Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Understanding Participation
S.Rengasamy
Madurai Institute of Social Sciences
S.Rengasamy - Understanding Participation
Understanding
Citizen Participation / Community Participation
People’s Participation / Public Participation
Popular Participation / Citizen’s Involvement
Co intelligence / Co creation
Stakeholder’s Participation
People are like numerals “1”[one] and the
government is like “0”[zero]. The value of
zeroes placed after “1” [one] increases but
zeroes without numerical “1” have no value
-Vinobaji
Influenced by the political debates of the late 1960s more radical approaches to community
work became influential. 'Instead of As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is,
seeking to help deprived communities to not as I would like it to be The real action is in the
improve their social and environmental enemy's reaction. The enemy properly goaded and
circumstances, the new community work guided in his reaction will be your major strength
- Saul Alinsky
activists urged that people take direct
political action to demand changes and improvements'. Saul Alinsky was especially influential.
He had a history of mobilizing and organizing grass roots campaigns and he caught many
people's imaginations through his evident commitment and experience, and his ability to
articulate his thoughts in catchy phrases
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S.Rengasamy - Understanding Participation
One United Nations document defined community participation as: The creation of
opportunities to enable all members of a community to actively contribute to and influence the
development process and to share equitably in the fruits of development.
This is a very general definition of participation and raises as many questions as it answers.
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Meaning of Participation
In theory, mental participation is possible by identifying oneself with groups and institutions
without coming to any overt action. In the context of community organization, participation
will be looked upon as an overt act or set of acts that can be observed and that can be of
relevance in the process of planned development.
In this context attention will be given to participatory behavior that consists of one or all the
following activities:
Joining gatherings of a group or groups.
Involving oneself in discussions of a group
Involving oneself in the organizational aspects of the participation process such as:
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Participation means… in its broadest sense, to sensitize people and thus, to increase the
receptivity and ability of the rural people to respond to development programs, as well as to
encourage local initiatives -- Uma Lele.
Participation fatigue
Participation or consultation „fatigue‟ is
With regard to rural development … participation caused by lack of action resulting from
includes people‟s involvement in decision making discussions rather than the discussions
process, implementing programs… their sharing in the themselves. Why should people spend
benefits of development programs, and their involvement precious time describing their experience
and explaining their ideas if nothing
in efforts to evaluate such programs – FAN. Lisk actually changes as a result?
Community involvement means that people, who have both the right and the duty to participate
in solving their own problems, have greater responsibilities in assessing their needs, mobilizing
local resources and suggesting new solutions, as well as creating and maintaining local
organizations – W.H.O.
People aimed in the participatory process
Particular professional association (Dr, Ers, etc.)
Participation is considered to be an active Pressure groups (Chamber of Commerce, Trade
process, meaning that the person or group in Union, etc.)
question takes initiatives and asserts his / her or Clientele groups (Farmers, etc.)
[“Except on the Election Day general public does not
its autonomy to do so. -- Md. A. Rahman. exist‟]
Each agency must identify the ‘Public’ relevant to it
Participation…means the organized efforts to and address them accordingly.
increase control over resources and regulative
institutions in given social situations, on the part of groups and movements of those hither to
excluded form such control – Pearse and Stiefel.
People Resist Change When . . . “Public participation is any process that involves the
It is not understood public in problem solving, planning, policy setting, or
• It is imposed decision-making and uses public input to make
• It is perceived as threatening
decisions.
• It has risks greater than its potential
benefits, or it interferes with other
priorities It is a process through which people who will be
There is more than one way to affected by or interested in a decision – those with a
involve citizens . . . stake in the outcome – get a chance to influence its
Direct Mail, New Releases, Website, content before it is made . . .”
Displays/Exhibits
Public Education Meetings
Opinion Surveys, Public Hearings,
“Citizen participation is a purposeful activity of
Focus Groups, Open House citizens taking part in governmental decision-making
Citizen Advisory Committee, outside the electoral process. Through citizen
Visioning participation, citizens can advise elected officials and
Referenda, Citizen Planning in turn, elected officials can advise citizens.”
Committee or Commission
Participation is a way of viewing the world and acting
in it. It is about a commitment to help create the conditions which lead to significant
empowerment of those who at present have little control over the forces that condition their lives.
