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Participatory development is an approach that involves communities actively in planning, implementing, and evaluating projects that affect their lives. Unlike traditional top-down development, it values local knowledge, promotes inclusion, empowers people, and ensures sustainable outcomes. Key methods include participatory rural appraisal, focus group discussions, community workshops, and participatory monitoring. While it may face challenges like power imbalances and longer decision-making processes, participatory development strengthens community ownership, builds capacity, and fosters social cohesion, making development more relevant and sustainable.
Research is often seen as something conducted on people, but a more inclusive approach focuses on conducting research with people. This is the essence of participatory research—a method that actively involves community members in the research process, making outcomes more relevant, accurate, and actionable