Thesis (MA(Sos.))--Universiteit van Pretoria, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-80).

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The Gikongoro Agricultural Development Project (GADP) was implemented in Gikongoro in 1990 and terminated in 2001. It covered 83,508 ha with 250,000 habitants and had a target group of 42,000 farm families, with an estimated total budget of U$ 31.2 million. Its objectives focused on land development, increase of farm crops, environmental conservation and protection, stores and roads construction and bank loans for small farmers. Its expected impacts included the increase of incomes, enhancement of nutritional status and the resolution of the employment problem. The project was closed without achieving these goals. On the basis of this situation, the following research questions were raised: • How and to what degree did inadequate processes of management and evaluation contribute to the GADP failure? • How and to what degree did external environmental events prevent the GADP from achieving its objectives? • How was the participatory development approach used by the GADP in the process of learning? • What were the main causes that led the GADP to fail? • What could be done and what lessons could be drawn from this experience for the benefit of ongoing and future projects operating in Rwanda? The answer to these questions required a review of literature regarding project management and evaluation principles and organizational environment. The methods used for data collection included documentation, systems thinking, observation and interviews. Thematic analysis and systems thinking were used for data analysis. The findings located the reasons for GADP failure in different problem areas. The civil war of October 1990 and the genocide of April 1994, and frequent droughts, swept away the GADP resources. The GADP failed to identify the real needs of the beneficiaries (farmers), coordinate its stakeholders’ activities, and cooperate and communicate adequately with them. This resulted in delays and budget overruns. The failure to bring together management and evaluation caused the project to be ineffective and inefficient in its management of resources. The GADP closed having made no significant positive impacts on the farmers, especially women. To prevent future potential failures, it is recommended to introduce systems thinking in Rwandan higher education programs and to develop strong partnerships between public and private role players. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

Development projects are increasingly becoming tools to support developing countries to overcome their systemic barriers to development. International and bilateral development agencies channel billions of dollars in such projects or programs every year in hope to boost local development, but until now after decades of efforts and social investments no concrete development in those countries status have been spotlighted as a consequence of these. Rwanda as a small land locked developing Country in the heart of Africa has been allocated amount of grants and supports for many years and have been benefiting from an overwhelming international attention after the genocide of 1994 and one can wonder if these development programmes and projects have been of significant usefulness to the recipients. In such a move, this dissertation aims at systematically evaluating project outcomes through assessment of beneficiaries’ expectations grasped through a case study namely the Decentralization and Community Development Project (DCD) in Rwanda. It is also intended to provide a clear idea of what the project has achieved so far and what beneficiaries’ expectations were not met. In order to achieve research objectives, a systematic research method have been followed. It is therefore, important to recall that evaluation approaches as supported by Khandker and al. (2009), have evolved significantly, making difficult for an evaluator to choose the model or approach which is particular for a specific context suggesting that there is no universal and unique evaluation approach. In this research they were no move from this statement. Actually it was found worthy the use of a mixture of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to capture the real outcomes of the project. In fact using qualitative methods helped to understand the key players who would have influenced the project implementation and by using quantitative methods and recording the recipients’ aspirations and the effective outcomes from the project. We hypothetically assumed that DCDP did not provide enough outcomes as expected by recipients and in order to prove that, collected data from a random sample of 96 people out of a population of 256334 and 80 answers were collected back. Several unstructured interviews were conducted with project key players comprised of the project team, the local government, and the government officials in charge of the project as well as the World Bank Country Office. Excel were used to analyse collected data so as to allow a better analysis and interpretation of the data. As stated in the main argument, assumption were made that the project did not meet the stakeholder’s expectations but some salient findings of the study proved this to be wrong. In fact, more than 80% people in the project area recognised the project outcomes significance to their lives. Furthermore, the result shows that the project had an important impact on the community. For instance, the DCD project improved considerably the life conditions of the population of the district’s population; as an example, the recipients acknowledged at 100% that the DCD project increased both the employment and the revenue in the district of HUYE. This have a huge meaning, because it is ascertaining the hypothesis that DCD project participated in improving life conditions of the population, while giving a whole meaning to the project in the eyes of all the stakeholders. The main recommendation of the study was about the usefulness on involving the recipients (beneficiaries) in all the project process, including pre-identification so that the project may tackle the real problems of the beneficiaries. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

This was a study of the problems of community involvement in the Integrated Development Planning process in the Ditsobotla Local Municipality. These problems affects the manner in which the community participation should be done in the process. This exercise is the fulfilment of the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and Municipal Systems Act which emphases community participation in the IDP process. It was found that though surveyed legislation emphasized community participation in the study area, in Ditsobotla Local Municipality this was a problem. This was due to the fact that Ditsobotla Local Municipality had a vast area consisting of urban and rural areas, as well as a diversity of races and cultures. For example, it was easy to convene mass meeting in the black communities but difficult to get similar response among the white or Asian communities. Interaction was through the media, or written messages. The following are recommendations derived from the findings: That public participation should encompass a sense that the public's contribution will influence the final outcome. That the public participation process must reflect the interests of and meet the needs of participants. The participation process should facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected. Consideration should be given to how unorganized communities or interest groups could be brought together as participants. That participants should be involved in defining the manner in which they wish to participate. Participants should be provided with the information they need to make their contribution meaningful. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2002

This thesis is the result of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Phalombe District in Malawi, Southern Africa, where I studied agricultural development projects in the village of Kachala. The focus of this investigation is on people's perceptions and ideas of development co-operation and the meanings of development and poverty in general. Perceptions of development and poverty among villagers in Kachala are compared to those of development agents working for development organizations in the area. These perceptions are also compared to the definitions of development and poverty found throughout development literature. This research demonstrates - through examples from Phalombe District and elsewhere - how notions of development are relative, diverse and context-specific, and therefore not static and universally applicable. Finally, participatory development ideals and the structurally unequal donor-recipient relationships, at the core of the current development system, are discussed. This thesis illustrates how the common portrayal of development as an oppressive, disempowering industry, characterized by top-down interventions, does not always apply.

Bibliography: leaves 237-254. / xxi, 276 leaves : ill. (some col.), maps ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / This thesis asserts that rural-urban disparities and inequalities contribute to over-urbanisation and rural backwardness in developing countries. It also acknowledges that developed countries have minimised rural-urban disparities and inequalities through the provision and expansion of various urban services and facilities in rural areas. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Design, 1996?