Today.Az » Analytics » Participatory Stimulus
09 February 2015 [14:21] - Today.Az
The election results
in Greece have again
elevated the debate
across Europe between
proponents of
austerity and
stimulus. Which
approach – either
constricting public
spending, including
projects that promote
sustainable growth, or
increasing this
funding, even through
borrowing – will
improve troubled
economies and create
jobs and new wealth
for communities and
families?
This is in reality a
global question,
currently echoed in
two further examples;
namely U.S. President
Obama’s new proposals
to secure and expand
the middle class, and
the options facing
Arab Spring
governments as they
strive to outpace
public discontent and
potential political
upheaval.
There is indeed an
alternative, third way
approach that has
ascended in the global
field of international
development, but that
is regularly
overlooked by
governments as they
create their own
national development
policies.
Participatory
development is an
approach to economic
stimulus that would
see thousands of
smaller projects at
the local level that
communities identify
and control, instead
of fewer, large-scale
costly projects with
higher associated
risks.
Participatory stimulus
in the form of human
development projects
is ideally suited to
help shorten
recessions and promote
growth in two ways.
First, people’s
ability to adapt to
change is increased,
as the process builds
their practical and
critical thinking
skills and confidence.
Second, economic
diversity is created
with lower, shared
risks on investments
in smaller project
costs and new
partnerships,
including community
contributions of work
and materials.
In this model,
communities exist in
close geographical
proximity to one
another, their members
interacting and
creating organizations
that reflect their
local interests and
identities and that
manage development
projects utilizing
internal and external
resources to improve
local conditions.
Both the timescale and
the level of
involvement are of
critical importance
for the success of
sustainable human
development projects.
In terms of the
former, it has been
found that the
greatest benefits
accrue for local
communities where such
projects are
implemented as quickly
as possible after the
initial idea has been
agreed upon.
With regard to the
latter, the premise is
that the timing of
meetings, project
implementation and the
overall development
process rests with the
people – acting in
communities – who
identify problems,
find and implement
solutions and benefit
from the initiatives
thus created. It has
been found that when
local communities
function in this way,
performing their own
investigation,
analysis and
management of
projects, their
knowledge-base
(critically built
during the
data-generating and
information-sharing
process) is directly
relevant to the
outcome.
A methodology
with proven results
The participatory
approach has been
applied with success
in a wide variety of
situations. In rural
areas, improvements
have taken place in
farming systems, food
production, natural
resource and protected
area management,
cooperatives, land use
and sanitation. In
the sphere of business
and public services,
improvements have been
noted in
infrastructural
projects, poverty
alleviation,
technological
development,
architectural planning
and community
policing.
There are significant
increases in access
and empowerment for
the disabled, disease
control, health
education and
nutrition.
Participatory methods
assist in formal and
informal education,
experiential learning
and communication,
adult education and –
on college campuses –
increasing student
involvement in
academic decisions,
university-community
partnership, gender
and youth development
and in overcoming
racial prejudice and
other forms of
discrimination.
Improvement has been
noted too in the
fields of disaster
management,
peace-building and the
work of welfare
organizations.
Finally, participatory
methodology is cited
as a crucial factor in
increased success in
terms of
organizational
development, building
civil society, project
evaluation, policy
development and
advocacy.
Political
theory and practical
application
In political terms,
participatory
development can be
characterized as a
third way social
movement due to its
dualisms or
wide-ranging,
seemingly
contradictory
outcomes. For
example, interests
that could be
considered to be
mutually exclusive –
such as advancing
development and
protecting the
environment – are
fashioned by groups
into synergistic
partnerships. All of
this results in both
autonomy at
sub-national levels and
strengthened national
unity with greater
public trust. It is
worth highlighting
that such consequences
could be particularly
relevant in the
different yet
connected situations
of Arab Spring
countries.
While the
philosophical roots of
participatory
methodology are
ancient, based in
consultative
decision-making, they
are integral to the
modern era.
Participatory human
development stands
where the classic
‘left’ and ‘right’ of
the political spectrum
can meet, creating
decentralized systems
and building a society
that empowers at the
local level and where
the people determine
and drive their
individual and
communal growth.
For example, in the
context of the U.S.
political landscape,
participatory
development combines
core features of both
major political
parties. It is
dedicated to
alleviating poverty
that is explained to
be systemically and
historically created
(a Democratic outlook)
while at the same time
it sees central
planning of local
development as
contributing to waste
and resentment,
seeking instead to
transfer power to the
people so that they
may manage their own
affairs (federalism,
the Republican party’s
identity principle).
The prerequisite for
the application of
participatory stimulus
is that it is
supported adequately
by national laws and
policies that promote
local democratic
planning and action.
National foreign debt
ultimately reflects
endorsements of
borrowers’ national
growth. Participatory
stimulus is the smart
insurance that
creditors should
support to guarantee
in the best manner
possible that loans
are paid back. With
connections that
transcend party lines
and benefits in
multiple domains,
participatory stimulus
may also be the most
politically acceptable
pathway across the
global arena.
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