People-centered development is an approach to
international development
International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic or human development on an international scale. It is the basis for international classifications ...
that focuses on improving local communities' self-reliance, social justice, and participatory decision-making. It recognizes that
economic growth
Economic growth can be defined as the increase or improvement in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy in a financial year. Statisticians conventionally measure such growth as the percent rate of ...
does not inherently contribute to human development
and calls for changes in social, political, and environmental values and practices.
History
In 1984,
David Korten
David C. Korten (born 1937) is an American author, former professor of the Harvard Business School, political activist, prominent critic of corporate globalization, and "by training and inclination a student of psychology and behavioral systems". ...
, a former regional advisor to the
U.S. Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 ...
(USAID), proposed a people-centered development strategy that incorporated the values of justice, sustainability, and inclusiveness. According to Korten, the prevailing growth-focused development strategy is unsustainable and inequitable. He calls for transformations of our institutions, technology, values, and behavior, "consistent with our ecological and social realities."
Published in 1989, The Manila Declaration on People's Participation and Sustainable Development sets forth principles and guidelines for enacting these transformations.
The concept of people-centered development gained recognition at several international development conferences in the 1990s, such as the Earth Summit in 1992, the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994, and the Summit for Social Development of 1995.
The concept was first widely promoted in the
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
's (UNDP) Human Development Report in 1990, in which countries' level of development was measured by the
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, whi ...
(HDI). The UNDP's report deems economic growth a necessary means to achieving sustainable development.
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in its 1996
official development assistance
Official development assistance (ODA) is a category used by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure aid, foreign aid. The DAC first adopted the concept in ...
(ODA) report that the objective of people-centered development is, "helping humankind lead an affluent and happy life."
"Shaping the 21st Century," a report published by the
Development Assistance Committee
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is a forum to discuss issues surrounding aid, development and poverty reduction in developing countries. It describes itself as being the ...
(DAC) of the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...
(OECD) in 1996, made people-centered development a target policy for all member countries. It stressed the importance of local ownership, participation, and
capacity building
Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms ''capacity building'' and ''capacity development'' ha ...
while attaining economic growth.
Central themes
Sustainability
Sustainability
Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...
is an inherent component and explicit goal of people-centered development. People-centered development calls for the establishment of self-supporting social and economic systems, key elements of a sustainable society.
In addition to its commitment to people-centered development, the DAC High-Level Meeting in May 1996 made sustainability a concrete development goal, requiring the implementation of national sustainability initiatives by 2005 in order to reverse deforestation, water pollution, and other trends of environmental degradation.
The Manila Declaration stated that people-centered development is the only way to achieve sustainable communities. Expanding beyond the environmental scope of sustainability, it advocates small-scale community actions in order to enhance economic self-reliance and create reliable sources of income. It also calls for debt reductions and blames excessive long-term foreign debt financing for the cyclical repayment burdens and policy impositions that inhibit sustainable development.
David Korten claims that people-centered development is the only way to develop sustainable communities.
He criticized the common development practice of increased economic output through natural
resource depletion
Resource depletion is the consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished. Natural resources are commonly divided between renewable resources and non-renewable resources (see also mineral resource classification). Use of either ...
.
Korten also advocates sustainability in the financing of development projects and the relationships of external assistance. He calls on external development partners to support objectives chosen by the people, building communities' capacity to manage resources and meet local needs independently.
Participation
In the context of people-centered development, central elements of participation include:
*
Democratic process
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choose gover ...
es
*Government accountability
*Access to relevant information
*Gender equality
The OECD noted that democratic processes are essential to people-centered development because they allow communities to create their own development goals and influence the decisions that determine their
quality of life
Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
. Community participation and true democratic process demand that people have the means to hold government officials and public institutions accountable.
It requires that governments act as enablers for the peoples' agenda, creating policies that enhance citizen action.
Communities must have access to relevant, reliable information in order to make the best decisions for themselves and their communities.
The Manila Declaration proposed global monitoring systems to increase peoples' access to relevant information in order for communities to make rational decisions and protect their interests.
True democratic processes can only be achieved when men and women are represented equally.
People-centered development necessitates equality in the roles of men and women, a systemic problem in many developing nations.
The OECD noted several reasons why women are essential to sustainable, people-centered development:
#the rate of return on female education investment could be higher than that of any other investment,
#the problems brought by poverty affect women more than other groups,
#as managers of natural resources, women are key contributors to sustainability
Justice
In the context of people-centered development, elements of justice include:
*Local ownership
*Sovereignty of the people & government enablement
*Employment and income generation
The OECD's DAC affirms that the role of external development partners is to enhance developing countries' capacity to meet sustainable development requirements.
This strategy emphasizes the need for local ownership so that communities have responsibility and control over their resources in order to benefit themselves and also stresses the role of government as an enabler for the peoples' agenda.
According to David Korten, individuals have a greater incentive to pursue sustainable environmental practices when resources are locally owned.
In addition, he says that people-centered development "rejects the right of one person to self-enrichment based on the appropriation of the resources on which another person's survival depends."
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs adopted a strategy of people-centered development in 1996, citing the concept's growing centrality at international development conferences. It recognized a primary concern of people-centered development – whether or not the benefits of economic growth (e.g. increased employment and income) are seen in underserved communities.
The Manila Declaration proposed reductions in resource exports in order to address this concern. A reduction in exports would allow communities to meet their local needs first.
According to Korten, a share of surplus production should then be used to create high value-added products, providing the optimal benefits to developing communities.
References
{{Reflist
External links
People-Centered Development Forum
International sustainable development
Community development