The document outlines the significance of people's participation in development since the 1960s, emphasizing its role in participatory democracy and effective governance. It discusses various forms of citizen involvement in decision-making and development processes, noting that such participation can help address local needs, promote accountability, and foster community engagement. Additionally, it highlights the advantages of citizen participation in both developing and developed countries, as well as its impact on governmental effectiveness and social equity.

1. Peoples Participation in Development

2. • Since 1960s the term “People’s participation” has been acquiring
growing popularity , although it has yet to achieve a fuller meaning
and depth.
• It represents a reviewed interest in the philosophy of participatory
democracy promoted by the French Political Philosopher Alexis de
Tocqueville who advocated that individual citizen participation is
the essential for the survival of a democracy, and that democracy
is undermined /fail when citizens are incapable/unable of
influencing government decisions.

3. • A state that ignores the needs and interests of large sections of the
population in setting and implementing policies is not an “effective
state”.
• Popular participation in government and development is emphasized
in the ideals of the United Nations.
• Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates
that:
Everyone has the right to take part in the government of the
country, directly or through freely chosen representatives….. The will
of the people shall be the basis of the authority of the government.

4. • The development process in a developing economy will acquire a
fuller meaning if the citizens not only associate themselves with
planning development programmes but also participate fully in their
implementation.
• People’s participation, therefore, seems to be much significance for
the proper development administration, particularly in relation to
measures which require structural changes.
• It tends to bring the government closer to the people.

5. Meaning and implications:
• People’s Participation has come to mean the direct involvement of
citizens in the process of administrative decision- making, policy
formulation, and policy implementation.
• In relation to development, it embraces all forms of action by which
they participate in the operation of development administration.
• It refers to the role of citizens as distinguished from that of public
servants ( in their official capacity) in exerting influence on the
development activities of government.

6. • People’s participation is not merely providing a certain proportion of
the cost of a particular work in cash, kind or manual labour.
• It is their full realization that all aspects of community development
are their concern and that the Government’s participation is only to
assist them where such assistance is necessary.
• It is the gradual development of their faith in the efficacy of their
own co- operative action in solving their local problems.
• UNRISD promotes the concept of people’s participation as “… the
organized efforts to increase control over the resources and
regulative institutions in given social situations on the part of groups
and movements to those hitherto excluded from such control.

7. • In practice, different countries attribute different meaning to people
or popular participation depending upon their socio- political system
and policy choices concerning the importance of economic growth,
use of scarce resources and the role of planning and market.
• These range from popular participation as a strategy to mobilize
national human resources for development to genuine transfer of
power to people and their involvement in decision- making on
matters affecting their welfare.
• Citizen participation is often used in conjunction with the term
“participatory Democracy”.
• It may range from Kebele Level ( Construction of Roads) to National
level (defence).

8. • It may involve only decision- making or extend to actual execution.
• Again, the participation may be direct ( as in community projects) or
indirect (through electoral representatives).
• Direct citizen participation is distinguished from individual
participation . Such as voting, in that most citizen participation is at
the regional or local level.
• When participation is forced from the top it becomes mobilization, a
means of getting things done.
• On the other hand, when it arises from bottom it generally focuses on
distribution, becoming also a means, from the point of view of the
groups able to participate, of obtaining a larger immediate share of the
fruits of development.

9. • Participation covers every kind of action by which citizens take part
in development.
• In a real sense, participation can only be explained when citizens
who take part in the development effort are fully conscious of
owning responsibility.
• In a narrow sense, participation consists in a convergent action by
which the citizens take part in the accomplishment of administrative
services without, however, belonging to the governing or managing
organs.
• However, in a broader sense, participation comprises all forms of
action in the form of
– Decision- Making
– Implementation and
– Evaluation
• In the right setting, it implies greater decentralization of government
power and resources.

10. Why Participation?
• People’s association with or intervention in development effort of
democratic country like Ethiopia has several advantages.
1. It promotes the interest of local people in imparting/ communicating a
new idea to programmes of which they are the beneficiaries. In other
words, participation is a means of showing, by their behaviour and
action, that they are capable of assuming responsibility.
2. It is a means of circulating/ ventilating their feelings and thoughts.
3. It offers them an opportunity to demonstrate their willingness to do
constructive work and show that they are good citizens.
4. It is a cure for the unresponsiveness and repressiveness of traditional
decision- making mechanisms

11. • It enables the citizens, especially the poor, to gain control over
decisions affecting their lives through direct participation in
programme operations.
• It is a remedy to check corrupt practices.
• Another advantage of community based programmes is that they may
be less of financial burden on governments since they may be
managed by volunteers or community- based workers.
• Moreover, People’s Participation ensures that the accruing/building up
benefits of education, health and family planning programmes, and
reach residents of remote rural areas.
• Participation of people in development efforts is gaining ground both
through voluntary agencies and non- governmental agencies.
• Perhaps this is an indication of the importance that issues of
development have drawn attention to the perception of the people.

