Power, Process and Participation: Tools for Change

This book focuses on participatory capacity-building in ways that address the practical needs and strategic interests of the disadvantaged and disempowered - it examines how differences in class, ethnicity, race, caste, religion, age and gender lead to the 'politics of exclusion'. It offers innovative, accessible tools to enable facilitators from both inside and outside communities to empower those who are frequently omitted from decision-making processes. The style and approach are interactive, stimulating reflection and involvement by all parties.

Power, Process and Participation aims to enable facilitators from inside and outside communities to involve and empower those commonly excluded in decision making processes. It provides a balanced overview of how 'participation' has been used in this context and raises the questions that all those involved in this type of activity should ask themselves. There are three distinct sections:

Part 1: Definitions, history and issues - which provides an overview of some of the broad issues underlying the themes addressed in this book. A useful brief history is given of well known participatory methodologies and key questions are asked on the use and misuse of 'participation': whose ends does it serve, who is involved and what are the power relations, appropriate time frames and scale and how should it proceed in order to best serve the interests of the people involved?

Part 2: Methods and ethics in our research and our use of the mediaN251pp - Whose expertise counts? How is it acknowledged? These are explored in the context of contributors' experience of undertaking research with women in Zimbabwe. Questions of ownership and consent as well as other issues are discussed further in the context of the use of video in participatory communication.

Part 3: Tools for environmental and social change - The longest section in the book gives 35 tools and how to use them in facilitating participation. An introductory session explains how to use the section. Tools are cross referenced and for each the purpose, materials, process and estimated time is provided. For a number of the tools, examples of how they have been used in practice are included. Power, Process and Participation describes itself as a manual and although it does not immediately look like one, it is readable, logically arranged and combines instructions on how tools can be used with examples of how they have been used in practice. There are notes on how to use the book and how to choose from the tools offered. This book would be useful to anyone looking for both an overview of participation and how it can be used and misused; and guidance on facilitating the process.