2.2. Criteria for Effective Participation

Now we want to see that in these projects on all this climate change and disaster risk management projects, how people see these projects, what are the involvement they have and how they feel that they can better involve into these projects.

This chunk emphasizes the significance of understanding local perspectives in projects related to climate change and disaster management. The focus is on gathering feedback from the community about their involvement in the projects and how they perceive their participation. This is crucial as it helps ensure that the projects are relevant and effectively address the needs and concerns of the local population.

Imagine a school planning a new lunch menu. To make the menu successful, they would ask the students what types of foods they enjoy and what they think would be healthy options. Just like the school needs student input for a great menu, projects in climate change and disaster management need local voices to ensure they truly meet community needs.

So they had a flood in 2007-2010. And you can see what people told us they said that process there should be representation of all groups, clear objectives, agreed objectives, power to influence decisions, continued relation with the community, incorporating local knowledge, good facilitator.

In this chunk, various criteria for effective public participation are highlighted based on the local people's experiences. Key criteria include representation of all community groups, having clear and agreed-upon objectives, the ability to influence decisions, and the importance of maintaining relationships with the community. These elements ensure that the community feels involved and that their voices are heard in the decision-making process.

Think of a community garden project. If everyone in the neighborhood gets to voice their opinions and feels represented—due to steady communication and clear rules—it leads to a much more successful garden. Everyone works together, shares responsibilities, and feels ownership of the project.

And outcomes; There should be livelihood security, plan implementation, ownership, self-reliance, time effective.

The outcomes that the community desires from their involvement in projects include livelihood security, meaning that they should be able to sustain their basic needs; effective plan implementation, which refers to tangible results from the projects; ownership of projects to ensure commitment; self-reliance so people have the skills to manage their initiatives; and that processes are time-effective. Each of these outcomes contributes to a stronger and more empowered community.

Consider a local business training program. If the training secures jobs for the participants (livelihood security), provides them with skills they can use independently (self-reliance), and leads to successful business launches (ownership and plan implementation), then the program has resulted in effective participation. People are more likely to invest time and effort when they see direct benefits.

So therefore instead of we define the community participations it should be from the community who would decide that what is the meaning of community participation.

This concluding chunk underlines the idea that the definition of 'community participation' should not be imposed by outsiders but instead should be formulated by the community members themselves. This empowerment ensures that the definition aligns with their specific needs, values, and contexts, leading to more genuine engagement in projects.

Consider a classroom where the students get to create their own rules. If students take ownership of the rules (like how to treat each other and what’s acceptable behavior), they are more likely to follow those rules because they helped create them. This is similar to community participation—when people define their own participation, they are more committed and engaged.

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