation could achieve empowerment or create real changes in their lives. The outcome of people's participation in the projects was influenced by development providers' policies, credibility and behaviour of staff, nature and amount of resources, socio-cultural norms, power relations, and communities' previous experiences, organisation and level of education. This suggests that primarily, designing participatory development programmes requires an in-depth understanding of prevailing social, economic, political and physical environments. Secondly, development providers should adopt approaches that accept negotiations with communities and challenge oppressive situations. Finally, if participatory development is to achieve its objectives, local communities must be provided with resources, information and skills. Based on evidence from powerful individuals in North Kordofan, this thesis suggests a moral-obligatory approach as one of the ways to improve the practice of participatory development in Sudan. This approach requires a fundamental change in development providers' policies, visions and credibility. If the essence of participatory development is adhered to, and if strategies and plans are designed collectively then there is an opportunity for making real change in the lives of those addressed by development interventions. This thesis concludes that more research is needed to explore the values, role, and impact of development providers and facilitators, as well as the nature and potential of local communities' participative values, organisations and practices.
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    'Lady, is this civilisation?' : a case study of community participation in a health development programme in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2008) Batten, Lesley Susan
    Community participation is a key feature of major global health declarations and a fundamental principle of health strategies in Aotearoa New Zealand. However, the frequency with which it is espoused belies the complexities associated with its practical application. Engaging communities in primary health care programmes designed to improve their health has been identified as a major challenge. This study’s objective was to explore community members’ perspectives of participation within a health development programme. The programme chosen aimed to increase the fruit and vegetable intake of targeted population groups, including M ori, Pacific peoples, and low income earners. A qualitative instrumental case study approach was adopted to examine the programme and investigate what influenced, constrained, and sustained community participation. Data collection included fieldwork over an eighteen-month period. Two programme projects were selected as the study foci: a communityled project involving distributions of thousands of free heritage variety plants; and, instigated by health services, a project establishing community gardens. These projects provided markedly different pictures of participation occurring within the same programme. The plant distributions had widespread appeal, while the community garden faltered. Community participation fitted within a description of ‘focused social action’. Participation was motivated by needs, values, and interests. While some were personal and family based, the programme also became an imagined vehicle for addressing wider health, social justice, and environmental sustainability goals. Ongoing challenges related to defining targeted communities and groups, varying degrees and types of participation, and different perspectives of participation, especially as health sector staff worked from an equity mandate and community members spoke of equality. Programme groups established as mechanisms to foster community participation had contradictory effects, engaging some as advisors, while failing to reach communities targeted for the programme. The complexities of health sector bureaucracy both enabled and constrained the programme and community participation. This thesis provides an in-depth examination of the complexities of community participation in action, the contradictory effects of contexts enveloping programmes, and the resolve of community members. It increases our understandings of how community members perceive health programmes and community participation, which are critical factors in improving population health.