Question

2)   Community participation

Answer 1

Community participation can be loosely defined as the involvement of people in a commu- nity in projects to solve their own problems. People cannot be forced to 'participate' in projects which affect their lives but should be given the opportunity where possible.

Community participation is provided and facilitated by various legal provisions. In many countries constitution provides the basic framework for empowerment of both the urban local government and the citizens. The mechanism of creation of Wards Committees, local groups, self help groups etc provides the structure for citizens’ participation. Institutions of local government are highly participatory, primarily by virtue of their close interface with local communities. It enables ownership of local development initiatives, which contributes to successful implementation of local development initiatives. Participation, in order to be meaningful, requires institutional capacity of the local governments to come up to the aspirations of local communities. Fiscal strength constitutes the most important parameter of institutional capacity. Citizen and Community participation, therefore, becomes an imperative in strengthening fiscal strength of local government through generation of local government revenue and efficient allocation of the locally raised resources to various local development initiatives. Community Participation aims at involving the citizens in municipal functions, e.g., setting priorities, budgeting provisions, etc. They provide for the participation of citizens in the decision making process on local issues.

Types of Community Participation

Participation can be viewed from different perspectives and there are several types of participation. They include:

• Passive Participation: People participate by being told what is going to happen or has already happened through unilateral announcement by administration.
• Participation in Information Giving: People participate by answering questions posted by extractive researchers using questionnaire surveys or similar approaches and do not have the opportunity to influence proceedings.
• Participation by Consultation:People participate by being consulted, and external people listen to views and may modify these in the light of people’s responses but do not involve them in decision-making.
• Participation for Material Incentives:People participate by providing resources, for example labour, in return for food, cash, or other material incentives, yet people have no stake in prolonging activities when the incentives end.
• Functional Participation: People participate by forming groups to meet predetermined objectives related to the project after major decisions have been made.
• Interactive Participation: People participate in joint analysis, development of action plans, and formation or strengthening of local institutions.
• Self-mobilisation: People participate by taking initiatives independent of external institutions to change systems. They develop contacts with external institutions for resources and the technical advice they need, but retain control over how resources are used.