Participation empowers and mobilizes people as actors and overseers of their own development. It is one of the ends of development as well as one of the means.
Documents and Tools
Civil Society Participation in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
This report reviews the roles of civil societys in the PRSPs and makes recommendations for future practices, drawing on experiences in Ghana, Viet Nam and Zambia.
Community Forestry
FAO’s Community Forestry Unit (CFU) and the Forests, Trees, and People Programme (FTPP) offer a package of information material focused on the adoption of participatory processes in forestry.
Documents on participation
FAO’s Sustainable Development Department promotes the use of improved methods and tools that ensure the participation of all stakeholders, especially the rural poor, in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of policies, programmes and institutional measures.
UNDP’s Guide to participation
This UNDP guide moves from describing an approach to the participation concept to outlining key strategies, the methods of promoting and the institutional support for development participation.
Using technology generation and difussion for partnership
A document produced by IFAD’s Conference of Hunger and Poverty describing how technologies must be used for building bridges between research and extension institutions, NGOs and rural comunities.
The World Bank Participation Sourcebook
An on-line book citing some examples of participatory approaches and practice pointers that enable the poor to participate fully in development.
Lessons from Senegal
This case study, part of a series of documents prepared for the workshop on ‘Gender and Participation in Agricultural Development Planning’ (FAO, 1997) examines the lessons drawn from a project in Senegal which used the participatory approach in the design and implementation of a land development and management plan.
The Gateway to Development Information
This chapter from ELDIS a Gateway to Information Sources on Development and the Environment contains useful information such us methods, indicators and case studies for use in participatory monitoring and evaluation.
Resource book on participation
An on-line resource from the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) which outlines some theoretical approaches to participation in development and provides some examples and case studies of participatory experiences within the IADB framework.
Worldwide Initiatives
The Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty
This global consortium of intergovernmental, civil-society and bilateral organizations created by IFAD recognizes that establishing knowledge networks for a policy diaologue between civil organizations and networks is one of the priorities for food security and agrarian reform.
International partnership against AIDS in Africa
A strong partenership between UN, bilateral development agencies, NGOs and the private sector is needed to confront the catastrophic effects of AIDS in Africa.
Habitat agenda: popular participation and civic engagement
This document by the United Nations Centre for Human (UNHCS-HABITAT) shows how Sustainable Human Settlements Development requires the active engagement of civil society organizations, as well as the broad-based participation of all people.
Voices of youth
UNICEF devotes this section of its website to providing yputh around the world with information and the opportunity to discuss such issues as AIDS, child labour and gender.
Links
Participation: sharing our resources
This web site developed by the Informal Working Group on Participatory Approaches and Methods to Support Sustainable Livelihoods and Food Security (IWC-PA) of FAO aims to enhance the study and discussion of participation in development.
The United Nations, partners in civil society
This site shows how UN system joins together in partnership with non-governmental organizations and others in civil society to address issues of global concern.
Participation group at the Institute of Development Studies
The UK based Institute provides a comprehensive range of resources on participation, from research and documentation, to news and information on related events and networking.
Non governmental organizations and civil society in the World Bank Group
Information and views on the increasing opportunities for interaction between NGOs and civil society and the World Bank are provided on this site.
Community participation
"An effective communication programme requires community participation", a premise advanced and explored by UNICEF through various on-line examples.
International Network on Participatory Irrigation Management
The mission of this network is to facilitate Participatory Irrigation Management through the exchange of people, ideas and training material.
Center for Indigenous Knowledge for Agriculture and Rural Development
CIKARD, an initiative of Iowa State University, aims to use the knowledge of farmers and rural people around the world to facilitate participatory and sustainable approaches to development.
Media for development and democracy
A full list of links to websites related to development communication organizations.
