The participatory approach

Development cooperation is done at its best when the partners have a common interest at stake, when they all are going to benefit from the development process and when they are together analyzing the problems, setting the objectives and are working together to produce the expected changes. This requires a healthy communication climate where the interests of all partners are integrated so as to achieve a positive-sum relation.

 

Creating the enabling environment

The problem is that when development cooperation aims at benefiting marginalized and impoverished communities, that have been victim of prolonged exploitation and violence; in such cases the main beneficiaries may be too impoverished for asserting themselves as development actors. They will be receiving support because they are not in the condition to freely pursue the kind of life that they have reason to value. They need assistance, so as to overcome the violence they receives, restore their institutions which express their cultural identity and regain the competence to avail of their resources in a sustainable manner. Here is the scope for work of thedevelopment aid organizations. that have as their mission to help others to develop and overcome the vicious circle of injustice, poverty, ignorance and violence.

In these cases the development programs will not be written by the main beneficiaries themselves, because they do not have the competence or the social conditions to do so; they will be written by others, generally by the same development aid organizations that will do the job. The organizations will search for the funds to implement the activities and then will do the main job. They will not benefit from the result of the development work, but they will be paid for carrying out this work. The risk is then that the work is done for the main interest of the workers themselves, or of those who put the money (i.e. the "donors").

Participation is then the key term that indicates the modality of planning and implementing the development cooperation actions in a way that the intended beneficiaries take an active role in development decision making. They will be consulted and listened in all aspects of designing, executing and evaluating development projects.

[edit]What is participation?

To participate is to be on of the actors of decision making. The participated approach to development cooperation is the modality by which all development stakeholders become subjects of decision making in development planning. We have a participated approach when the beneficiary communities are informed of all the aspects of development planning and are put on board on all aspects of decision making. This may be a lengthily process with very impoverished beneficiaries and with persons that have been victim to prolonged violence. But participation is the key factor for the success or failure of development work.
 

Participation is an action taken by organizations, governments or other institutions when they want people's voices and opinions to be part of decisions, policies, legislation, plans that they make and that affect people's lives. Participation is enabling all stakeholder to recognize and express their needs and their rights. It is dialogical process. It is a maieutical process. A dialogue happens when there is participation. And cooperation also happens when there is participation. to be part of the political processes of their country that affect their lives.
 

That is why development cooperation is not merely a "resource delivery" to beneficiaries in need (as it is the case for Humanitarian aid. It is in itself the very process that allows the persons to enter in a positive-sum social game and express their full human potentials.

[edit]The difference between development cooperation and charity

Assisting others in their development is based on the capacity to value the possibility of others to make choices that are more free. It is for this that development cooperation actors need to create the conditions for Beneficiaries to make choices that are in line with what persons value. In other words, development cooperation actions must contribute to creating an enabling environment where stakeholders are able to engage, dialogue and collaborate in an informed and constructive manner.
 

An enabling environment is a set of interrelated conditions, such as legal, organizational, policy, economical, informational, political, economic, social and cultural, contributing to a macro framework that impact on the opportunities and the capacities of development actors to fulfil their roles and responsibilities efficiently and engage in development processes in an informed, sustained and effective manner.
But it is also more than that: it is nurturing in them the will to choose, i.e. the determination of recognizing the value of one’s identity and the determination to stand for one’s own rights.

[edit]The rights based approach

In order to make more explicit that participation is not merely an expression of "needs" but is an assertion of choices, then the term "rights-based-approach" has been coined. Some development actors emphasize this approach as an indication that helping people to lead out their lives out of poverty and injustice is possible only as much as people recognizes and defend their rights. Rights-based approach to development is an approach that aim to achieve a positive transformation of power relations among the various development actors.
This approach is potentially very rich, provided it takes out the assumption that "rights" should be seen exclusively in the "modern-western-secular" perspective; and provided it becomes more clear that there is a necessary balance between "rights" and "duties" - and that there is no use in stressing somebody's rights if at the same time no one says who is the holder of duty responsible to implement those rights.
 

This is particularly critical in the case of International development cooperation, since there are no institutionalized "duties" on the shoulder of nations to care for the rights of those who are not one's nation citizens. However there is a growing consensus that facing the global challenges require assuming global responsibilities, like in the case of guaranteeing the respect for the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights and the implementation of the International commitments like the MDGs. Also the moral sense of many individuals is evolving towards a new ethical identity as a "world citizen".
 

The modern conception of human rights developed in the aftermath of the Second World War, culminating in the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. See ⇒ the official declaration.
 

 

We do we feel responsible for others freedom?

Development cooperation in theory is different from encouraging respect for human rights as, in principle, rights are fundamentals and development is the superstructure built on. In practice promotion and protection of human rights require international cooperation as much as sustained and fair development require international partnership. Economic development is the base of protection of human rights as much as protection of human rights is the base for development. The t

[edit]See also

 ⇒ How can local policy actors contribute to the achievement of MDGs and other global policy objectives?
 

 in other sections of this handbook
 

• Guidelines - Methodological Principles of the Participatory Approach
   

• on Wikipedia

 Rights-based approach to development

• External links
  • The rights centered approach - Oxfam
  • The Citizen's Handbook
  • A Ladder of Citizen Participation
  • The World Bank Participation Source book
  • International Association of Public Participation