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There has been a shortage of techniques for appraising the effectiveness of development projects and those that have been utilised have typically concentrated on the amount spent, the goods or services provided or the extra income earned. This paper outlines a participatory appraisal methodology based on the capability approach of Amartya Sen that allows for evaluation of a programme's progress in terms of criteria that are especially relevant to the participants in the programmes. The results of the application of this methodology to two case studies are presented.

The first is in a poverty alleviation programme based around a community gardens programme in a lower socio-economic area of Christchurch. The second is a self-help village development project in the Pacific Island nation of Samoa. There is discussion of new perspectives on the development process that these studies identified both in a developed nation context and in a developing country situation. A model is presented which puts the development process occurring for the participants at the centre of the appraisal process and which incorporates important elements of the capabilities approach. Finally the implications of the findings of this research for the formulation and appraisal of development and poverty alleviation initiatives are presented with emphasis on recommendations for policy makers on the incorporation of the methodology outlined into all stages of a programmes project cycle.

Stream: Economic Sustainability

Paper: Applying the Capabilities Approach to Economic Development