Editing International development (section)

===Participation===
{{Main|Participation (decision making)}}

{{See also|Orality}}

The concept of participation is concerned with ensuring that the intended beneficiaries of development projects and programmes are themselves involved in the planning and execution of those projects and programmes. This is considered important as it empowers the recipients of development projects to influence and manage their own development – thereby removing any culture of [[Dependency theory|dependency]]. It is widely considered to be one of the most important concepts in modern development theory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ids.ac.uk/team/participation-power-and-social-change|publisher=Institute for Development Studies|title=Participation, Power and Social Change research team – Overview|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328094300/http://www.ids.ac.uk/team/participation-power-and-social-change|archive-date=2013-03-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTSOCIALDEVELOPMENT/EXTPCENG/0,,menuPK:410312~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:410306,00.html|publisher=World Bank|title=Participation & Civic Engagement|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106102827/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTSOCIALDEVELOPMENT/EXTPCENG/0,,menuPK:410312~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:410306,00.html|archive-date=2007-01-06}}</ref> The ''UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security'' describes participation as:

{{Cquote|one of the ends as well as one of the means of development|||UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rdfs.net/themes/participation_en.htm|title=Participation|publisher=UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107132642/http://www.rdfs.net/themes/participation_en.htm|archive-date=2007-01-07}}</ref>
}}

Local participants in development projects are often products of [[orality|oral communities]].  This has led to efforts to design project planning and organizational development methods, such as [[participatory rural appraisal]], which are accessible to non-literate people.