Abstract
With the overall goal of contributing to enhancing the participation of grassroots level people, communities and villages, and also sometimes even macro-level institutions, this chapter discusses the many meanings of participation, emphasizing the importance of and need for genuine participation; explores the participation of people in goals and target-oriented development; and suggests seven strategies aimed at ensuring that genuine participation occurs in social development practice. It also argues that, to enable and enhance community participation, national and international institutions need to participate in a non-oppressive and non-exploitative way by improving governance systems at all levels that empower communities and facilitate participation in their own development. In that sense, both bottom-up and top-down participation, with perhaps a different emphasis to that commonly made, are crucial in future social development.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Amin, S. (2006, March). The millennium development goals: A critique from the south. Monthly Review, 2006, 1–15.
Arnstein, S. (1969). A ladder of citizen participation. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35(4), 216–224.
Barker, R. L. (1999). The social work dictionary (4th ed.). Washington, DC: NASW.
Beresford, P., & Croft, S. (2000). User participation. In The Blackwell encyclopaedia of social work. Oxford: The Blackwell.
Cornwall, A. (2008). Unpacking ‘Participation’: Models, meanings and practices. Community Development Journal. doi:10.1093/cdj/bsn010.
Cornwall, A., & Brock, K. (2005). What do buzzwords do for development policy? A critical look at ‘participation’, ‘empowerment’ and ‘poverty reduction’. Third World Quarterly, 26(7), 1043–1060.
Cox, D., & Pawar, M. (2013). International social work: Issues, strategies and programs. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hollnsteiner, M. R. (1977). Community participation in the planning of human settlements. Assignment Children, 43, 11–47.
Hollnsteiner, M. R. (1982). The participatory imperative in primary health care. Assignment Children, 59/60, 35–56.
Hornby, A. S. (1989). Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
International Movement ATD Fourth World and Franciscans International. (2015). Making Human rights work for people living in extreme poverty: A handbook for implementing the UN guiding principles on extreme poverty and human rights. Geneva: International Movement ATD Fourth World and Franciscans International.
Jennings, R. (2000). Participatory development as new paradigm: The transition of development professionals. Prepared for the “Community based reintegration and rehabilitation in post-conflict settings” Conference, Washington, DC. http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/cross-cutting_programs/transition_initiatives/pubs/ptdvlOOO.pdf.
Kruk, M. E., Prescott, M. R., de Pinho, H., & Galea, S. (2011). Equity and the child health Millennium Development Goal: The role of pro-poor health policies. J Epidemiol Community Health, 65(4), 327–333. doi:10.1136/jech.2009.096081.
Kyamusugulwa, P. M. (2013). Participatory development and reconstruction: A literature review. Third World Quarterly, 34(7), 1265–1278. doi:10.1080/01436597.2013.824653.
Majeres, J. (1977). Popular participation in planning and decision making for basic needs fulfilment. Geneva: ILO.
Maltby, T. (2002). Participation. In P. Alcock, A. Erskine, & M. May (Eds.), The Blackwell dictionary of social policy. Oxford: Blackwell.
Martins, P., Glennie, J., & Mustapha, S. (2013, October). Game changers: Global policy priorities for the post-2015 agenda. London: ODI.
Midgley, J. (1986). Community participation, social development and the state. London: Methuen.
Muraleedharan, S. (2014, May 17). Democratic decentralisation and citizenship. Economic & Political Weekly, 49(20), 69–74.
Parry, G. (1972). The idea of political participation. In G. Parry(Ed.), Participation in politics. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Pateman, C. (1970). Participation and democratic theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Pawar, M. (2005). Participatory welfare: Conceptual and practice issues. In M. Pawar (Ed.), Capacity building for participation: Social workers’ thoughts and reflections. CRSR/ILWS: Wagga Wagga.
Pawar, M. (2009). Community development in China: Problems and prospects. In B. Parikshit & Y. Bandara (Eds.), WTO Accession and Social Economic Development in China. Oxford: Chandos Publishing.
Pawar, M. (2010). Community development in Asia and the Pacific. New York: Routledge.
Pearse, A., & Stiefel, M. (1979). Inquiry into participation: A research approach. Geneva: UNRISD.
Pearse, A., & Stiefel, M. (1981). Debater comments on inquiry into participation: A research approach. Geneva: UNRISD.
Pope Francis. (2015). Pope Francis’ speech to United Nations. Retrieved September 26, 2015, from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/full-text-pope-francis-speech-united-nations/
Pretty, J. (1995). Participatory learning for sustainable agriculture. World Development, 23(8), 1247–1263.
Richardson, A. (1983). Participation. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Sinwell, L. (2010). The Alexandra development forum: The tyranny of invited participatory spaces? Transformation, 74, 23–46.
Sinwell, L. (2011). Rethinking South Africa’s transition: From transformative to mainstream approaches to participatory development. African Studies, 70(3), 359–375. doi:10.1080/00020184.2011.628798.
Thomsen, S., Biao, X., Kusnanto, H., Mavalankar, D., Målqvist, M., Nawi Ng, N., et al. (2013). The world we want: Focus on the most disadvantaged. Global Health Action, 6(10). doi:10.3402/gha.v6i0.20919.
United Nations. (1975). Popular participation in decision making for development. New York: United Nations.
United Nations. (1981). Popular participation as a strategy for promoting community level action and national development. New York: United Nations.
United Nations. (2015). Millennium development goals report 2015. New York: United Nations.
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. (1980). The quest for a unified approach to development. Geneva: UNRISD.
Verba, S. (1961). Small groups and political behaviour. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Verba, S., Nie, N. H., & Kim, J. (1978). Participation and political equality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ward, P. (2010). Participatory development in Jamaica: Does it work in practice? Social and Economic Studies, 59(4), 167–196.
White, A. T. (1982). Why community participation? Assignment Children, 59(60), 17–34.
White, S. C. (1996). Depoliticising development: The uses and abuses of participation. Development in Practice, 6(1), 6–15.
World Bank. (1996). Statement on participation/sourcebook—Couldn’t find only the reference to the sourcebook 1996. The World Bank Participation Sourcebook. Washington, DC: The World Bank, Environmentally Sustainable Development.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pawar, M. (2017). The Need for Enhanced Community Participation. In: Midgley, J., Pawar, M. (eds) Future Directions in Social Development. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-44598-8_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-44598-8_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-44597-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-44598-8
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)