Abid Ullah Jan is an independent author, journalist and community development specialist.

Developing Meso-level institutions
A guide for communtiy development practitioners, policy makers and front line staff.

ABID ULLAH JAN

ISBN: 969-8608-00-1,
Pages: 270
Published: 2001

The importance of this publication lies in the fact that it examines the issue of community empowerment in the light of rural or community development programmes in Pakistan over the last fifty years. National policy makers as well as funding agencies have begun to recognise that even the comprehensive programmes have failed to empower the communities in real sense.

Only reaching a substantial number of poor and forming thousands of community organisations is not the answer. There is a yawning gap between the micro- and macro-level. The bridging of micro-level activism and macro-level policy initiatives could not get materialised for amplifying the voice of the marginalised sections. Despite consuming millions of dollars, in the national arena the poverty alleviation efforts could not bring about major changes.

The long and short efforts at poverty alleviation through community empowerment for the past more than two decades could not even highlight the root causes of the poverty problem, let alone directly addressing them. On the other hand, the institutional contours of the poverty alleviation related non-government programmes have changed substantially. More efficient and effective fundraising initiatives have created a pool of financial resources available for sustaining these programmes. However, the balance sheet of community development in the last 25 years proved very unsatisfactory.

The author has analysed the work of different community development programmes and based on the field experience and extensive study delineated the most appropriate methodology and the most plausible alternative rural development model to undertake development of the meso-level institutions which have been neglected by almost all development initiatives. The most effective and sustainable challenge to the status quo in rural development could come from a section of institutionalised community development. This tension would pave the way for a polarisation wherein a substantial number of external NGOs would eventually become private profit-making business enterprises and a large number of local institutions would become part of the broader political movement that would simultaneously resist, engage and persuade hegemonic structures to devolve power.

Part of the book contains concepts and tools for the social mobilisers. Emerging out of the need to better equip the field workers for the empowerment of the poor, this book provides both conceptual clarity and the methodology and tools for effective social mobilisation. The first portion of the book has some history and analysis of development approaches, whereas an emphasis on the needed skills and related concepts useful to community workers has been added in the following sections for greater understanding and practical use. This book is developed in a way to assist community development professionals, planners, donors, administrators and managers in their endeavours to address the issue to poverty, institution building and good governance. In short, it is intended for government, NGO, professional and voluntary social organisers everywhere for releasing and utilising the potential of our communities to make them masters of their fate.