Significance of Community Participation on Sustainability of Development Projects: A Conceptual Analysis

Abstract

Sustainability of development became a more substantial concern among developing countries. The participatory approach to adapt and exercise community participation in the development projects enriches the sustainability of the development plans. This study has been undertaken to explore the participatory approach and to discuss the significance of community involvement as a key tool for sustainable progress of development projects. As it is a conceptual paper, the discussions and arguments were presented based on secondary sources that were already published. The discussion revealed that participatory approach, especially the ‘bottom-up approach’ is a useful strategy to ensure greater degree of community participation in all stages such as preparation, designing, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development initiatives. Also this paper determined that the mechanism of participatory model (community participation – bottom-up approach) is a key component to reach the goals, and ensure the success and sustainability of the development projects.