The ADF Approach to Participatory Development in Guinea

Participatory development is a grounded approach to development that recognizes African communities as communities of experts who know what they need to achieve sustainable growth, know what works best for them, and are willing to commit resources to their own development. Since its creation, ADF has pioneered participatory development methodologies (PDM) that engage African communities in every dimension of the development process – from identifying and prioritizing local development needs to designing and implementing projects that are energized by broad-based local support, a genuine sense of local ownership, and strong accountability for results.

ADF’s commitment to PDM mobilizes local investment in development by engaging the men, women, children, and elders who make up a community in the assessment, implementation, and evaluation process. Rather than channeling information and feedback through government officials, or through established local elites, ADF sponsors the creation of new forums where every voice in a community can be heard and every choice can be freely discussed.

In Guinea, ADF’s investments in participatory development projects have helped dozens of rural communities strengthen local development capacity. In 1997, the World Bank and the Government of the Republic of Guinea asked ADF to help implement the Village Communities Support Program (PACV), an initiative that offers rural communities opportunities to play an active role in building essential infrastructures and services, including health clinics, schools, and clean water supplies.

By employing an energizing array of PDM – from open village meetings that prioritize local needs to the creation of advisory groups that give the under-served direct input into decision-making – ADF has helped bridge the gap between local and national development organizations in Guinea by providing a model for enhanced community participation. It is a model that the World Bank has adopted for similar initiatives in Niger and Senegal.

The following articles examine ADF’s participatory development approach in Guinea and describe the significant social and economic changes that ADF’s assistance has produced in some of rural Guinea’s poorest communities.
 

A School for Development in Bady: How One Community’s Experiment with Participatory Development Helped Shape a National Program for Rural Capacity Building

Best Practices for Participatory Development: Seven Steps for Achieving Effective, Community-Led, Demand-Driven Development

A Bridge to Kédougou Opening New Routes to Community-Led Development in Northern Guinea

A Healthy Approach to Development: Participatory Development Methods Forge a Partnership for Healing in Baguinet