Voice and Accountability

The article assesses the importance of citizen engagement in engendering good governance in the health sector. However, citizens need an effective ‘voice' in order to be heard. Thus, the article argues for the need to utilise existing civic organizations like the rural women's associations as platforms of civic engagements. Using Akwa Ibom state as a study location, the article investigated the role of rural women's associations in citizen engagement in the primary health sector. Findings reveal that although rural women's associations are engaged in diverse socio-economic and political activities, they however do not engage in socially accountable activities. Nevertheless, findings further reveal that associations have the potentials of becoming platforms for social accountability if harnessed by development partners. The argument of the study is anchored on the participatory development approach which argues about the need for beneficiaries of development to become active participants in the development process.

Smiling vs. Frowning Faces

Participatory development has become an integral strategy for achieving sustainable tourism in view of the varying impacts brought by mass tourism. Community participation ensures local control of the pace of tourism development and the creation of a more personalised tourism product. However, some studies have stated tension between governments and locals, which has hindered tourism development. This study, thus, sought to explore the extent to which communities are involved in decision-making and how useful the outcome has been. To achieve the study objectives, two tourism sites in Ghana implemented based on participatory principles, namely Kakum National Park and Afadjato Mountain, were compared. Results of the study suggest there is a fair degree of community involvement at the Gbledi Traditional Area (Afadjato) leading to satisfaction (smiling-faces), rather than Abrafo-Odumase (Kakum), which exhibited dissatisfaction (frowning-faces). The policy and research implications relate mainly to the challenge of achieving sustainable tourism development at the community level.

Women Participation in School Governance in Lalitpur, Nepal: A Participatory Development Practice

Participation is an important dimension of good governance. In Nepal, there seem positive changes in women's participation in School Management Committees (SMC), Parent Teachers Association (PTA), and school administration but the participation of women has become a far-reaching goalin public school governance. This article is about exploring how women's participation could contribute to promoting good governance practices in community schools. Authors have applied an interpretative inquiry and participation and feminist standpoint theories to make out the meaning in this study which was carried in two public schools in Lalitpur, Nepal. The finding reveals that his meaningful representation of women in school governance is likely to minimize the governance challenges such as absenteeism, low parents’ participation, poor resource mobilization, transparency, and accountability.These positive transformations contribute to the community development process. However, enabling environment for women is needed to ensure their meaningful representation in school governance structures. This study is beneficial to educationists, planners, and development workers in Nepal.

A design science approach to developing and evaluating items for the assessment of transversal professional competences

PurposeRelying on a design science paradigm, the purpose of this paper is to describe the development and evaluation of items for an ICT artefact that supports the assessment of transversal professional competences within the validation of prior learning (VPL). To do so, the authors build a conceptual bridge between the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF).Design/methodology/approachDesign science research paradigm, in particular the participatory development of candidate items and their evaluation in a multi-stakeholder approach.FindingsThe authors find that a self-assessment of professional competences should be comprised of 160 items in order to cover the breadth and depth of the O*NET in the hierarchical taxonomy. Such quantity of items sufficiently builds a conceptual bridge between the O*NET and the; EQF.Practical implicationsWhen designing procedures for the VPL, it is imperative to bear in mind the purpose of the validation procedure, in order to determine relevant stakeholders and their needs in advance as well as the; required language proficiency of the assessment instrument.Social implicationsThe innovative value of this approach lies in the combination of an underlying hierarchical taxonomy with assessment items that are developed based on the qualification standards of different Austrian professions. Together with specific verbs that were adapted for each particular item, an innovative self-assessment is proposed. Thereby the authors aim to account for some of the mentioned shortcomings of the EQF.Originality/valueThis paper applies a design science paradigm to develop an ICT artefact that should support the VPL. By reflecting on the design process, the authors introduce a theoretical bridge between the O*NET and the EQF. Thereby the authors aim to account for some of the mentioned shortcomings of the EQF.

Participatory Development of Demand-Driven Curriculum for Career-Ready E-Extension Services in Nigeria

This paper described and contextualized participatory development of demand-driven curriculum for career-ready e-extension services in Nigeria as introduced by the Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education. The stages of participatory development were participatory need assessment, participatory stakeholders’ workshop and validation among 124 stakeholders selected as key informants in relation to agricultural extension training, delivery, end users and policy makers. The stakeholders were grouped as follows: community leaders and policy makers; extension agencies / organisations / institutions / employers; farmers; input suppliers / marketers / agro-based traders / other value actors; and potential candidate groups. Stakeholder meetings were held separately with different groups three times, and then a combined meeting took place. The aggregated major decisions/consensus were subjected to content analysis using ATLAS.ti. The validation process included reading of each agreed decision to all participants, then participants indicated their agreement or otherwise, which led to either rejection or acceptance of the decision. This paper concludes that participatory curriculum development has enhanced the stakeholders to identify areas of demand-driven training in response to community needs. The stakeholders preferred more online than face-to-face training. The major perceived advantages of e-extension were reduced risk, time and cost effectiveness while infrastructural and human challenges were the perceived challenges that could possibly hinder the smooth running of e extension.

