Can information outreach increase participation in community-driven development? A field experiment near Bwindi National Park, Uganda. (June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Buntaine, Mark T.; Daniels, Brigham; Devlin, Colleen
• Is Part Of: World development. Volume 106(2018)
• Page Start: 407
• Page End: 421
• Publication Date: 2018-06
• Subjects: Community-driven development -- Capture -- Participation -- Information; Economic history -- 1990- -- Periodicals; Economic assistance -- Developing countries -- Periodicals; 330.9
• DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.10.029
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0305-750X

Abstract

Highlights: We designed a randomized field experiment that informed citizens about how to participate in community-driven development. The informational treatment did not increase knowledge, participation, or satisfaction with local institutions on average. We find some evidence for a backfire effect, where the treatment discouraged potential participants, especially women. We find that the informational treatment did have some positive effects when it reached more people in a community. Information needs to increase collective action potential to drive participation and overcome capture. Abstract: Decentralization and community-driven development intend to bring public decisions closer to the people, yet elites often capture local institutions. One way that local elites capture community-driven development is to limit information about opportunities for citizens to shape group decisions. We investigate whether sending citizens targeted and timely information about when and how they can participate in the planning of community-driven development projects increases knowledge, participation, and satisfaction with local institutions. We implemented a pre-registered randomized field experiment in partnership with the Uganda Wildlife Authority that involved sending residents in randomly selected villages near Bwindi National Park approximately 60 messages by mobile phone over eight months about how a park-sponsored revenue sharing program worked and how and when residents could participate. We do not find evidence that the information increased perceived knowledge, participation, perceived efficacy, or satisfaction with local institutions. Exploratory findings suggest that among women, who are often disenfranchised in Ugandan society, the information treatment backfired related to perceived opportunities to participate. More positively, we find that reaching more people in a community with information led to promising results related to participation and satisfaction with the park. We conclude that informational treatments are unlikely to empower participation on average, unless they are deployed broadly and in ways that promote collective action.