A participatory approach to development initiatives

The participatory approach requires active listening to local people and the patience to progress at a reasonable pace to encourage local players to learn. The right balance must be struck between the race to achieve objectives through commitments to donors (or development partners) and the long-term objective of improving the capacity of the local players for whom the actions are developed, which will make it easier to sustain the gains made. It is a means of building the capacity of local players so that they can constantly play their part in the local development process. The better local players understand their roles, responsibilities and the challenges of developing their community, the more they will become involved.