Essential Activities for Community Participation

Identification of community needs

  • Regular dialogue between government functionaries and communities before community needs are identified.
  • Using existing formal and informal organizations to identify community needs
  • Training concerned government officials in communication skills and participatory approaches

Participation in project planning process

  • Training for community leaders to plan community projects
  • Changes in procedures to ensure bottom-up planning process
  • Working with more than one group and organization during the planning process

Choice of location of services, beneficiaries, and community leaders

  • Involvement of community in choice of locations, beneficiaries, and leaders
  • Working with more than one community
  • Seeking community's consensus through community workers
  • Training community leaders

Control over allocation of project resources

  • Decentralization of financial and administrative authority
  • Increased role of community development committee in allocation of project resources
  • Training of community leaders in financial procedures and management

Mobilization of community resources

  • Involvement of both formal and informal leaders in mobilizing community resources
  • Providing more information to communities before asking them to contribute
  • Seeking community contributions only about those activities affecting them directly and immediately
  • Encouraging concensus in the community before the drive to mobilize community funds

Implementing project activities

  • Standardization of procedures for project implementation under community control and supervision
  • Provision of adequate training to community leaders and work concerning implementation of project activities

Periodic monitoring and evaluation of the project

  • Giving theresponsibility for the local project monitoring and evaluation to community development committee
  • Training community leaders in methods of monitoring and evaluation of project performance
Source:
Shabbir Cheema, "Strengthening Urban Institutional Capabilities" Paper presented at the ADB-UNCRD Regional Seminar on Major NAtional Urban Policy Issues, Manila, 3-7 February, 1987.
Hari Srinivas - hsrinivas@gdrc.org
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