The 1990s may become known as the decade of participatory development. The last ten years have seen an explosion of participatory methods, under labels such as PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal), PLA (Participatory Learning and Action) and many more. Donors and governments alike have adopted language and policies on participation at multiple levels. Participatory practices have spread across countries, hemispheres, disciplines, sectors and themes. While once linked to projects, and focused mainly on rural development, participation is now linked to larger issues of policy and governance, and used as an approach is almost every sector, south and north. The Participation Group of IDS (Institute of Development Studies) had a leading and unique role in this process. It has become evident that translating commitment to participation into effective practices requires a greater understanding of the operational and institutional entailments of effective participatory practice. In response, practitioners, donors, researchers and others are calling for more critically reflective approaches, for a better understanding of what works and why, and for a focus on the quality and impact of participation on the ground. Renewed attention is being given to how to strengthen organisations of the poor, who themselves can help to hold larger actors more accountable, and who can influence the development, implementation and evaluation of policies, as well as of their own projects.
For the last decade, IDS has been a unique centre for promotion of participation research and innovations from grassroots to institutional level in various parts of the globe. Through the work of the Participation Group, it strives to strengthen the quality of participatory processes in development, as well as the capacity of a variety of people, networks and institutions to incorporate and make effective use of participatory approaches in their own work, making new insights available to development partners in the South.
The Participation Group seeks to continue this role, in collaboration with others. In the next phase key themes will include:
- Participation beyond projects: rights, policies and governance
- The building blocks of participation: enhancing personal, organisational and institutional change
- Assessing, monitoring and deepening the quality and impact of participation
- New innovations and new learning
Activities are object and result oriented and are not treating participation 'per se'. Results of activities are communicated with the network in the South through workshops and through training, publications, readily available in print or electronic form at
http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/particip . The expertise is also made available by consultancies of IDS staff or through the global participation network. SDC activities in countries like Pakistan, India, Mozambique, Tanzania, Senegal and Bolivia have maintained direct links with IDS, other SDC focus countries benefit from IDS through the national network.
An amount of approximately £600,000 a year is needed to support the programme of the participation group at IDS, of which a significant percentage is channelled to southern partners in the form of grants for networking and training, topic workshops, visiting fellowships, and information resources. The programme receives support more or less equally by three donors, SDC, Sida, and DFID and will be supplemented by a fourth one in the new phase. SDC through the sectoral and Asia I Division will take over 25% of the annual budget, resulting in this credit proposal of CHF 1 '500'000.-
1. INTRODUCTION
The 1990s may become known as the decade of participatory development. The last ten years have seen an explosion of participatory methods, under labels such as PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal), PLA (Participatory Learning and Action) and many more. Donors and governments alike have adopted language and policies on participation at multiple levels. Participatory practices have spread across countries, hemispheres, disciplines, sectors and themes. While once linked to projects, and focused mainly on rural development, participation is now linked to larger issues of policy and governance, and used as an approach is almost every sector, south and north.
The rapid spread of participatory approaches offers enormous opportunity for improved development policies and for strengthening the ways in which poor people exercise voice and influence over decisions that affect their lives. The popularisation of participatory approaches has also given rise to a growing concern about quality and impact. If the increased adoption of language and policies of participation is to be translated into strategies that can foster substantive improvements in poor people's lives and livelihoods, this concern needs to be addressed.
It has become evident that translating commitment to participation into effective practices requires a greater understanding of the operational and institutional entailments of effective participatory practice. In response, practitioners, donors, researchers and others are calling for more critically reflective approaches, for a better understanding of what works and why, and for a focus on the quality and impact of participation on the ground. Renewed attention is being given to how to strengthen organisations of the poor, who themselves can help to hold larger actors more accountable, and who can influence the development, implementation and evaluation of policies, as well as of their own projects. At the same time, the scaling-up agenda has pointed to the importance of 'second generation reforms', which build capacities for participation not only of primary stakeholders, but also of larger institutions in both public and private sectors.
In this new context, the challenge for the new decade is not simply to promote the acceptance of participation, nor to emphasise its spread. Rather, it is to deepen the quality and sustainability of its implementation and to gain better understanding, both conceptual and practical, of its meanings, applications and contributions to development.
This new challenge suggests a need to reposition participation along several lines:
from participatory development to participatory governance;
from projects to policies;
from local to national and global decision-making;
from rhetoric to implementation, through changes in behaviours and attitudes as well as institutional change;
from coming-up to a renewed focus on the 'organisations of the poor' who themselves can better hold large institutions accountable (empowerment);
from promotion to assessment, with more emphasis on monitoring the quality and understanding the impact of participation;
from a focus on methodological spread, to more critical and theoretical analysis of the concepts and underlying epistemologies of participatory approaches.
