Proof of Theorem 4.4

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UNIT 2 PARTICIPATORY PLANNING

39 implementation’ (DCLG). It is more than just public participation;

rather it is a spectrum of processes involving, engagement, negotiation, pre-mediation and mediation. The use of participatory methods and tools has become a common practice in the field of educational planning. According to Oltheten (1999), participatory planning is the initial step in the definition of a common agenda for development by local community and external entity or entities.

3.2 Purpose and Features of Participatory Planning

The purpose of participatory planning is to create a platform for learning rather than plunging directly into problem solving.

The process is expected to enhance:

• identification of the felt needs of the people

• bringing forth consensus

• the empowerment of local disadvantaged groups

• integration of local knowledge systems into project design

• two-way learning process between the project and local people

• political commitment and support

• accountability in local governance.

Salient Features

The planning process is expected to produce two sets of results:

1. Participatory planning should generate a two-way learning process, which will shape project interventions to local needs opportunities and constraints in the short run.

2. This learning process should lead to local empowerment and effective support at the institutional level in the long run.

These are considered preconditions for strengthening both institutional capacity for decentralised planning and local planning capacity.

3.3 Tools of Participatory Planning

The common tools available for participatory planning include:

1. Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA): This can be defined as a qualitative survey methodology using a multi-discipline team to formulate problems for research and development. It involves external experts teaming up with local community in a process of knowledge sharing.

40

2. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA): This evolved from RRA. PRA is a label given to the growing family of participatory approaches and methods that emphasise local knowledge and enable local people to make their own appraisal, analysis and plans. This tool is efficient in terms of both time and money.

PRA technique is used to gather enough information to make the necessary recommendations and decisions.

3.4 Steps in Participatory Planning

1. Conduct a dialogue and feedback process between citizens and local power holders to identify the needs of the people. The processes are:

• mobilisation of people

• adopting small group approach

• preparation of a model agenda for the dialogue and feedback

• adopt a semi- structured questionnaire approach derived from the PRA techniques for discussions.

2. Assessment of the local resources and problems and accordingly formulate development reports. The processes are to:

• generate a comprehensive database for every locality for local level planning;

• identify significant ecological variations in the community through RRA and PRA; and

• prepare development reports that includes the information about local economic, social, geographical, and human resources information.

3. Preparation of project proposals through specific task forces.

This could be a common project format that clearly defines the objectives, beneficiaries, activities, organisations involved, financial analysis, assessment and monitoring arrangement.

4. Formulation of local plans by elected bodies. The processes are:

• choice of the projects and programmes to be included in the annual plans;

• design of the structure of plan document and the procedures for its adoption by the decision makers; and

• adoption of resolution by the elected representatives of the local bodies that enunciates the inter-sectoral and the intra-sectoral activities.

41 5. Formulation of plans at the higher levels. The processes are:

• higher levels have to coordinate, integrate, and fill in gaps of the local plans; and

• integration of local level plans with the block or district level plans.

6. Appraisal and approval of plans by an expert committee.

4.0 CONCLUSION

Planning is essential to the administrative process. It is important for stakeholders in education to be involved at the planning stage. Planning has been identified as the process that administrators use to select appropriate goals and course of action. For effectiveness, planning is to be jointly done by important members of any organisation. This is to create a platform whereby everybody within the organisation will learn and accept the responsibility and commitment for such plans.

5.0 SUMMARY

Planning decision is primarily the responsibility of a leader but such decisions are not always made in a vacuum, other stakeholders are always usually given opportunity to become involved in the process.

Participatory Planning (PP) process is expected to produce both a short-term and a long-short-term result and they are supposed to strengthen institutional capacity for both decentralised and local planning. The major tools are the Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) and the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). Six major steps are identified in PP that culminated in the appraisal-approval of plans.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Describe the major function of Participatory Planning.

2. When should the educational planner use the Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) and the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)?

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Oltheten, T. M.P. (1999). “Participatory Approaches to Planning for Community Forestry, A Synthesis Report”, Forests, Trees and People Programme, Forestry Department Working Paper No. 2.

Tufte, T. & Mefalopulos, P. (2009). Participatory Communication: A Practical Guide. World Bank Working Paper No. 170.

Washington D.C.: The World Bank.

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UNIT 3 PARTICIPATORY COMMUNICATION