How to Make Poverty Alleviation Strategies Participatory

by local stakeholders to formulate a holistic vision for their city. The process involves analysis of the city's prospects for economic and social development, identification of priorities for investment and development assistance, and implementation through partnership-based actions.

To learn more about city experiences with city development strategies, see City Development Strategy and the home page of the Cities Alliance, a multi-donor partnership launched by the UN-HABITAT and the World Bank in 1999 that mobilizes external finance and knowledge sharing for city development strategies as well as scaling-up of services to the urban poor.

In this section the "strategic planning" (or action planning) method is presented briefly to illustrate how cities could get started and how they can proceed in the development of poverty reduction strategies. It should be noted that strategic planning is not an attempt to blueprint the future. Strategic planning looks at the chain of cause-and-effect consequences over time of an actual or intended decision. Nor is it a set of wishful thoughts; it should relate the actions to resources available or that can be mobilized realistically. Finally, like a national poverty reduction strategy, it should not involve the preparation of massive, detailed and interrelated sets of plans. It concentrates on a few issues on which there is consensus regarding priority.

Strategic planning is designed to overcome the typical shortcomings of traditional statutory planning tools and facilitate participation of stakeholders. However, strategic planning and traditional methods of planning are not mutually exclusive. Strategic/action planning method is applicable without abandoning the conventional methods completely. It can be used both at the city and neighborhood/community level for decision-making and strategy design.

What are the Steps of the Strategic Planning Process?

Identification of the problem(s), its causes and consequences, and relations to other problems. For example, this can involve designing a problem tree with stakeholders to identify multiple problems and how they are linked. Problem identification requires collection and analysis of data. Information gathering (i.e., encompassing factual and quantitative data as well as observations/qualitative analysis) for a rapid assessment of the poverty situation and an overview of policies and programs addressing poverty are best initiated before problem analyses with the stakeholders.

Formulating objectives, which should be specific, measurable, realistic, and time bound. It may be necessary to return to step one and reanalyze the problem. The objectives have to be appraised against the constraints and opportunities that would work against and in favor of achieving objectives. This analysis (which is also called as SWOT, i.e., analyzing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) is the basis for determining options for actions. Again it may be necessary to go back to the problem and analyze further the causes (visible and policy-related causes).

Developing strategiesand formulating options for influencing the key forces. Coordination and integration to avoid overlaps and waste of resources is necessary. The chosen options should be compatible.

Task definition: breaking down the strategies or action plan(s) into tasks to be implemented by specific responsible agents and defining the time frames. One of the tasks is to monitor progress. Feedback to the stakeholders on progress of action plans should be ensured.

Consensus building is needed to (i) define shared goals, priorities, and strategies over a medium-term horizon; and (ii) mobilize resources. A broad range of stakeholders should be represented, including regional authorities and local representatives of central governments (as they can play important roles in creating conducive conditions and providing support for city strategies), citizens, civil associations, and private sector. Flow of clear, correct, and complete information among the stakeholders should be a part of the strategy from the beginning. City consultations are a primary means of reaching consensus among the stakeholders. There are various different ways of arranging city consultations. For example, in Vitebsk (Belarus) an action plan was developed for inner-city revitalization and meetings were carried out at different platforms with different stakeholder groups. City consultations in Cali (Colombia) for a city development strategy were organized as an extensive event with interactive software. Local media can be a primary means for inviting stakeholders to discussions, informing the general public about the purpose, and disseminating decisions and strategy choices.

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Principles of Supporting a Sustainable and Effective Participation in Project Preparation and Implementation

Facilitate community access to information -- transparency: The lack of information is often the most significant limitation on CBOs capacity to play a part in the development venture (Krishna, 2000). Community organizations need information on market opportunities, on what support resources are available and how to use these resources productively and efficiently. A variety of media may be used to facilitate access to and stimulate flows of information. Information technology and the internet, adapted to community needs, are playing a growing role in this process and can dramatically accelerate local learning and connections with a wide range of opportunities (see CDD web-site). Communities should also be informed about local plans, costs and alternative costs. Being accountable to the general public is a basic rule (see Urban Poverty Chapter of the PRSP sourcebook).

