Islamic Republic of Afghanistan - Enhanced Integrated Framework ...

CHAPTER 2THE PARTICIPATORY PROCESS AND PROVINCIALDEVELOPMENT PLANSPublic support for the successful implementationof the ANDS is essential. Therefore, Governmenthas developed the ANDS over thecourse of the past three years through a thoroughlyparticipatory manner, to seed the emergenceof a grass roots democracy, ensuringownership from people from all corners andwalks of life, civil society, the private sector,religious establishments, international communityand all government institutions at the nationaland sub-national levels. In the course ofdeveloping the ANDS, the Government hasundertaken a public policy dialogue with allkey stakeholders, embarking on a provincialbased planning process across all provinces tobring government closer to its people, and thepeople closer to government. The outcomesand lessons learned from this consultation exerciseprovided an opportunity to participate indiscussions on the development national policyand strategy framework.The ANDS is the product of extensive consultationsat the national, provincial and local levels.National consultations involved practically allgovernmental and major civil society institutionsincluding Non Governmental Organizations(NGOs), cultural associations, religiouscommunities, the private sector, influential individuals,experts and the international community.Sub-national consultations involveddiscussions with provincial governors, provincialrepresentative bodies, representative villagecouncils, parliamentarians representingeach province, local civil society, representativesof Provincial Reconstruction Teams(PRTs) and prominent individuals in all 34provinces of Afghanistan. More than 17,000people, 47 percent of whom were women, directlyparticipated in the consultation process.The consultations included all pillars of ANDS.This section summarizes the participatory andconsultative process and the lessons learnedfrom it.ORGANIZING PRINCIPLESAND PARTICIPATIONPROCESS 7The Government undertook extensive andthorough consultations, far exceeding thedepth and quantity of consultations usuallyundertaken as part of a PRSP process. To supportthe comprehensive development frameworkof the ANDS, the aims of the consultationprocess were to:• build a national consensus with respect tothe Government’s overall vision, developmentstrategy, and greater understandingof the realistic pace at which national developmentcould take place;• ensure that citizens had a real impact ondevelopment and implementation of publicpolicy;• ensure ownership by the Government,which is critical for successful strategy implementation;• be as inclusive as possible to capture theopinions and views of different groups toensure a representative strategy wouldemerge capable of addressing the needsand priorities of all citizens, and in theprocess ensuring Government fulfillment7 Participation is the process by which stakeholders influence andshare control over priority setting, policymaking, resource allocations,and/or program implementation. While there is no blueprintfor participation, because it plays a role in many different contextsand for different purposes, the Government has worked hardto design a meaningful participatory process as part of the futureANDS.The Participatory Process 17