Participation of youth in local level governance: developing country case study

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 8-18
Author(s):  
Enock Jengre ◽  
Stephen D. Kpinpuo
Keyword(s):  
Developing Country ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Youth Participation ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Country Case Study ◽  
Municipal Assembly ◽  
District Assemblies

This study investigates the factors that influence youth participation in local level governance in Ghana, a developing country. The Upper West Region was selected as a case study for this research. Through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, as well as analysis of policy documents, the study reveals that the youth are more skillful in the use of technology and other strategic interventions to help address local, national, and global issues. Nonetheless, they are often marginalized and discriminated by their older partners at the Wa Municipal Assembly (WMA). Factors such as institutional barriers, partisan politicking, and inadequate resources account for much of the limitations placed on youth participation in the WMA. Given that the youth constitute more than half of Ghana`s population and 36% of the population of Wa, it is important to rethink the place of the youth in the management of the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies

scholarly journals Participatory monitoring and evaluation in local government: a case study of Lambussie District, Ghana

2021 ◽  
pp. 40-55
Author(s):  
Bernard Afiik Akanpabadai Akanbang ◽  
Anass Ibn Abdallah
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Participatory Monitoring ◽  
Local Government Level ◽  
District Assemblies

Ghana has pursued decentralisation since 1988, but its implementation continues to face challenges. Participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) is one of the tools that can help local governments to be more effective in the planning and management of development projects. However, the issues involved in implementing PM&E in rural local governments operating within a rapidly changing sociocultural and political environment have not been sufficiently explored. To fill this gap in knowledge, this paper draws on project and policy documents and primary data on the application of PM&E in District Assemblies’ Common Fund projects implemented between 2013 and 2017 in Ghana’s Lambussie District. Six key informant interviews were held with district- and regional-level stakeholders, and eight focus group discussions were undertaken at the community level. The research found that inadequate provision for operationalising PM&E at the local level, and lack of accountability and feedback mechanisms, resulted in a tokenistic approach to PM&E. The authors suggest that research and advocacy on mechanisms for holding district authorities accountable is vital to the success of future PM&E initiatives at local government level.

scholarly journals Characterising Local Knowledge across the Flood Risk Management Cycle: A Case Study of Southern Malawi

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Šakić Trogrlić ◽  
Grant Wright ◽  
Melanie Duncan ◽  
Marc van den Homberg ◽  
Adebayo Adeloye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Local Knowledge ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Flood Risk Management ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Complex Knowledge

People possess a creative set of strategies based on their local knowledge (LK) that allow them to stay in flood-prone areas. Stakeholders involved with local level flood risk management (FRM) often overlook and underutilise this LK. There is thus an increasing need for its identification, documentation and assessment. Based on qualitative research, this paper critically explores the notion of LK in Malawi. Data was collected through 15 focus group discussions, 36 interviews and field observation, and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings indicate that local communities have a complex knowledge system that cuts across different stages of the FRM cycle and forms a component of community resilience. LK is not homogenous within a community, and is highly dependent on the social and political contexts. Access to LK is not equally available to everyone, conditioned by the access to resources and underlying causes of vulnerability that are outside communities’ influence. There are also limits to LK; it is impacted by exogenous processes (e.g., environmental degradation, climate change) that are changing the nature of flooding at local levels, rendering LK, which is based on historical observations, less relevant. It is dynamic and informally triangulated with scientific knowledge brought about by development partners. This paper offers valuable insights for FRM stakeholders as to how to consider LK in their approaches.

scholarly journals Refleksiv institusjonalisering. Nytt frivillig engasjement i brytningen mellom endring og stabilitet

2018 ◽  
pp. 211-234
Author(s):  
Ivar Eimhjellen
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Organizational Adaptation ◽  
Organizational Growth ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Organizational Identities ◽  
Community Based Organization

In this chapter I explore how collective action is initiated, mobilized and organized in light of trends of more individualized and reflexive forms of volunteering in Norway. By conducting a qualitative case-study of the climate-based Transition-initiative in Bergen, Norway, I have illustrated how general trends in volunteering are manifested on the local level, shaped by institutionalized frames of action, but also open for interpretative flexibility. Adaptation to reflexive and self-oriented volunteers in Transition entailed a decentralized, informal, flexible, network- and neighborhood-based mode of organizing collective action, focusing on the volunteers’ and participants’ personal interests and resources and the surrounding social and physical infrastructure. A prerequisite behind this organizational form were paid positions for coordinating, administrating and “nudging” volunteers and their activities to fit the organization’s objective. A certain degree of formalization and institutionalization due to organizational growth has also been necessary over the course of the years. Contradicting expectations from the theory of reflexive volunteering of attenuated organizational identities and social bonds in organizations, the Transition-initiative indicated the opposite, aiming at building a community-based organization. Albeit being locally focused, the initiative was inspired by global issues and is also connected to the international Transition movement, and is also a political actor on the national level. In order to analytically describe the Transition-initiative I propose the concept of reflexive institutionalization, referring to an organizational adaptation to reflexive forms of volunteering simultaneous to an inevitable process of institutionalizing some form of organizational structure if a sustainable (network-) organization is to be built.

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