Such a positioning has important implications for the work of the Institute of Development Studies, which since the early 1990s has managed an evolving programme in support of participatory learning and action. While the work in the previous periods has contributed to the spread and understanding of participatory approaches and practices, future support is critical to consolidate IDS' pioneer role in learning, deepening the understanding and help to influence the ways in which the new legitimacy of participation actually leads to improvements in its practice. This credit proposal shares the current thinking about future directions and to support IDS' work for the period July 2000 - June 2003.
2. PROJECT HISTORY AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Beginning in 1995, SDC provided significant funding which allowed IDS to establish a resource centre to spread information on participation, promote south-south networking, and initiate a small programme of action research and learning. In January 1998, significant further support from DFID, SDC and SIDA, with a small amount of additional support from DANIDA, allowed the broadening of the work even further.
For the last decade, IDS has been a centre for promotion of participation research and innovations in various parts of the globe. Through the work of the Participation Group, it strives to strengthen the quality of participatory processes in development, as well as the capacity of a variety of people, networks and institutions to incorporate and make effective use of participatory approaches in their own work. The Participation Group seeks to continue this role, in collaboration with others. However, the capacity and resources for high quality work on participation has also increased, especially in the south. Increasingly, the IDS Participation Group seeks to link with other partners, especially those in the south, and to recognise itself as one node amongst a larger network of actors.
The work is carried out through an action oriented and synergistic programme of activities, including networking and capacity building, information production and dissemination, topic workshops, support for visiting fellowships and for strengthening research capacity, collaborative research and policy analysis, and evaluation. Some of the highlights in the last phase included:
· Thematic Research: In-depth research and documentation activities were carried out in reference to certain themes, usually in collaboration with southern partners, and often with the assistance of students and others at IDS. Research projects in this period have included work related to participation and local governance, institutionalised participation in natural resource management, participatory approaches and poverty (e.g. the Consultations with the Poor work), and participation and health. Research projects have involved some level of collaboration with partners in 35 countries (including 23 countries involved in the Consultations with the Poor exercise). Direct financial support or support for visiting fellowships have been provided to strengthen research capacity in about 13 southern countries.
· Topic Workshops. New knowledge on issues in participation has been documented, synthesised and shared through a series of international topic workshops convened by IDS, often in collaboration with partners. Eight international topic workshops will have been held during the current period, around such topics as mainstreaming participation, participation and governance, participation in emergencies, participatory assessment approaches, participation in poverty reduction strategies, participation and accountability in health, popular communications, and critical reflections on PRA and participation. These have involved researchers and practitioners from approximately thirty-seven southern countries, as well as others from the north. Topic workshops often lead to workshop reports or further publications, and to further research projects.
· Capacity Building and South-South Sharing: This component provides extensive advisory and financial support to networks in the south, as well as support for South-South sharing, and training activities. Direct financial support has been provided to networks in fifteen countries, including Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia (pending), Malawi, Senegal, Bangladesh, Philippines, India, China, Sri Lanka, Iran, Nepal, and Pakistan. Training workshops or in-country consultations by IDS staff have taken place in twenty three countries. Extensive e-mail discussion and web resources have been shared in many more, probably about 80 countries. Participants from about 30 southern countries have been enabled to travel to exchange their experiences with participants in other southern countries, on issues and approaches of common concern. Particularly significant has been support for exchange of experiences and materials for Lusophone and Francophone countries. Support has been given for documentation and sharing in newer forms, such as through digital video, and through e-mail discussions and web-based sharing.
· Producing and Sharing Information: Through the information programme materials about participatory approaches are gathered and developed, abstracted and organised in a Participation Reading Room, and shared with practitioners throughout the world, including through the web, e-mail, video and written materials. Over 4,000 articles are now abstracted and catalogued on the Participation database. We have responded to specific requests for information from practitioners, researchers and others in about 70 countries, including sending out over 5.000 tailor-made information packages, and 12,000 standard packages, including about 2,000 topic packs on differing participatory approaches. Over 600 people visited the Participation Reading Room in person, and thousands used the web site, through which documents are increasingly being shared.
