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Empowerment is the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes. Central to this process are actions which both build individual and collective assets, and improve the efficiency and fairness of the organizational and institutional context which govern the use of these assets. More

Thank you for visiting the World Bank's Empowerment website. This purpose of this site is to serve as a resource for those interested in the practical and conceptual dimensions of empowerment. On this site, you will find information on the definition of empowerment and on different ways to approach empowerment in practice. You can also access information about the current work of the Empowerment Team, including recent publications and learning products as well as our newsletters and past learning events. We welcome comments and feedback. Please send to empowerment@worldbank.org.

PUBLICATIONS

Empowerment in PracticeEmpowerment in Practice: From Analysis to Implementation
The model for understanding and operationalizing an empowerment approach to development presented in this volume is simple. The book translates a long-standing academic discourse on structure and agency into an actionable framework that can, in practice, help change power relations and in turn reduce poverty. Using the concepts of asset-based agency and institution-based opportunity structure, this empowerment framework can be applied across dimensions of both action and analysis. Full Text (1.26mb PDF)

Local Organizations in Decentralized DevelopmentLocal Organizations in Decentralized Development: Their Functions and Performance in India
Local organizations have become key mechanisms in effective, fair, and sustainable resource management in India. Two debates dominate discourse on the roles of local organizations in decentralized development: first, on how to ensure they function effectively, fairly, and sustainably; and second, on the relative roles of different organizations — including elected local governments, administrative line departments, and nongovernmental organizations. This book adds empirical evidence to these debates, and suggests that in practice, they can not be separated. Full Text (3.23mb PDF)

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Empowerment Resources

Empowerment Activities Database
Case Studies
Tools and Practices
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Publications and Documents

Empowerment and Poverty Reduction: A Sourcebook

Power, Rights, and Poverty: Concepts and Connections
Measuring Empowerment in Practice: Structuring Analysis and Framing Indicators
Social Accountability Module

News

Jun 26, 2007Sri Lanka - Empowering Rural Communities
Jun 04, 2007Local Infrastructure Investments in Kyrgyz Villages
   
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