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Community-driven development : myths and realities

Author

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  • Wong,Susan
  • Guggenheim,Scott E.

Abstract

Community-driven development is an approach to development that emphasizes community control over planning decisions and investment resources. Over the past decade, it has become a key operational strategy for many national governments, as well as for international aid agencies, with the World Bank alone currently supporting more than 190 active community-driven development projects in 78 countries. Community-driven development programs have proven to be particularly useful where government institutions are weak or under stress. This paper examines what the evidence shows about the utility of community-driven development programs for helping governments improve the lives and futures of the poor. The paper also addresses recent critiques of the community-driven development approach. The paper makes three main arguments. First, community-driven development offers governments a useful new tool for improving the lives of the poor. The empirical evidence from evaluations confirms that community-driven development programs provide much needed productive economic infrastructure and services at large scale, reasonable cost, and high quality. They also provide villagers, especially the disadvantaged, with a voice in how development funds are used to improve their welfare. Second, community-driven development programs are not a homogeneous category, and it is important to acknowledge the differences between national, on-budget, multi-year programs, and off-budget programs. And finally, community-driven development works best and achieves the greatest results when it is part of a broader development strategy that includes reforms to governance, investments in productivity, and integration with efforts to improve the quality of public service delivery.

Suggested Citation

  • Wong,Susan & Guggenheim,Scott E., 2018. "Community-driven development : myths and realities," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8435, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8435
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Susan Matiku & Jethro Zuwarimwe & Ndivhuwo Tshipala, 2020. "Community-Driven Tourism Projects’ Economic Contribution to Community Livelihoods—A Case of Makuleke Contractual Park Community Tourism Project," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-16, October.
    2. Grillos, Tara & Zarychta, Alan & Nelson Nuñez, Jami, 2021. "Water scarcity & procedural justice in Honduras: Community-based management meets market-based policy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    3. Edamisan Stephen Ikuemonisan & Igbekele Amos Ajibefun, 2021. "Economic Implications of Smallholders’ Collaborative Groupings on Household Income and Adaptability to Climate Change in Nigeria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-22, December.
    4. John E. Leake, 2021. "Investment in Land Restoration: New Perspectives with Special Reference to Australia," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-15, February.
    5. Hakiman, Kamran & Sheely, Ryan, 2023. "Unlocking the Potential of Participatory Planning: How Flexible and Adaptive Governance Interventions Can Work in Practice," OSF Preprints kucjs, Center for Open Science.
    6. Madajewicz, Malgosia & Tompsett, Anna & Habib, Md. Ahasan, 2021. "How does delegating decisions to communities affect the provision and use of a public service? Evidence from a field experiment in Bangladesh," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    7. Hunnam, K. & Duarte, A. & de Sousa, A. & Barreto, C.C. & Tilley, A. & Dos Reis Lopes, J. & Pereira, M. & Ride, A. & Eriksson, H., 2021. "Participatory planning and implementation of fish-based livelihood innovations in Timor-Leste," Monographs, The WorldFish Center, number 40968, April.

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