During the period, support was provided for production and dissemination of eight books on participation, most with extensive case studies and contributions from southern contributors. A number of other publications documented and examined new approaches to participation in areas such as sexual and reproductive health, governance, participatory poverty assessment, emergencies, microfinance, while others developed more conceptual and reflective critiques of its practice. Support was provided for translations in various languages, including French, Spanish and Bengali.
· Teaching and Training Activities. Information and learning from the group and its partners, contributes to the teaching and training activities. In addition the support for training and capacity building in the south, described above, additional teaching and training takes place at IDS, and with northern donor institutions (often with supplementary funding). Tailor-built training programmes have been provided for staff of DFID and SIDA, and dozens of staff from other multilateral and bilateral agencies (md. SDC), as well as international NGOs, have participated in training activities.
Participation being a topic that receives a lot of interests in many bilateral activities of SDC on all continents, IDS increasing competence and decentralised expertise through the participation network was repeatedly tapped by SDC and its partners. Backstopping to specific themes in print or electronic form at
http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/particip has been frequently asked. Some SDC projects in countries like Pakistan, India, Mozambique, Tanzania, Senegal (with regional impact) and Bolivia have maintained direct or indirect links with IDS, allowing a direct benefit of this mandate. As largest activity was the PRA regional workshop held in Islamabad in June 2000 realised by SDC Coof.
3. STRATEGIC ROLES AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES
In the future, the Participation Group is expected to maintain similar sets of activities as in the ending programme phase. However, the group was encouraged by southern partners to acknowledge their own special role at IDS, position and responsibilities and to make these clearer to all partners.
These strategic roles include:
knowledge generation, through catalysing new debates, synthesising and analysing existing experiences in the field, and conducting new research, usually in collaboration and dialogue with southern partners;
· Policy influence, especially of northern donors and institutions, through policy research, monitoring and training;
· Capacitv building (in which we ourselves also learn ) through south-south, south-north and north-south sharing, collaborative research and training;
Dissemination of ideas, lessons and approaches, and encouraging their application in practice.
The shifting context (see Introduction), as well as consultations with the Advisory Group and others, suggest some changes in how the work is being done, as well as where and with whom.
Guiding principles include:
· A greater focus on quality and depth, rather than spread and promotion;
· Building on our comparative strengths as a knowledge centre, and not attempting to cover all aspects of the participation agenda with highly diverse stakeholders throughout the globe;
· Recognising our position in an academic institution, being more proactive in developing links with other research and training institutes in the south;
· Recognising our position in the north, being more proactive in influencing the policies of northern development institutions as well as in assisting in monitoring the quality of their programmes on the ground;
· Also recognising our position in the north, being more proactive in promoting exchange on research and experiences on participation between north and south.
These guidelines, as well as others, will shape the work in each activity area. Some of the new directions are outlined below. At the same time, in order to maintain a stance of responsiveness and the capacity to seize opportunities as they arise, the Participation Group intentionally planned some 'open space' to allow for flexibility as the specific activity areas unfold.
4. PARTNERS AND PEOPLE CONCERNED
Partner in this present credit proposal is the Participation Group of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) of the University of Sussex, UK.. The Participation Group is headed by John Gaventa and comprises a total of 12 staff, including research fellows and administrative staff. Most academic staff are social scientists with a strong link to grassroots organisations. The former head, Robert Chambers, retired in 1998, but remains active as a (permanent) consultant.
The immediate output of IDS' work is of high benefit for all institutions, NGOs, donor agencies, individuals that want to apply 'participation' as a principle in their development work. The outputs are independent of sectors and applicable in every programme and project.
5. EXPECTED RESULTS AND ACTIVITIES
Key themes, and related research projects, are likely to include:
Participation beyond projects: rights, policies and governance
From participatory development to participatory governance. Increasingly there is a shift in the concept of participation from an approach used with ~beneficiaries', to a right of citizenship, and a critical ingredient in the process of democratisation. How can the quality of participatory processes be strengthened in the context of democratic governance, especially in light of the trend towards decentralisation? How can participatory approaches be used within the context of the rights-based approach to development? What are the theoretical and practical implications of linking participatory approaches to development to debates on participatory approaches to democracy and governance?
From projects to policies. As participatory processes enter the arena of governance, critical questions are also raised about how participation - especially of poor and marginalised people - can be used to affect policies. In recent years, participatory methods have been increasingly used in consultation processes that seek to influence policy formulation. What lessons from this experience might inform efforts to amplify the voices of poorer and more marginalised people within the policy process? And how do participatory forms of research link with other forms of action to go beyond voice to influence in policy processes? What strategies are needed, at which levels, to increase the effectiveness of the use of participatory approaches for policy influence?
