Participation Case Study Part of 2004 Report "Designing Social Capital Sensitive Participation Methodologies"

The selected case study is an evaluation undertaken in 2002 by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The evaluation is reported in draft form in a document entitled ‘Gender Diagnosis and Evaluation of Three IFAD Funded Projects in Zimbabwe’. This report provides background, methodology, discussion and findings and recommendations gained from the evaluation of the three IFAD funded projects. The three projects were Smallholder Dry Areas Resource Management Project (SDARMP), Smallholder Irrigation Support Programme (SISP), and South Eastern Dry Areas Project (SEDAP). The aim of the study was to facilitate the overall evaluation of the current projects identification, design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation (M & E) systems in relation to their inclusion of gender issues, and then based on these findings, to facilitate the design of effective and appropriate interventions for the discovered weaknesses. The Gender Diagnosis and Evaluation (GDE) assesses whether, and to what extent, the projects respond to the specific interests and needs of various categories of women, as compared to men and proposes strategies/actions to address existing and potential weaknesses.

The project was highly participatory and involved various methodologies to ensure accurate and representative data collection. It was identified that the project areas were generally traditional villages with distinct gender roles and power distinctions. Traditionally strong norms and mores were observed with social status highly dependent on age and gender. The key participatory tools used in the project included stakeholder analysis, key informant interviews, workshops, focus groups, public meetings, dissemination of information and questionnaires. These tools were used at key parts of the project cycle. During the project scoping stage a high level stakeholder analysis was performed. During the design phase, a more detailed stakeholder analysis was done for each project area. Key informant interviews and workshops were also performed during the design. During implementation of the project a range of participatory tools were used, including key informant interviews, focus groups, public meetings, dissemination of information and written questionnaires. For the purposes of this study the following participatory tools were selected for analysis and discussion: focus groups; public meetings; dissemination of information; and written questionnaires.

• Dissemination of Information – Participation Case Study
• Focus Groups – Participation Case Study
• Public Meetings – Participation Case Study
• Questionnaires – Participation Case Study
• Recommendations – Participation Case Study