On the Frontlines of Scaling-Up : A Qualitative Analysis of Implementation Challenges in a CDD Project in Rural India

This paper analyzes four years of qualitative data observing a large participatory anti-poverty project in India as it scales up from its first phase (covering 400,000 households) to its second (covering 800,000 households). Focusing on the frontli...

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Main Authors: Majumdar, Shruti, Rao, Vijayendra, Sanyal, Paromita
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/610721493131639450/On-the-frontlines-of-scaling-up-a-qualitative-analysis-of-implementation-challenges-in-a-CDD-project-in-rural-India
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26478
id okr-10986-26478
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-264782021-06-08T14:42:45Z On the Frontlines of Scaling-Up : A Qualitative Analysis of Implementation Challenges in a CDD Project in Rural India Majumdar, Shruti Rao, Vijayendra Sanyal, Paromita IMPLEMENTATION ADAPTATION COMMUNITY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT POVERTY STAKEHOLDERS PARTICIPATION POLITICS This paper analyzes four years of qualitative data observing a large participatory anti-poverty project in India as it scales up from its first phase (covering 400,000 households) to its second (covering 800,000 households). Focusing on the frontlines of change -- at the village level, the analysis finds that the key difference between implementation in the two phases of the project was that facilitators in the first phase deployed a discourse that was carefully "co-produced" with its beneficiaries. Through careful groundwork and creative improvisation, facilitators incorporated the interests of multiple stakeholders on the ground while bringing beneficiaries into the project. However, as the project scaled up, participants were mobilized quickly with a homogenous and fixed script that lacked the kind of improvisation that characterized the first phase, and which failed to include diverse stakeholder interests, objectives, and voices. These differences significantly reduced the intensity of participation and its concomitant social impacts. The study finds that the work of facilitators was embedded in a larger shift in organizational priorities within the project, which in turn was responding to a shift in the political climate. 2017-04-27T16:40:49Z 2017-04-27T16:40:49Z 2017-04 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/610721493131639450/On-the-frontlines-of-scaling-up-a-qualitative-analysis-of-implementation-challenges-in-a-CDD-project-in-rural-India http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26478 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8039 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper South Asia India
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
en_US
topic IMPLEMENTATION
ADAPTATION
COMMUNITY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT
POVERTY
STAKEHOLDERS
PARTICIPATION
POLITICS
spellingShingle IMPLEMENTATION
ADAPTATION
COMMUNITY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT
POVERTY
STAKEHOLDERS
PARTICIPATION
POLITICS
Majumdar, Shruti
Rao, Vijayendra
Sanyal, Paromita
On the Frontlines of Scaling-Up : A Qualitative Analysis of Implementation Challenges in a CDD Project in Rural India
geographic_facet South Asia
India
relation Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8039
description This paper analyzes four years of qualitative data observing a large participatory anti-poverty project in India as it scales up from its first phase (covering 400,000 households) to its second (covering 800,000 households). Focusing on the frontlines of change -- at the village level, the analysis finds that the key difference between implementation in the two phases of the project was that facilitators in the first phase deployed a discourse that was carefully "co-produced" with its beneficiaries. Through careful groundwork and creative improvisation, facilitators incorporated the interests of multiple stakeholders on the ground while bringing beneficiaries into the project. However, as the project scaled up, participants were mobilized quickly with a homogenous and fixed script that lacked the kind of improvisation that characterized the first phase, and which failed to include diverse stakeholder interests, objectives, and voices. These differences significantly reduced the intensity of participation and its concomitant social impacts. The study finds that the work of facilitators was embedded in a larger shift in organizational priorities within the project, which in turn was responding to a shift in the political climate.
format Working Paper
author Majumdar, Shruti
Rao, Vijayendra
Sanyal, Paromita
author_facet Majumdar, Shruti
Rao, Vijayendra
Sanyal, Paromita
author_sort Majumdar, Shruti
title On the Frontlines of Scaling-Up : A Qualitative Analysis of Implementation Challenges in a CDD Project in Rural India
title_short On the Frontlines of Scaling-Up : A Qualitative Analysis of Implementation Challenges in a CDD Project in Rural India
title_full On the Frontlines of Scaling-Up : A Qualitative Analysis of Implementation Challenges in a CDD Project in Rural India
title_fullStr On the Frontlines of Scaling-Up : A Qualitative Analysis of Implementation Challenges in a CDD Project in Rural India
title_full_unstemmed On the Frontlines of Scaling-Up : A Qualitative Analysis of Implementation Challenges in a CDD Project in Rural India
title_sort on the frontlines of scaling-up : a qualitative analysis of implementation challenges in a cdd project in rural india
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2017
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/610721493131639450/On-the-frontlines-of-scaling-up-a-qualitative-analysis-of-implementation-challenges-in-a-CDD-project-in-rural-India
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26478
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