From local and national to global decision-making. Globalisation means that increasingly the critical decisions that affect poor peoples' lives are made outside of their communities or nations. What are the intersections between increasing decentralisation, on the one hand, and globalisation on the other? How do they affect the arenas and nature of citizen action? Strengthening participation also means exploring how poor peoples' priorities and voices can link to these global actors and arenas. New approaches are needed through which poor people can understand, assess and influence global policies, be they world trade policies that affect their local livelihoods, or the policies of multilateral donors that affect their local development projects. Work on the 23 country Consultations With the Poor project for the WDR 2000/1 has taught some early lessons about linking local knowledge to global discussions, but these must be deepened.
The building blocks of participation: enhancing personal, organisational and institutional change
Returning to the grassroots - scaling down to scale up. Experiences of scaling up during the 1990s have begun also to point to the importance of strengthening organisations of the poor, who participate beyond voicing their concerns to advocating and acting on them, who have the capacity and strength to monitor larger institutions and to hold them to account, and who can link micro realities with larger macro political processes. There is need to place renewed focus on developing the capacity of such organisations to initiate, support and sustain participatory processes, linking these processes with sustainable and democratic local organisations as the building blocks for larger change.
From policy to practice: The challenge of creating supportive and enabling institutional environments for participation in development has become ever more evident as participatory approaches have been increasingly adopted within large-scale programmes and by large organisations. It has become equally clear that the adoption of participatory approaches and policies is necessary but not sufficient to foster their effective use to improve the lives and livelihoods of poorer people. There is a need for more in-depth documentation of processes that have supported and enabled the institutionalisation of participatory practice, and for research processes that open spaces for reflection and analysis within organisations seeking to implement participatory approaches. In the next phase of work in this area, IDS will seek to explore the possibilities of shifting the mode of engagement with organisations towards a process of co-operative enquiry, within which action learning agendas feed from and into ongoing operational work.
From methodological spread to critical analysis. The last decade has seen exciting innovations and a tremendous spread of participatory tools and methods, and a wholesale but often uncritical adoption of participatory approaches. There is a need for a more critical stance - to improve the capacity of ourselves and others for reflection and analysis; to think not only of methods but also of the purposes and values which they promote; to deepen and consolidate knowledge of what works, for whose benefit, to what ends, and why. In encouraging these critical and theoretical reflections, our stance must be proactive, to promote the quality and rigor of intellectual and methodological debate, and to encourage continuous reflective praxis.
Assessing, monitoring and deepening the quality and impact of participation
From promotion to assessment monitoring the quality and impact of participation. The current project on 'Pathways to Participation' has shown a significant need to focus on issues of quality in implementation of participatory programmes at all levels. New methods and approaches are needed for monitoring and improving the quality of participation, including the development of quality indicators and methods for assessment and accountability. There is also a need to document and assess the impacts and outcomes of programmes that have adopted participatory approaches, learning from failures and 'bad practice' as well as from successes. What difference do participation policies and approaches make to material and non-material outcomes that affect the poor? Which approaches make the most difference under which conditions?
Participation for policy influence: In recent years, participatory methods have been increasingly used in consultation processes that seek to influence policy formulation. What lessons from this experience might inform efforts to amplify the voices of poorer and more marginalised people within the policy process? How do participatory forms of research link with other forms of knowledge to go beyond voice to influence in policy processes? What strategies are needed, at which levels, to increase the effectiveness of the use of participatory approaches? Where the boundaries of their effectiveness and use?
A number of issues come together in a proposed project on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper process, the latest framework devised by the World Bank and IMF for promoting the pro-poor use of debt relief and concessional loans in the poorest countries. In a February 2000 workshop at IDS on the PRSP, which brought together NGOs, the Bank, and donors, a clear need emerged for independent projects that would monitor the PRSP process, as well as build the capacity of local groups to engage effectively with it. As a follow-up to that workshop, a design is proposed to coordinate and take part in a PRSP monitoring project in conjunction with partners in several countries. The project would share its lessons with national decision-making bodies and international financial institutions, enhance capacity for in-country PRSP monitoring, and improve the possibilities and quality of participation in future PRSP processes. In this project tools and approaches will be developed that can be used for monitoring and affecting the quality of other large-scale participatory programmes, as well as to learn more about the conditions under which participation can be scaled up effectively for policy influence.
