PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988-2001 13 From participatory rhetoric to participatory reality: training for institutional transformation

Document begins: PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988­2001 13 From participatory rhetoric to participatory reality: training for institutional transformation John Thompson Training and institutional change people? Do participatory approaches for appraisal, analysis, planning, implementation, For more than a decade, many institutions and monitoring and evaluation result in the have promoted participatory approaches for selection of viable projects, programmes and processes. Do internal structures and research and development, and remained management systems support effective hopeful that these might be employed on a problem solving? Do existing budgetary wide scale. Such sentiments are frequently included in the national plans produced by procedures allow local adaptation and planning agencies, in the project appraisal flexibility in investment and disbursement? If reports of donor agencies, and by the heads of the answers to these questions are `yes', then implementing agencies themselves. But this there is a strong chance that the organisational procedures and institutional priorities of an participatory rhetoric is rarely backed by more agency will be flexible and open enough to than the introduction of a few training courses allow the transformation process to begin. or perhaps the addition of a new type of personnel (e.g., social mobilisers). The results are often erratic and temporary as ...