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Administrators Citizens
Callousness, aloofness, haughtiness, suspicion Ignorance, indifference, Reluctance Fear &
and resentment of administrators towards the Recrimination, Sympathetic understanding of the
citizens requests of demands, Administrators limitations, low percentage of enlightened
properly respond to the needs & demands of the citizens, High degree of parasitic dependence,
public, Extraneous influences affecting the day to Low propensity to respect public property &
day administration, Delays in the formulation of public authority, Citizens non interest in
policies, universality of low standard of conduct acquiring knowledge about government
in public life
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5.Functional People participate by forming groups to meet predetermined objectives related to the
Participation project, which can involve the development or promotion of externally initiated social
organization. Such involvement does not tend to be at early stages of project cycles
or planning, but rather after major decisions have been made. These institutions tend
to be dependent on external initiators and facilitators, but may become self –
dependent.
6.Interactive People participate joint analysis, which leads to action plans and the formation of new
Participation local institutions or the strengthening of existing ones. It tends to involve
interdisciplinary methodologies that seek multiple perspective and make use of
systematic and structured learning processes. These groups take control over local
decisions, and so people have a stake in maintaining structures or practices.
7.Self – People participate by taking initiatives independent of external institutions to change
Mobilization systems. Such self – initiated mobilization and collective action may or may not
challenge existing inequitable distributions of wealth and power.
Manipulative participation - Pretending– representatives only
1 – 4 – achievements are likely to have no positive lasting effect on people’s lives.
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Types of Participation
Figure 1
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Classification of Participation
Classification Principle Types
1. Degree of voluntariness Free Participation
Spontaneous
included
Forced Participation
Legislative Force
Socio economic condition
Customary participation
2. Way of Involvement Direct Participation
Indirect Participation
3.Involvement in the planned Complete Participation
development process Partial Participation
4.Level of organization Organized Participation
Unorganized Participation
Reasons in favor of Community
5.Intensity of Participatory Intensive Participation
Participation
Activities Extensive Participation
More will be accomplished
6.Range of activities than can Unlimited Participation
Services can be provided at
be influenced Limited Participation
lower cost
7.Degree of effectiveness Effective Participation
Participation has an intrinsic
Complete
value for participants
Partial
Ineffective Participation Participants are catalysts for
8.Who is participating? Members of the local further development efforts
community Participation leads to a sense
Local residents organized on of responsibility for the project
the basis of territory Participation guarantees that a
Local residents organized on felt need is involved
the basis of common interest Participation ensures things are
Local leaders done in right way
Government Personnel Participation ensures use of
Outsiders indigenous knowledge of
9.Objective and style of Participation in Locality expertise
Participation development. Freedom from dependence on
Participation in Social Planning. professionals
Participation in Social Action People are conscientized.
(Long-term) Objectives of There are many different ways to think of and explain
participation public participation processes. Participation as a part
Stronger legitimacy of the of a political process. There is no one universal public
decisions participation strategy and no one universal public
Decrease in the alienation of the participation handbook could be developed for the
public from the process of great diversity of cases of public participation in the
governing world. In countries with different legal frameworks
Rise in the activeness of the strategies for involvement of stakeholders and public
society at large into decision-making processes need to be
Decisions with better quality different.
Generally better awareness about
decisions
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The principle resource available for responding to climate change impacts is people
themselves and their local knowledge and expertise.
Participatory work takes a multi-track approach. It can combine information from
many different sources, qualitative and quantitative data and different phases of a
process. It is therefore perfect for dealing with complex issues where there are
diverse opinions.
The process of working and achieving things together can strengthen communities.
It can reinforce local organization, building up confidence, skills, capacity to co-
operate, consciousness, awareness and critical appraisal. In this way it increases
people‟s potential for reducing their vulnerability. It empowers people more
generally by enabling them to tackle other challenges, individually and collectively.
Participation in the planning and implementation of projects by stakeholders
accords with people‟s rights to participate in decisions that affect their lives. It is
therefore an important part of democratization in society and is increasingly
demanded by the public.
Participatory approaches may be more cost effective, in the long term, than
externally driven initiatives, partly because they are more likely to be sustainable
and because the process allows the ideas to be tried and tested and refined before
adoption.
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