New innovations and new learning
One area in which new thinking is needed is that of conflict: both in terms of managing and resolving conflicts within participatory processes and exploring the use of participatory approaches in contexts in which conflict gives rise to complex emergencies. Proposed work in this area builds on lessons from previous work and on pilot activities to explore the potential of further engagement, and will include:
Participation and Conflict Management: A key impediment to the effective implementation of participatory processes is managing and resolving the conflicts which inevitably emerge amongst multiple stakeholders who hold different interests. Increasingly, lessons from various projects on scaling up participation, participation in emergencies, participation and local governance - all point to the need to understand more both about how to manage conflict in participatory processes, and conversely, how participatory tools and methods can be used to manage and negotiate conflict situations. Following on from work on participation and natural resources, the use of participatory approaches in addressing conflict over resource issues in protected areas will be explored, with a special focus on Mesoamerica and Amazonia. The work links also to concerns over conservation and development in indigenous regions.
Participation in Situations of Conflict Drawing on pilot workshops in Africa which has been going on in collaboration with Action Aid, IDS will continue to explore the use of participatory methods in areas affected by emergencies and by large scale ethnic conflicts.
Reconfiguring current activities
Repositioning participation through these thematic activities requires a reconfiguration of the current activities, so as to provide effective support and enhance synergies between them.
Capacity Building and network support The emphasis on more in-depth work and on strengthening quality in the implementation of participatory projects and programmes has significant implications for the networking strategy. While continuing some work to support learning and capacity building for the use of participatory approaches more widely, IDS will seek to deepen partnerships with key southern contacts primarily around the thematic areas of work, and through collaborative projects. Many of the current networks came out of the PRA tradition. Expansion of the programme to include other approaches will require re-assessing the current network, and identifying and adding partners around specific issues, such as governance or policy influence. While in the past, the network has consisted of NGOs, local consultants, and participation practitioners, partnerships in the future may also involve universities, governments, and advocacy groups. Special attention will be made to the development of 'interest networks' (e.g. around governance, monitoring and evaluation, or health) using the capacity of new technologies, as well as greater regional networking of national and local groups.
In formation sharing and learning: While IDS shall continue to document and share information about participation, they will become much more focused upon the key areas and themes in which IDS is working, and also work to link the information sharing with our broader aim to promote participatory learning. Already in the current period, IDS has begun this shift from spreading large amounts of information on many subjects to many people, to a greater focus on quality information on certain key subjects in which they have particular strength.
Learning through Training: While IDS produces and shares a great deal of information on participation, they know rather little about how people actually learn participatory skills, attitudes and behaviours. In the next phase, IDS will also focus more deliberately on 'learning about learning' in order to be able to be more strategic both in how to share information and documentation, and how to strengthen teaching and training programmes.
IDS will explore possibilities of non-traditional learning programmes, such as reflective practice or experientially based courses for practitioners, which would enable more southern researchers and activists to reflect systematically upon their work, and to study new approaches, in the context of further education. While such programmes would seek separate funding, this programme could support design and piloting of these new approaches.
Topic Workshops: During the current period, one of the comparative advantages of IDS has been the ability to convene international topic workshops, often linking practitioners, government staff and donors, on issues of strategic or timely importance. This role will be continued. Workshops under consideration include: adopting participatory approaches in universities and training centres; participation and conflict; participatory assessments of rights, governance and citizenship, and a workshop on organisational change for champions of participation in large organisations. In addition, in response to their requests, IDS will co-operate with the Uganda Participatory Poverty Assessment project in planning and organising a pan-African PPA meeting in Africa to draw lessons from PPA experience to date.
Detailed activities are listed in the annotated budget in Annex 1. The Participation Group of IDS has developed a comprehensive proposal, which complements the here mentioned themes.
6. MEANS
6.1. Project Organisation and Management
The Participation Group at IDS currently consists of a team of 12 including 5 fellows who are supported at approximately 50% each through this programme, 4 research officers, an administrator, secretary, and research assistants. Work is carried out with valuable feedback from an international advisory group (SDC is represented), and in collaboration with other organisations and partners.
6.2. Overall Budget
An amount of approximately £600,000 a year is needed to support the programme, of which a significant percentage is channelled to southern partners in the form of grants for networking and training, topic workshops, visiting fellowships, and information resources. This base of relatively flexible programmatic funding has enabled IDS to catalyse other projects and initiatives, to leverage support, to seize opportunities, and to influence projects to happen in a way that they might not have otherwise (e.g. the pilot support for the Consultations with the Poor Project.)
