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Introduction | Summary of e-forum | Principles of Engagement | Registrants List | Prajateerpu Report | Authors' Comment | Directors' Comment | DFID Comment | View contributions

1 August - 10 September 2002

The Prajateerpu E-Forum is now closed, but these pages will continue to be available for review of the contributions.

A Summary of the E-Forum exchanges is now available

Introduction

Objectives
The Prajateerpu citizen jury process and subsequent report, which are part of a broader programme of collaborative research on Sustaining Local Food Systems, Agricultural Biodiversity and Livelihoods, have raised a number of critical issues of concern to all those committed to participatory processes for policy change. In light of the considerable interest generated by the report, IIED and IDS are creating a space for people to contribute to and extend this important debate.

We will be holding a moderated discussion on substantive methodological/process issues over a four-week period during the month of August 2002. The debate will focus on four central themes raised by the report and already commented on by a number of individuals in more informal interchanges.

Participants
The E-Forum aims to involve all interested and informed contributors, including representatives of community-based organisations, as well as staff of NGOs, government departments, international donor agencies, private companies, universities and research institutes. Practitioners and researchers who are conversant with participatory research and development approaches are particularly encouraged to share their insights and experiences.

This discussion begins with a joint statement from the Directors of IIED and IDS (Directors' Statement) and a comment from DFID India on the Prajateerpu report (DFID Comment).

Moderators
Professor Ian Scoones (Research Fellow, Environment Group, IDS) and Dr John Thompson (Director, Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods Programme, IIED), who co-edited the book Beyond Farmer First (1994, IT Publications) and are experienced participatory researcher-facilitators, will moderate the E-Forum discussion.

The moderators reserve the right to edit contributions on the basis of relevance/focus and language, but not in relation to content, view or opinion (see Principles of Engagement). Contributions will be posted several times per week. At the end of each week, submissions will be drawn together in a short summary, with the moderators highlighting any new points for further discussion. At the end of the process they will synthesise the contributions into a short document which will be sent to all participants.

E-Forum Process
The exchange of informed ideas and opinions, based on sound knowledge and practical experience, is a prerequisite to learning about participatory processes for policy change. The aim of this E-Forum is to encourage some generic lesson learning. Thus, detailed reference to specific elements of the Prajateerpu report are discouraged in favour of more general commentary according to the themes specified below. Contributors are also encouraged to respond to already posted items to encourage a free interaction in the E-Forum.

We ask all contributors to send their names, organisational affiliations, and contact details (including e-mail address) with their submissions (see below). Please mark clearly to which theme you are responding. Anonymous postings will not be accepted.

The submissions will be posted in full or in part under the relevant discussion theme. We encourage submissions of no more than 500 words in length, and only one submission per individual or group. Where a submission addresses two or more themes in any detail, it will be divided into sections and each section will be placed under the appropriate theme.

We regret that due to time and funding restrictions the E-Forum will be conducted in English only.

Discussion Themes
The four broad discussion themes will be considered simultaneously and will ask - what lessons do the Prajateerpu process and report tell us about:

1. Issues of representation in citizen juries and similar participatory approaches (e.g., How can we ensure that citizen juries are representative of the wider populations from which they are drawn? How can we extrapolate lessons from specific citizen jury deliberations on key issues to wider policy debates? How can we use citizen jury-type procedures to ensure that the voices of poor people are represented in policy decisions that impinge on their lives?)
   
   
2. Issues of evidence, legitimacy and authenticity (e.g., How can we ensure that citizen jury processes are fair and unbiased so that their 'verdicts' are accepted as trustworthy by all relevant actors?)
   
   
3. Issues of engagement with the policy process (e.g., How can citizen juries and related approaches help create spaces for constructive exchanges between key stakeholders? How can they be used to foster effective links between research and advocacy?; How can donors engage effectively with democratically-elected governments and civil society organisations through the use of participatory approaches, such as citizen juries?)
   
   
4. Issues of accountability and transparency (e.g., Who decides to whom and for whom citizen jury processes are accountable? How can such participatory processes be used to hold government departments, donor agencies and other actors more accountable and make policies and policy processes more responsive to the needs and priorities of poor people?)

Principles of Engagement

The following Principles of Engagement embody the values that govern the way we are approaching this E-Forum.

Those involved in this E-Forum do so with the assurance that IIED and IDS are committed to providing the opportunity for participants to interact, with these expectations:

1. This E-Forum provides a space for people to exchange constructive opinions and experiences on participatory research and development approaches for policy change.
   
   
2. We hope to identify and understand the diversity of perspectives, values and interests that can help contribute practicable insights and experiences on both policy and practice.
   
   
3. IIED and IDS have no authority to impose our points of view on any contributor and will not seek to edit any submissions in relation to their thematic content or opinion.
   
   
4. We will, however, reserve the right to edit submissions according to their relevance to the discussion and for language. Slanderous, obscene or incomprehensible correspondence will not be admitted.
   
   
5. The E-Forum will strive to identify where it can best help to guide the flow of discussion. The objective will be to help develop areas of common ground on topical themes, understand where differences exist and the underlying reasons for them.
   
   
6. Participating in and contributing to this exchange of views does not and will not be portrayed as an endorsement of the Prajateerpu report or related project, or the work of IIED or IDS.
   
   
7. To assure a free, open and constructive debate, only fully credited submissions (where authors give their full name and contact details) will be accepted.
   
   
8. Contributors may, if they so choose, request to make alterations or additions to their submissions after they have been posted on the E-Forum website and we will endeavour to update their contributions efficiently.
   
   
9. At the end of this E-Forum, we will ensure that all contributors will receive a synthesis report of the discussion.

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