Woohyun Chun Professor Reifenberg International Development in Practice 13 November 2013 Community Participation in Practice

Introduction Ever since the mid-1970, community participation has been widely recognized as one of the key components of achieving sustainable development in rural areas. Although there is no standard definition of community participation, in the context of development, it implies increasing stakeholder (community) involvement in almost all aspects of a project cycle from the planning and design to the actual implementation and monitoring (Gonzalez, 1). The success of this bottom-up approach primarily depends on two things: 1) open communication between development organizations and beneficiaries, and 2) the establishment and distribution of responsibility among community members. The former proves to be crucial in assessing community needs and gaining support, and the latter creates and implements culture and practices that lead to sustainability. Looking at development practices in Tanzania In the journal Performing communicative functions in development projects: An exploratory study of development practices in Tanzania by Ryan Buddenhagen and John Baldwin, interviews with project personnel, focus groups, and informal questioning with beneficiaries in 13 Tanzanian development projects across a range of sectors provide examples of specific practices that are proven to be successful in promoting genuine community participation, in which the people are empowered to control the actions to be taken (Oakley, 27). Looking at this specific study of cases in Tanzania is beneficial for two reasons. First, as a top recipient of Official Development Aid, Tanzania receives more outside investment for development projects and has more projects than many developing countries. The study itself

includes analysis of 13 projects from four different organizations (Africare, CARE, Dorcas Aid, and World Bank), which cover areas of multi-sector/orphan care, finance, housing, education, health, and infrastructure. This abundance implies increased applicability of the findings and suggested practices to any other similar development projects in different parts of the world seeking to foster community participation. Second, the way in which the study is conducted through interviews provides insights about community participation in a more practical, detailed manner. Often times, it is the case that the literature on the bigger projects describes in detail the means of participation, but few isolate the concept in any detail or analyze its implementation (Gow, 433). As such, looking at the examples would fill in the gaps and provide a fuller account of community participation. In sum, the examples from Tanzania can serve to make reasonable inference as to how community participation can better take place in the context of development. Examples below are the implications learnt in Tanzania. Open communication between organizations and beneficiaries Open communication focuses on unrestricted flow of information between project personnel and community members throughout the project in order to assess community needs and gain support. It also acts to prevent community participation from turning into pseudo-participation, in which involvement is superficial and beneficiaries play a passive role. In the study of development projects in Tanzania, the key factors that allow open communication are as follows: Transparency plays an important role in establishing trust with community members. It is a medium through which community members gauge the credibility of project personnel. Thus, records of undelivered promises may undermine the credibility and ultimately result in withdrawal of community support. Some of the possible practices include: 1) with leaders planning local gatherings for community members to enter dialogue regarding organizations intention to assist, 2) informing

all individuals in the affected area of project activity, making certain all have opportunity to learn about the organizations intention to assist community, and 3) only making promises to community that personnel can keep, and being certain to deliver on all promises made (Buddenhagen, 427). Continuous engagement places importance in keeping a strong connection between the project personnel and community members throughout the project. This allows a way through which to consistently assess community needs and provide any information necessary. Some of the possible practices include: 1) dialogue with project personnel and community members/beneficiaries, and 2) establishing means for consistent contact (e.g., periodic one-on-one meetings, visits to committee meetings, etc.) (Buddenhagen, 427). With these basic yet fundamental factors together, it is possible to undertake practices including but not limited to the following: 1) informing stakeholders of all available information regarding project, and 2) engaging in dialogue with stakeholders through one-on-one contact, village gatherings, and small committee meetings (Buddenhagen, 427). The establishment and distribution of responsibility among community members The establishing responsibility and distributing that to community members is of paramount importance in terms of promoting sustainable development. With responsibility, community members tend to appreciate and value what they partake in, making them more productive and active. The more community members with responsibility there are, the broader the impact will be. This is the basis of bringing about healthy, positive change. Community offerings provides ways for community members to be a part of ongoing development. It also broadens the scope of participation to labor. Some of the possible practices include: 1) hiring technical workers in community for appropriate project jobs, and 2) encouraging labor contributions from community members and beneficiaries (Buddenhagen, 428).

Percentage contributions allow community members to supply a portion of the overall project costs. This allows them to have more ownership of the project, and in turn, has the effect of making them more actively participate in the project. Some of the possible practices include: 1) dialogue with project stakeholders to establish an appropriate percentage of overall project costs for community members and beneficiaries to pay, and 2) monitoring local circumstances to make appropriate adjustments to community payment percentage (Buddenhagen, 428). Facilitation implies project personnel placing more responsibility of the project on community members. This empowers them to take ownership of the projects, encouraging active participation as much as possible. Some of the possible practices include: 1) striving to establish role of project personnel as that of facilitator, setting context for continuous mutual advertisement, and 2) enacting behaviors that elevate community member and beneficiary status (Buddenhagen, 428). In sum, these practices enable the establishment and distribution of responsibility among community members and have the effect of making them more productive and active in the projects. Ultimately, this leads to sustainability in the long run. Conclusion Looking at the development practices in Tanzania as a reference, it seems to be the case that 1) open communication between organizations and beneficiaries and 2) the establishment and distribution of responsibility among community members are the two most important aspects of promoting genuine community participation. Open communication advocates a system of symmetric information flow, which serves to foster continuous transparency and ultimately empower community members. The establishment and distribution of responsibility have the effect of persuading community members to value their role in the projects, turning them into a more active and productive participant of change.

Reference 1) Buddenhagen, R., & Buddenhagen, J. (2012). Performing communicative functions in development projects: An exploratory study of development practices in tanzania. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 36(3), 418-429.

2) Gonzalez, J. L. (1998). Development sustainability through community participation : Mixed results form the philippine health sector Aldershot ; Brookfield USA : Ashgate.

3) Gow, D., & Gow, J. (1983). Beyond the rhetoric of rural development participation: How can it be done? World Development, 11(5), 427-446.

4) Oakley, P., & Marsden, D. (1984). Approaches to participation in rural development Geneva : International Labour Office.