Impact Of Seawall Development To The Sulawesi Fishermen Community In Pambusuang Village

A coastal protection structure mostly built to protect human from the detructive wind and wave energy. The various option of type and design has been invented in the development. This study investigates the impact of seawall development in Pambusuang Village, West Sulawesi. This study will examine the fishery activity change after the development of seawall. The benefit and disadvantages of the seawall structure to the community also as well as the community response to address the impact of seawall development will be explored in this study. A mix quantitave and qualitative approach is used in this study. A set of questionnare has been distributed and structured interview to selected infromant were also conducted. The study found that fishermen has changed their docking behavior due to the limited area to docking. Moreover, the respondent believes that seawall has properly function to halt erosion, protect their house and other infrastructure from the wave attack. The other issues is the disharmony between pro and contra seawall development, inundated river flow and damage of natural habitat. The response of the community to addressing some impact of the seawall development such as their adaptation to the sloping gate between the seawall, the use of traditional anti fouling painting and their suggestion to construct breakwater disattached from the shoreline. The findings above has been formed the basis of recommendations to have a participatory development approach and experience sharing between the parties in the community to adapt with the impact of seawall development.

Beyond the Rhetoric of Participation: A Case Study of Participatory Practices and Power in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

<p>This study looks critically at the practices of participatory development by a local NGO in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. In doing so, the Life Skills Training programme is chosen as a case study of potentially participatory development. By exploring people’s experiences, perceptions, and feelings about their participation, the study examines the power dynamics in the programme. To gather data, the study used semi-structured interviews and observations. Interviews were conducted with 14 research participants, who were purposively selected from different backgrounds. The study finds that the approaches of the programme point to lower-level forms of participation, with local people having both minimal involvement and little role in decision-making. Despite the use of the rhetoric of participation, doubts about the quality of participation are raised particularly in relation to gender, age, and religious differences. By scrutinising the ways in which issues of power manifest in the programme, the study demonstrates that issues of power and power relations in participatory development are quite complex. Using the frameworks of power analysis, I argue that issues related to inequalities of power are manifested in the NGO’s domination of decision-making processes, and that these issues were also contributed to by a patriarchal culture and filial piety. More importantly, I argue that people’s participation in the programme is less likely lead to meaningful outcomes if the issues of power imbalances are not addressed. The study provides useful insights into ways to improve the practices of participatory development. An increased understanding of various forms of power and their implications will be useful for development practitioners to exercise their power to make a difference. Moreover, efforts to reduce power imbalances in participatory development will be inadequate without critically examining and attending to power and its dynamics. Without a deeper understanding of power, development programmes that make claims about participation may be less effective in achieving transformative goals for the intended beneficiaries.</p>

Beyond the Rhetoric of Participation: A Case Study of Participatory Practices and Power in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

<p>This study looks critically at the practices of participatory development by a local NGO in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. In doing so, the Life Skills Training programme is chosen as a case study of potentially participatory development. By exploring people’s experiences, perceptions, and feelings about their participation, the study examines the power dynamics in the programme. To gather data, the study used semi-structured interviews and observations. Interviews were conducted with 14 research participants, who were purposively selected from different backgrounds. The study finds that the approaches of the programme point to lower-level forms of participation, with local people having both minimal involvement and little role in decision-making. Despite the use of the rhetoric of participation, doubts about the quality of participation are raised particularly in relation to gender, age, and religious differences. By scrutinising the ways in which issues of power manifest in the programme, the study demonstrates that issues of power and power relations in participatory development are quite complex. Using the frameworks of power analysis, I argue that issues related to inequalities of power are manifested in the NGO’s domination of decision-making processes, and that these issues were also contributed to by a patriarchal culture and filial piety. More importantly, I argue that people’s participation in the programme is less likely lead to meaningful outcomes if the issues of power imbalances are not addressed. The study provides useful insights into ways to improve the practices of participatory development. An increased understanding of various forms of power and their implications will be useful for development practitioners to exercise their power to make a difference. Moreover, efforts to reduce power imbalances in participatory development will be inadequate without critically examining and attending to power and its dynamics. Without a deeper understanding of power, development programmes that make claims about participation may be less effective in achieving transformative goals for the intended beneficiaries.</p>