Be accountable: Policy actions for good urban governance include accountability and responsiveness to the public, anticorruption policies and practices, and capacity building. Local as well as central authorities should be accountable to the general public. Authorities must consult with the general public about their needs, requirements, preferences, and satisfaction with services. The city of Seoul, South Korea, for example, operates "citizen complaint centers" every Saturday when the mayor and other top administrative staff make themselves available for a "day of dialog with the citizens." This can help governments prioritize public expenditures. In Tijuana, Mexico, given the city's rapid population growth, accelerating environmental deterioration, and the difficulty in enhancing tax yields from its citizens, the mayor felt a boldly innovative approach would be essential. His administration developed an Urban Activation Plan, the largest integrated plan for priority infrastructure investments ever proposed by a municipality in the state. The government of Mexico was to fund 25 percent of the cost, the business sector 15 percent, direct beneficiaries 20 percent, and the community at large the remaining 40 percent. The city then held a public referendum to find out if its citizens were willing to pay its share of the costs; the referendum passed with 66% of the vote. (Source The Urban Institute 1995).

Invest in capacity building of community-based organizations (CBOs) and municipalities: Capacity building of CBOs and strengthening their linkages with formal institutions is a critical area of investment. Experience and studies have shown that those CBOs with clear lines of responsibility, open decision making processes, and direct accountability to the community improve service provision, make more effective use of resources, and are more sustainable. CBOs need to have managerial and technical skills to undertake tasks. Training and capacity building through learning by doing should thus be an important component of Community Driven Development programs. Where appropriate, capacity building should build on existing community strengths, including local organizations, traditional knowledge, and culture-based skills so that existing capacity is strengthened rather than undermined. Because community-based organizations rely on volunteer efforts, which can dissipate at critical stages or can lack continuity, an important component of any capacity building activity is to institutionalize the leadership function in CBOs (see CDD web site). It should also be indicated that municipalities have relatively little experience with participatory planning. Decentralization and consequent new responsibilities are major challenges for local authorities. Lack of experience and management capacity also impede their struggle against poverty. By the same token, many NGOs are not completely equipped to deal with public authorities. Capacity building takes place by training local personnel and community leaders and giving them more access to national and international experience; increasing the exchange of information among international, national, local organizations, and communities (e.g., through professional associations of local governments and NGO networks); direct experience; and by better management of information. The establishment of knowledge networks to enhance learning and institutional memory that can be shared by public, private sector, and community agents should be a part of capacity-building strategies. Also encouraging the poor to become organized, for example through city-wide slum associations, can help them to exchange experiences and to negotiate effectively with public authorities and the private sector (see Urban Poverty Chapter of the PRSP sourcebook).

Ensure social and gender inclusion: Community driven development and participatory planning have the potential to increase the power of poor communities to negotiate with public authorities, the private sector, and civil society. But to fulfill this potential, participatory planning (or community driven development) needs to be responsive to the priorities of all poor groups. Urban poor particularly is not a homogeneous group. Thus, planning at the local level needs to be designed to be socially inclusive, giving voice and decision making responsibility to women, the elderly, youth, and minorities (see CDD website; Urban Poverty Chapter of the PRSP sourcebook). The urban poor are not given rights and responsibilities that go with being citizens. They are often assumed to be passive consumers rather than active participants with something to contribute. Even being asked to express needs and demands, without accepting responsibilities that go with being citizens, does not really empower people. In various countries, slum residents express their needs for infrastructure and urban services in particular, and they may get what they want in return for their votes. Such populist policies, however, often do not require them to pay the costs of such services or land that they occupy even at a subsidized level. Public authorities in such cases retain the political advantage of being the sole decision makers in allocating resources.

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Linking city actions to National Strategic Poverty Reduction
City level strategic planning should be linked to national poverty reduction strategies. The following table offers some program and policy examples and actions that can be taken by local authorities.

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