BENEFICIARIES’ PERCEPTION AND PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS: A STUDY OF THE PAMPAIDA MILLENNIUM VILLAGES PROJECT OF THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME IN KADUNA STATE (2006-2011)
ABSTRACT
This thesis focuses on one of the recent approaches to eradicating extreme hunger and meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), namely the Millennium Villages Project (MVP) of the  United  Nations  Development  Programme  (UNDP),  Millennium  Promise  and  the  Earth Institute  at  Columbia  University  in  the  United  States.  It  investigates  the  beneficiaries’ perceptions of the UNDP and their participation in the Pampaida MVP in Ikara LGA of Kaduna State, Nigeria  which is based on the participatory principle. The MVP is a community-led project  that  seeks  its  objectives  by  building  the  capacity  of  local  peoples  for  democratic governance,  self-reliance  and  sustainability  during  and  after  the  period  of  intervention. Perception, as established by existing literature, is the key to understanding, predicting and managing people’s individual and collective behaviours, especially in such projects that require a synergy that includes the local stakeholders, in order to succeed in the long run. A total of 107 questionnaires were retrieved from the field, and interviews were conducted with three MVP staff members; the information obtained from the questionnaires was analysed and presented in simple  frequency  tables,   while  the  interview  results   were  summarised  and  interpreted accordingly. The study was undertaken  within the framework of  the theory of participatory community development. The findings of the study include the following: first, the beneficiaries have a favourable perception of the UNDP as an organisation on the basis of the Millennium Villages Project in Pampaida. Also, the effective execution of entry point activities (EPAs) or pre-intervention and the actual intervention are factors that influenced this perception. Secondly, it was found that there is a positive relationship between the respondents’ perception and their involvement as beneficiaries-cum-participants in the MVP, which is a participatory project. The MVP  pre-intervention  functioned  as  the  tool  for  perception  management  that  set  forth  the objectives and principles of the project, equipped the people with necessary knowledge and skill, and  facilitated  the  formation  of  definite  expectations  among  the  beneficiaries.  This  was reinforced  by  the  initial  benefits  that  came  with  the  EPAs  and  the  take  off  of  the  MVP intervention. All these gave the motivation to the fully expectant beneficiaries to participate in the MVP intervention in the manner they did initially. Thirdly, there were problems that emerged in  the  process  from  among  the  beneficiaries-cum-participants,  underscored  by  issues  and discrepancies  with  respect  to  the  MVP  intervention  sectors  and  the  MVP  staff,  which  the beneficiaries-cum-participants perceived and judged to be unexpected, undesirable and negative enough to make them fearful and uncertain about what to expect, to warrant their disagreement with MVP staff, their refusal to participate in some intervention sectors, and/or even their outright opposition to some intervention sectors. The study concludes that perception lies at the bottom  of  the  behaviours  of  the  Pampaida  MVP  beneficiaries,  thereby  demonstrating  the significance  of  beneficiaries’  perceptions  in  determining  their  behaviours  (positive  and negative), and therefore brought to the fore, as recommendation, the inestimable need and value of integrating the study of beneficiaries’ perception and the deliberate process of perception management  within  the  structure  of  participatory  projects  that  are  being  undertaken  by international organisations, the Government, Non-Governmental Organisations, etc.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1    PREAMBLE
Part of the reasons for the formation of international organisations is the need to solve world problems that have severe implications on world peace. There exist several theories, strategies and approaches for explaining and solving world problems, including the  renowned  Millennium  Development  Goals  (MDGs)  that  represent  a  worldwide political  partnership  among  the  world‟s  countries  to  address  problems  like  extreme hunger, poverty, gender inequality, maternal and child health, and education, and for which the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been commissioned to monitor on the global scene and at country levels. This study focuses on one of the approaches to meeting the MDGs, the Millennium Villages Project (MVP), which is a partnership   initiative   of  the   UNDP,   Millennium  Promise   (an   international  non- governmental organisation that  is committed to  fighting global poverty,  meeting the MDGs and realising global development using the MVP approach) and Earth Institute at Columbia University in the United States. It is one of the most recent approaches which has  recorded  immense,  quantifiable  success  and  holds  high  hopes  for  the  future of development,   particularly   in   sub-Saharan   Africa,   if   properly   sustained.   It   is   a participatory  project,  that  is,  a  village-by-village  based  approach  to  ending  extreme poverty and meeting the MDGs in the world‟s poorest regions, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. The motivation for this study is based on the fact that the MVP approach is designed to be led by the local stakeholders or the beneficiaries themselves in the process
of initiation, implementation and sustenance. This research is thus a study of the local stakeholders‟ or beneficiaries‟ perception of the UNDP (the lead partner that provided the initial operational and administrative framework for the Pampaida MVP between 2006 and 2011) and their participation in the MVP. There are about 14 MVPs across sub- Saharan Africa, and two of them are sited in Nigeria at Ikaram/Ibaram in Ondo State and Pampaida in Kaduna State. The Pampaida Millennium Villages Project in Ikara Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna State, Nigeria was selected for this study.
1.2    STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
This study is an investigation of beneficiaries‟ perception of the UNDP and their participation in the MVP implementation process in their community, Pampaida village. In other words, it  is an attempt  to  study the relationship  between the beneficiaries‟ perception of the UNDP and their participation in the MVP intervention in Pampaida. The basis for the choice of this focus of investigation is the fact that, although externally initiated, the Millennium Villages Project is a community-led approach to ending extreme poverty and achieving the MDGs, meaning that the participation of local stakeholders in the MVP is indispensable. The need here, therefore, is to understand factors, issues and the  relationship  around  and/or  linking  the  local  stakeholders‟  perception  of  the international  organisation  and  their  participation  in  the  MVP  intervention  in  their community. Therefore, the following research questions were asked in the study
* MSC POL. SCI.