Participatory Communication for Development Action Research 2000–2004 - ActionAid Malawi

This report is aimed to enhance the ability of poor communities to practice representing their development priorities to non-governmental organisations donors and government, and to bring “beneficiaries” into a co-equal sphere of negotiation with those with highly developed written literacy skills.

The original intent and value of this research was in setting out to define how poor and marginalised communities could circumvent the barriers of literacy and language, which constrain their ability to negotiate their development priorities with government and other development actors.

Topics include:

• Participation - poor people’s representation: A promise unfulfilled?
• Rhetoric of participatory tools
• Identification of access and barriers to human rights
• Increasing collaboration with the district assembly
• Consistent documentation and reporting
• Re-focus on staff capacity and time
• Efforts to integrate the process into on-going development work-budgeting/planning
• Benefits for policy formulation
• Policy evaluation and re-formulation
• Addressing gender inequality
• Improved responses to community concerns
• Better knowledge of community views
• Improved relationship between organisations, departments and communities
• Better use of development resources
• Community’s perspective
• Exploring opportunities for resources
• Ability to approach others/ being listened to
• Women’s empowerment
• Alliance as a consultative forum