Participatory approach method

Participatory Development seeks to engage local populations in development projects. Participatory development (PD) has taken a variety of forms since it emerged in the 1970s, when it was introduced as an important part of the "basic needs approach" to development.

The "Social Movement Perspective" defines participation as the mobilization of people to eliminate unjust hierarchies of knowledge, power, and economic distribution. This perspective identifies the goal of participation as an empowering process for people to handle challenges and influence the direction of their own lives.

Advocates of PD emphasize a difference between participation as “an end in itself”, and participatory development as a “process of empowerment” for marginalized populations.This has also been described as the contrast between valuing participation for intrinsic rather than purely instrumental reasons.

 Participatory development employed in particular initiatives often involves the process of content creation. For example, UNESCO’s Finding a Voice Project employs ICT for development initiatives. Local content creation and distribution contributes to the formation of local information networks. This is a bottom-up approach that involves extensive discussions, conversations, and decision-making with the target community. Community group members create content according to their capacities and interests.

There are four stage in participatory approach,

·         Research stage is where the development problem accurately defined.

·         Design stage defines the actual activities.

·         Implementation stage is when the planned intervention is implemented.

·         Evaluation stage participation ensures that the most significant.

Forms of Participatory Participation

·         Passive participation

·         Participation by consultation

·         Participation by collaboration

·         Empowerment participation

Variations of Participatory Development

·         Manifestations

·         Implementation

Benefits

Research conducted by several development agencies  suggests that there are many benefits to be gained through the use of PD. These studies suggest that while PD projects may have high start up costs, they will be less expensive and more sustainable in the long run.

 Community participation is also thought to increase the efficiency of development projects. Participation can also contribute towards more equitable outcomes so long as  elite capture of participatory mechanisms is avoided.