--- title: "Participatory development approach" subject: "Technology, Environment and Society" chapter: 2 key: "semester_7/technology_environment_and_society:participatory-development-approach" source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/technology_environment_and_society/participatory-development-approach site: BCT Engineering --- # Participatory development approach Technology, Environment and Society · Chapter 2: Development Approach - Asked in: 2079 Bhadra, 8 marks; 2070 Chaitra, 3 marks (asked 2 times) - Video: [CESC Lesson 2.5 Participatory Development in Community Action Initiatives](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kav2rYKkmao) — FaithNLessons - Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14 - Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/technology_environment_and_society/participatory-development-approach - Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_7/technology_environment_and_society/chapter-2 ## Question Discuss the participatory development approach with suitable examples. ## Short answer Participatory development is a bottom-up approach where affected people take part in all stages, from need identification to maintenance. Examples include community forestry user groups, drinking water users' committees, farmer-managed irrigation systems, and community micro-hydro in Nepal. It builds ownership and sustainability but can be slow and prone to elite capture. ## Answer The **participatory development approach** is an approach in which the people affected by a development activity take an active part in all its stages: need identification, planning, decision making, resource mobilisation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and operation and maintenance. It is a **bottom-up** approach, in contrast to the **top-down** approach in which plans are made by central authorities and imposed on people. #### Principles and features - **People-centred:** development is done *with* people, not *for* them. - **Felt needs:** projects come from the community's own priorities. - **Use of local knowledge, labour and resources.** - **Inclusion and equity:** women, Dalits, poor, indigenous and disabled people are included. - **Transparency and accountability:** public hearing, public audit, open accounts. - **Cost sharing** in cash, labour or materials, building ownership. - **Empowerment:** capacity building and leadership development of local people. - **Flexibility:** learning by doing and adjusting plans. #### Stages of participation 1. Identification of problems and needs (PRA, FGD, mapping) 2. Planning and design (with technical help from engineers) 3. Formation of users' committee and resource mobilisation 4. Implementation using local labour 5. Monitoring and public audit 6. Operation and maintenance by users 7. Evaluation and learning #### Tools used Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), focus group discussion, social and resource mapping, transect walk, wealth ranking, seasonal calendar, Venn diagram, key informant interview. #### Examples from Nepal - **Community forestry:** community forest user groups (CFUGs) protect and manage national forests handed over to them; forest cover has improved in the middle hills. - **Drinking water schemes:** users' committees build gravity-flow water schemes with their labour and maintain them through user fees (e.g. the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Fund Development Board model). - **Farmer-managed irrigation systems (FMIS):** farmers build and run canals themselves. - **Rural roads and trail bridges** under the LEP approach. - **Micro-hydro** owned and operated by communities. - **Ward-level planning:** municipalities prepare annual plans through settlement- and ward-level meetings. #### Advantages - Projects match real needs; better use of funds - Ownership and sustainability; better maintenance - Lower cost; local employment - Empowerment, social inclusion and transparency #### Limitations - Time consuming; slow decisions - Elite capture and political influence - Conflicts within the community - Needs skilled facilitators The participatory approach makes development sustainable because the people who benefit are also the ones who plan, build and care for it. ## Check yourself The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why. 1. The participatory approach differs from top-down in that: A. Plans are imposed by central authorities B. Plans come from community's felt needs and people take part C. Only engineers decide D. Only donors decide Answer: B. It is bottom-up, done with people not for them. (Key point: Bottom-up) 2. Which ensure transparency and accountability? A. Public hearing and public audit B. Secret accounts C. Private tenders D. Closed meetings Answer: A. Public hearing, public audit and open accounts. (Key point: Transparency tools) 3. Which is a Nepali example of participatory development? A. Community forest user groups managing national forests B. A private mine C. Central ministry only projects D. Foreign-run dam Answer: A. CFUGs manage forests handed to them; forest cover improved. (Key point: Example) 4. A limitation of the participatory approach is: A. Time consuming and slow decisions B. Poor ownership C. Higher cost D. No inclusion Answer: A. It is slow, risks elite capture, internal conflict and needs skilled facilitators. (Key point: Limitations) ## Related in Technology, Environment and Society - [Participatory approach, appropriate and labour intensive technology](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Aparticipatory-appropriate-labour) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 1 - [Participatory approach and four participatory tools](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Aparticipatory-tools-empowerment) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 2 - [Participatory approach for community empowerment](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Aparticipatory-empower-community) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 2 - [LEP approach in infrastructure development](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Alep-infrastructure-development) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 2 - [LEP, ethnographic and participatory approaches](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Alep-ethnographic-participatory) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 2 ## Related in other subjects - [Avoiding load shedding and approach to 2020](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fhydropower_engineering%3Aload-shedding-approach-2020) — Hydropower Engineering, chapter 1