12. • In developed countries, participation is due to citizens’ having become
conscious of their responsibility and wanting to be associated in some
way or other with the process of governmental decision-making or
action.
• In developing countries, however, participation has not gained much
momentum.
• The governments of these countries feel need to prompt people’s
participation because it helps them achieve their objectives.
• Participation in both developed and developing countries has grown
for three reasons:
1. Expansion of government responsibilities
2. Explosion of knowledge and communications
3. Perceived failure of the bureaucracy to meet the growing demands of
the people at the local level.

13. 1.Expansion of government responsibilities:
• Government have assumed increasing responsibilities in regulating
the economies,
• Planning for financial resources for accelerating development and
exploitation of natural resources.
• In social sphere they have the responsibility of improving the well-
being of the people and decreasing the level of poverty,
unemployment and disease.
• Political development relating to the Judiciary, the Legislature and the
executive and other democratic institutions as well as many other
broad aspects of development are among their other responsibilities.

14. • The government is today directly and indirectly a trader, industrialist,
financier, and entrepreneur.
• To gain acceptance for its objectives and policies particularly in
economic and social spheres, it has to rely on the citizens’ willingness
and understanding.
• As a result of the increasing functions of the state and government’s
desire to seek the cooperation of the people for its new policies and
decisions, opportunities for contact between government and people
have multiplied.
• Citizens have become very much active and asserted their right and
being heard and of voicing their opinions at various levels of
administrative action.

15. 2. Explosion of Knowledge and communication
• Today people have received an education which has made them better
able to understand the problems of life in society and a training which
has made them responsible to carry out constructive public work.
• With the expansion of communications, the means of information
have become diversified.
• These help the citizens of a modern state to exercise critical control
over its activities.

16. 3. Failure of the bureaucracy to meet the growing demands of the
Citizens
• A Continuing struggle is called for against the biases of bureaucracy
and technocracy (A form of government in which scientists and
technical experts are in control- technocracy was described as that
society in which those who govern justify themselves by appeal to
technical experts who justify themselves by appeal to scientific forms
of knowledge") which are among the most widespread and persistent
impediments to effective state support of participation.
• Against these tendencies, it is desirable that the people, through their
own participatory organizations, acquire the capacity to control public
officials and themselves undertake many of the present
responsibilities of the state.

17. Participation
• Participation in social science refers to different mechanisms for the
public to express opinions -and ideally exert influence - regarding
political, economic, management or other social decisions.
 Participatory decision making can take place along any realm/area
of human social activity, including
o Economic (i.e. Participatory Economics),
o Political (i.e. Participatory Democracy or Par polity),
o Management (i.e. Participatory Management),
o Cultural (i.e. polyculturalism) or
o familial (i.e. feminism).

18. • For well-informed participation to occur, it is argued that some
version of transparency, e.g. radical transparency, is necessary,
but not sufficient.
• It has also been argued that those most affected by a decision
should have the most say while those that are least affected should
have the least say in a top.

19. Objectives of participation
• Participation activities may be motivated from an administrative
perspective or a citizen perspective.
• From the administrative viewpoint,
– participation can build public support for activities.
– It can educate the public about an agency's activities.
– It can also facilitate useful information exchange regarding local
conditions.
– Furthermore, participation is often legally mandated.
• From the citizen viewpoint,
– participation enables individuals and groups to influence agency
decisions in a representational manner.

20. Why does Citizen Participation matter?
 Represent the public better
 Reduce the possibility of corruption by increasing transparency
 Know the interests of the people better
 Empower and educate people
 Enhance legitimacy, thus, compliance, and implementation
(effectiveness)
 Resolve public dispute better
 Correct injustice situations
 Hold public institutions more accountable
 Use local, indigenous knowledge from citizens

21. Definition of Citizen Participation
Sherry R. Arnstein
• The redistribution of power that enables the have-not citizens to be
deliberately included in the future.
- "A Ladder of Citizen Participation,” Journal of the
American Institute of Planners
James V. Cunningham
• The process of exercising power on decision making in the regional
community by non-experts/citizens
- "Citizen Participation in Public Affairs" Public
Administration Review

22. Concepts related with participation
• Civic engagement: All the many roles and activities through which
people take an active part in community life.
• Public participation: Subset of civic engagement that informs the
public and involves residents in shaping the policies that affect them.
• Collaborative governance: Subset of public participation that
involves the general public and others in informed and reasoned
discussions that seek to influence public sector decision-making.

23. Community Participation
• Community Participation is seen by some as a way for stakeholders
to influence development by
– contributing to project design
– influencing public choices and holding public institutions
accountable for the goods and services they provide.
– Some view participation as the direct engagement of affected
populations in the project cycle- assessment, design,
implementation, monitoring, and evaluation- in a variety of
forms.
• Still others consider participation an operating philosophy that puts
affected populations at the heart of humanitarian and development
activities as social actors with insights, competencies, energy, and
ideas of their own.

24. Why Engage in The Publics?
• You need the help of the publics
• You need the advice of the publics
• You need the buy-in of the publics
☞ Consensus Building to prevent & address
conflicts

25. Recommendations for Effective Public Participation
• Start early & plan carefully
• Know what you want, be flexible
• Know who is doing what
• Provide useful information
• Make meetings convenient
• Get lots of publicity