So far, the programme has been supported more or less equally by three donors, SDC, Sida, and DFID. Each of the key funding partners has expressed tentative support for continuation of funding, based on review of earlier concept notes, though levels have not been finalised. Due to the increased expenditures proposed, IDS is seeking a fourth partner in the programme, who would also loin the Advisory Group.
6.3. Budget
The contribution of SDC to the above mentioned budget to IDS' Participation Group and its distribution within SDC is as follows:
The overall budget (in CHF)
2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003
FDLW 350'000 350'000 350'000
Asia I 150,000 150'000 150'000
Total 500'000 500'000 500'000
The Agriculture Division (FDLW) is taking the lead in coordinating the mandate and is responsible for a proper handing over to a new organisational unit after the restructuring of the Technical Department.
7. GENERAL ASSESSMENT
· Synergies with SDC activities in Pakistan, India, Mozambique, Tanzania, and others are encouraged to be further exploited. The respective interest is expressed by the contributing divisions of SDC. Synergies occur not only through organised common activities, but often through direct links of project/programme personnel with IDS and its network, without passing through SDC per se.
· The SDC headquarters based working group 'PLA' (Participatory Learning and Action) meets once per year, discussing and debating over a relevant theme with IDS staff. Such an event was last organised in October 1999 with Robert Chambers and John Gaventa presenting their work with the World Bank 'The Voices of the Poor'.
· Through regularly held courses at IDS that several SDC staff have attended in the last years, there is an additional opportunity to acquire IDS' expertise for own activities in the field.
· IDS' strategy to transfer new generated knowledge through its network to the South, makes its position in the North-South relationship a very strong one. On the other hand, it results in the fact that IDS is little known in the South. The participation group remains small, representing a critical mass of scientific competence, but assuring that the results are applied.
· The network in the South, consisting of projects, NGOs and public partners considers IDS as the strategic leader, assuring that quality of participation issues remain implemented and not theory.
8. CONSULTATION
A consultation of this credit proposal with all Geographical Divisions at SDC headquarters has lead to the present credit proposal and commitment. The lead of the mandate remains with the Agriculture Division that is representing SDC and all contributing divisions in the annual Advisory Group Meeting.
9. MONITORING & EVALUATION
During the current period, the programme has benefited from ongoing processes of evaluation and assessment, at several levels. These have included:
· Self-evaluation and assessment by the group: A great deal of emphasis has been placed on internal self-evaluation and learning. This has included review and assessment of accomplishments in regular retreats of the staff, and reflective learning meetings around key themes that the group has been encountering in its work. In addition, the Group benefits enormously from 8 multi-stakeholder Advisory Group (made up of 12 people from southern networks, donor agencies, other northern research organisations) which meets annually to review the Group's work, to serve as a sounding board for new ideas, to give critical feedback, and to advise on the overall role and mission.
· Encouraging critical reflection by practitioners: In addition to reflections and self-learning about its own work, the Group has also supported a series of critical reflections with practitioners in the south, through its Pathways to Participation project. In depth-workshops and projects on the spread and practice of PRA have been sponsored in Kenya, Nepal, and Mexico, with further work in India and Vietnam In April 2000, over 55 PRA practitioners gathered for a retreat to critically assess their work over the last decade, to articulate underlying values for the work, and to develop new directions for the future.
· External review and consultation: The self-evaluation and reflection activities have recently been supplemented through a process of external review and consultation. In March 2000, two external reviewers were commissioned to review the groups accomplishments, especially in reference to the Programme prepared for DFID. A second phase of the review will consult with key stakeholders in various aspects of the programme's work on the contributions it has made, and on future roles and work.
In this proposal, funds are included in the budget for similar ongoing evaluation activities as well as a more summative evaluation at the end of the period. These evaluations will contribute also to the development of plans for gradually diversifying our sources of support, or for passing activities on to others, in order for the programme to become more sustainable over time.
10. ANTRAG
Aufgrund der vorausgegangenen Ausführungen beantragen wir, einen Betrag von
CHF 1 '500'000.-
für die Finanzierung des PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH, LEARNING AND ACTION - IDS für eine Phase von 3 Jahren zu genehmigen. Die Verpflichtung erfolgt zulasten des Rahmenkredites zur Weiterführung der technischen Zusammenarbeit und Finanzhilfe zugunsten von Entwicklungsländern von 4.0 Mia. Franken gemäss BB vom 1 6.Juni 1999. Die sich aus dieser Verpflichtung ergebenden Zahlungen sind zulasten des Budgets der DEZA, Rubrik 202-3600-002 vorzunehmen.
