three ways to approach the concept were explored…

Community-driven development (CDD)


Outcomes of the brainstorming on the concept of CDD REGIONAL WORKSHOP

14-17 March 2006

New Coco Beach Resort - Accra, Ghana


Three ways to approach the concept were explored…

1. CDD as a response to a problem: CDD as a way to correct power imbalances, to correct market and government failures and other disabling factors for rural development and poverty reduction

2. CDD as a solution with an objective: CDD as an instrument for rural poverty reduction, as a way to transfer public resources to finance micro-projects;

3. CDD as a way to put into practice higher-level principles… such as:– Democracy and citizenship: participation in the decision-

making over issues of public and private interests along the principle of equity;

– Empowerment– Pluralistic governance; and– Good governance along the principles of equity, efficiency,

stability and growth.


Focus on linkages, processes, principles…(from 2004 workshop presentation)

• The role of projects and programmes is increasingly leading to fostering:- Integration into the market/private sector- Integration into the global community- Integration into civil society

• In a constructive tension between:

Competition <> Exclusion

Cohesion/InclusionEfficiency + EquityDynamic over time

>> Efficiency

>> Equity

>> Stability

>> Growth

• A work on the dynamics of the systems (e.g. balancing outreach and sustainability) to understand and accommodate the inherent complexity of agricultural and rural livelihood systems


Value and implications of this approach

• Clarification of the concept: CDD only concerns the sphere of public interest, i.e. decision-making over issues of public or private interests along the principle of equity;

• What are the criteria for a CDD operation? What is the degree of CDD in a specific programme?

• In application to the principle of equity, CDD is an instrument for poverty reduction, maybe the most adapted one, as it applies at the (most) local level; and

• Methodological implications: empowering partnerships, autonomy of decisions-making, shared responsibility and accountability.


Compatibility check with the definition of a “community” (According to draft CDD Decision Tools)

– A locus where everybody can have the opportunity to make his/her voice heard directly on matters of public choice

– A territory where everybody (can) know(s) each other, with shared institutions of local governance


Compatibility check with the definition of CDD (According to draft CDD Decision Tools)

It is a way to design and implement development policy and projects that facilitates access to social human and physical capital assets

for the rural poor by creating the conditions for:

Transforming rural development agents from top-down planners into client-oriented service providersEmpowering rural communities to take initiatives for own socio-economic developmentEnabling community-level organizations (especially those of the rural poor) to play a broader role in the design and implementation of policies and programmes affecting their livelihoodsEnhancing the impact of public expenditure on the local economy at community level

three ways to approach the concept were explored…

Documents