Participatory Methods in the Analysis of Poverty: A Critical Review

This paper reviews and analyses the literature on participatory methods in poverty analysis. The popularity of participatory poverty assessments has greatly increased in the last decade, and a growing number of development agents is adopting some form of participatory methodology. This spread however seems to be possible even without a shared understanding of what participation stands for. This paper starts by introducing the broad lines of the debate on participation, before focusing more specifically on participatory methods in poverty analysis. After having discussed the tools as well as the insights they provide, some recent evidence comparing participatory and non-participatory methods is presented. Such literature allow to highlight both the strengths and the weaknesses of participatory assessments, as well as opening the way for new approaches integrating elements of both. In the last analysis, however, the challenge to the non-extractive nature of the methodology, posed by the transposition of participatory techniques from the project context in which they were developed to the policy one, remains serious and poses questions on what 'listening to the voices of the poor' means.

Participatory Approach in Decision Making Processes for Water Resources Management in the Mediterranean Basin

This paper deals with the comparative analysis of different policy options for water resources management in three south-eastern Mediterranean countries. The applied methodology follows a participatory approach throughout its implementation and is supported by the use of three different software packages dealing with water allocation budget, water quality simulation, and Multi Criteria Analysis, respectively. The paper briefly describes the general objectives of the SMART project and then presents the three local case studies, the valuation objectives and the applied methodology - developed as a general replicable framework suitable for implementation in other decision-making processes. All the steps needed for a correct implementation are therefore described. Following the conceptualisation of the problem, the choice of the appropriate indicators as well as the calculation of their weighting and value functions are detailed. The paper concludes with the results of the Multi Criteria and the related Sensitivity Analyses performed, showing how the different policy responses under consideration can be assessed and furthermore compared through case studies thanks to their relative performances. The adopted methodology was found to be an effective operational approach for bridging scientific modelling and policy making by integrating the model outputs in a conceptual framework that can be understood and utilised by non experts, thus showing concrete potential for participatory decision making.Scientific Advice, Policy-Making, Participatory Modelling, Decision Support

Requirements for Participatory Framework on Governmental Policy Level

The article seeks to specify the requirements of the framework for public participation in policy making on the governmental level aiming to elaborate a substantial content of the participatory policy. The research methodology engages both qualitative and quantitative approaches based on document analysis and interviews. We analysed a range of documents, issued by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania, where participatory groups are nominated for the annual terms of 2007 and 2010. Results of the research testify that, notwithstanding the considerable number of participatory facts, public administrators hold more than a half of the places in the participatory groups. Stakeholders other than public administrators are considered to be rather consultants than partners in policy development. We suggest that for a substantial, effective and efficient participation framework, several requirements should be met including a correct arena for stakes’ expression; completeness of the stake representation; balanced stake representation; sensitivity to research based evidence; monitoring and evaluation of participation quality

On the measurement of sustainability of rural water supply in India: A Supervaluationist–Degree Theory approach

The paper proposes an empirical methodology for understanding the nature and behavior of Sustainable Development as a vague and multidimensional concept by a case study of participatory and demand determined Rural Drinking water Supply systems in India. It combines for the first time, two of the most influential models – ‘Supervaluationism’ and ‘Degree Theory’- on the measurement of ‘Vagueness’, for timely public intervention in reversing the process of Un-sustainability. Analysis clearly brings out the role of institutional, financial and environmental factors that should be part of Public Policy, for ensuring sustainability of potable water supplysustainability, supervaluationism, degree theory

A right to a risk filled life : understanding and analysis of the risk discourse for consumers in mental health : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Policy at Massey University

This thesis documents the perspective and discourse of risk for eleven people who identify as someone with lived experiences of mental illness and mental health service use. The thesis followed a participatory methodology and involved consumers in both formulating and conducting the research. Following qualitative research methods some key findings included that there was a correlation between increased exposures to risk during increased acute unwellness; increased exposure to risk because of service use; that the people interviewed wished to have some control and self-responsibility in managing risks, that life was full of risk and that this was quite usual; and importantly, that risk was experienced as a stigmatizing phenomena for the participants. The stigma of risk was such that participants had to develop significant coping strategies to manage others perceptions and deal with the experience of having normal behaviours and emotions considered by others as abnormal and risky. The thesis makes recommendations for consumers, services and mental health service staff and for policy makers. Many of the recommendations consider how understandings of risk and approaches to risk management could alter or increase consumer safety and wellbeing. The thesis additionally includes an analysis of the participatory process that was followed with recommendations made encouraging an increased frequency and strengthened quality of consumer participation in research

Towards a decision-support procedure to foster stakeholder involvement and acceptability of urban freight transport policies

