At the root of participatory approaches: uncovering the role of accompaniment

ABSTRACT

This article examines the impact of a participatory development project in rural Uganda and offers explanations for the results obtained. Though successful in facilitating the creation of specific goods and services, the project did not fully realise its intended outcome: empowering local actors and generating lasting human development. These mixed results were the consequence of inconsistent dialogue and listening among the actors, often resulting in a lack of genuine accompaniment. In evaluating community engagement through the lens of accompaniment, the study considers the potential for participatory approaches to overcome often-asserted criticisms, namely the presence of dependency and elite capture.

KEYWORDS:

• Civil society – Participation
• Partnership
• Aid – Capacity development
• Sub-Saharan Africa

Acknowledgements

The author gratefully acknowledges the support of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Ted Beatty, Paolo Carozza, Robert Dowd, Giuseppe Folloni, and Elizabeth Hlabse for critical commentary, support, and encouragement. Special thanks to the Ford family, UPD international and local staff, and Mpigi District communities for permitting me to conduct this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Ilaria Schnyder von Wartensee is Research Assistant Professor at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, United States, where she works with the Ford Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity. Her principal research focus concerns international development with a particular interest in human dignity and integral human development. She helps to implement the Ford Program’s human development projects, drawing on her expertise in qualitative methods, case studies, development practice, and ethnography in Africa, Europe, and Latin America. She has also worked collaboratively with the Wellbeing at Work project, a multidisciplinary research effort that explores well-being in the caring professions, with a focus on humanitarian aid workers. Schnyder is co-author of At the Root of Development: The Importance of the Human Factor (2012). She holds a PhD in international law and economics from Bocconi University in Milan and an MSc in anthropology and development from the London School of Economics.

Notes

1. References to institutions and people have been omitted for reasons of confidentiality.