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Participatory Planning:
When and where is participatory planning done?
Participatory planning usually involves public consultations and meetings outside of the capital, often in locations that are more accessible to poor people, such as rural communities. Participatory planning can involve other activities, such as making field visits to a forest or remote community, or polling citizens to elicit their views.
When these activities take place depends on the time frame of the planning cycle. Government commonly operates on an annual planning cycle, which entails scheduling activities during the year to assure that plans are submitted on time. Multiyear (e.g. 3-year, 5-year, 10-year) plans are prepared less frequently. Participatory planning can also be used for specific projects in the short term.
When scheduling events, officials should take into consideration activities such as agricultural tasks or religious festivities. Conflicting schedules could limit the ability of some individuals or groups to participate.
Box 8. On the ground in Indonesia: Planning pitfalls
In Indonesia, communities have the right to propose development projects to the local government. These proposals are collected at the subdistrict level and then submitted to the district, often with substantial changes, however. Typically, communities never learn what happens to their proposals, while many projects are implemented without consulting the communities beforehand. This lack of communication and participation has led to the habit of submitting long wishlists without prioritisation, as communities are afraid to be too modest. The result is that the district’s technical agencies ignore the communities and do their own planning, which does not necessarily respond to local demand. |
© 2007 Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
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