Purpose: This paper addresses the complex problem of multi-stakeholder decisions in urban freight transport policy-making from a public authority perspective, by proposing a procedure based on a modelling approach to support stakeholder involvement in the decision-making process. The paper analyses the existing methods that can be used for participatory decision-support, with the intent of contextualizing and introducing the innovative modelling approach. Methods: The modelling approach consists of a well-thought integration of discrete choice models (DCM) with agent-based models (ABM) as an effective way to account for stakeholders’ opinions in the policy-making process, while mimicking their interaction to find a shared policy package. The integrated modelling approach is able to combine the advantages of the two methods while overcoming their respective weaknesses. Since it is well grounded on sound microeconomic theory, it provides a detailed (static) stakeholders’ behavioural knowledge, but it is also capable of reproducing agents’ (dynamic) interaction during the decision-making process. The integration allows performing an ex-ante behavioural analysis, with the aim of testing the potential acceptability of the solutions proposed. The methodology is applied in a real case study to prove its feasibility and usefulness for participatory decision-making. Results: The integrated modelling approach can be used for participatory decision-support and it can be casted in the overall UFT policy-making process. The results of the behavioural analysis, in terms of ranking of potentially accepted policies, linked with the technical evaluations from transport network modelling tools, provide a sound basis for active participation and deliberation with stakeholders and policy-makers. The aim is to guide an effective participation process aimed at consensus building among stakeholders, by proposing them a subset of policies that, as a result of a preliminary analysis, are likely to be accepted while performing well in terms of technical results. Conclusions: This approach, integrating DCM and ABM, represents a promising way to tackle the complexity of multi-stakeholder involvement in UFT policy-making and to support an efficient and effective decision-making process. It produces an added value for UFT policy-making and it can be framed in the overall context of transport planning. In fact, together with technical and economic analyses, the stakeholder behavioural analysis proposed contributes to the ex-ante policy assessment needed to support decision-makers in taking well-thought decisions. Keywords: stakeholder behavioural analysis, discrete choice models, agent-based models, city logistics, participatory policy-makingpublishedVersio

Youth participatory research evidence to inform health policy: A systematic review protocol

INTRODUCTION: Young people\u27s participation in health research produces knowledge that is indispensable for creating appropriate and effective policies. However, how best to disseminate youth participatory research evidence to impact health policy is not known. Therefore, the objectives of this systematic review are to describe the evidence produced through youth participatory research, including the strategies used to disseminate youth participatory research evidence to health policymakers. These are necessary to improve policymakers\u27 use of youth participatory research evidence and, thereby, make programmes more impactful for young people. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The meta-narrative methodology will guide the systematic review to highlight the contrasting and complementary evidence on the use of engaging youth in research to affect health policymaking. Relevant studies will be identified by searching electronic databases, including but not limited to EBSCO, PROQUEST, OVID Medline, Sociological Abstracts and Google Scholar from inception to December 2020. The methodological quality of included quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods research studies will be assessed using valid appraisal tools. The meta-narrative approach to analysis will include identifying meta-narratives of how youth participation informed the health research findings. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: An advisory group of young people will advise on the study and dissemination of the findings. As part of our plan for active dissemination, we will produce a policy brief that builds the rationale for using research with and by youth as part of an evidence base necessary for achieving youth health outcomes

Migration studies : how should we approach them? learning through participatory practices. The So-Close case study

Community members such as migrants are involved to collect data but not included in the actual research process, for example,in developing research guidelines or in using research tools such as data analysis. Participatory methodology enables investigating a specific issue while including the community involved. In the So-Close project, we applied this approach to investigate how we study migration and the role of the cultural heritage of forced migration through four multi-stakeholders participatory focus groups (FGs) in Spain (involving Refugees, NGO and Cultural Institutions representatives, Academics and Policy-Makers). From the FGs, emerged the need to investigate complex issues from various angles and contexts to create sustainable, community-approved, and shared solutions

An emerging user-led participatory methodology: Mapping impact pathways of urban food system sustainability innovations

This chapter presents an emerging effort to develop a participatory mapping methodology that will illuminate the pathways through which sustainable urban food systems achieve lasting impact. Carried out in collaboration with Està (Economia e Sostenibilità), the UNESCO Chair in World Food System (at Montpellier SupAgro), CIRAD (French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development) and the LCSFS (Laurier Center for Sustainable Food Systems), this initiative aims to provide an alternative to quantitative tools that lack precision at the local level, and to qualitative approaches holding a narrow focus that may obscure broader systemic dynamics. This URBAL project focuses on innovations in consumer practices, value-chains, and governance by examining 12 case studies in eight cities in the Global South and North

Reaping the rewards of learning within agricultural knowledge systems: An account of a PhD learning system

Despite the existence and application of mandatory agri-environmental policy for many decades, significant environmental sustainability problems remain attributable to the agricultural sector. Participatory types of extension practices are believed to have a potential to enable extension organisations to enhance the supports provided to farmers to help meet the requirements and objectives of these policies. To test this proposition, the PhD researcher used a learning systems approach for exploring the interplay between farmer subjectivities, the European Union’s policy of cross compliance and the extension practices of Teagasc, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority. Three learning sub-systems were employed in the investigation. The first used the principles of Participatory Action Research for revealing stakeholders’ perceptions of Teagasc’s cross compliance extension service. This process resulted in the attainment of rich insights about extension practices, however it also revealed that a significant number of farmers were experiencing socio-cultural difficulties with the application and enforcement of cross compliance. To better understand the implications of these subjectivities, a second sub-system was created to learn about farmers’ experiences of the policy. This process surfaced diverse insights about farmers’ personal experiences of cross compliance. A final sub-system employed systems thinking and practice for appraising the utility of the learning arising from the previous sub-systems for improving interactions between farmers, extension organisations and cross compliance. The combined findings of the thesis indicate that there is considerable potential for extension organisations to use participatory practices for developing rich understandings of farmers’ preferences for mandatory agri-environmental policy and its related extension practices. However, a limitation in realising participant preferences is that extension organisations appear to have little influence over the application and enforcement of mandatory agri-environmental policy. Overcoming this participatory barrier will require sustained collective learning targeted at understanding how stakeholders can work together to develop agri-environmental policies that are socially, financially and environmentally sustainable. This paper explores how this ‘sustained collective learning’ may be realised taking a specific account of the learnings developed within and following the completion of the PhD Learning System. The insights elucidated will be of interest to scholars and extension practitioners involved in similar learning endeavours