Promoting community participation in municipal services : the potable water project in Matagalpa, Nicaragua

Community participation in water service improvement projects has been fostered through a compensation program of wages/municipal bonds (60%/40%) for local workers participating in the improvement efforts, as well as through the outright sale of municipal bonds. A year-long promotional campaign is currently underway to solicit additional community support and funding for the project. Lessons learned from its initial success include the following. (1) Involving the youth of the community lends creativity, enthusiasm, and a greater sense of community to the campaign and allows local leaders to open debate on an issue from an environmental/technical viewpoint rather than from a political one. (2) Allowing the community to create the message of the campaign fosters a greater sense of community ownership both of the project and of the campaign itself. (3) An intensive campaign keeps the issue at hand on the minds of residents and allows it to be discussed openly within the community. (4) Implementation of a campaign can be very inexpensive, but outside assistance in initial stages will be necessary to help orient the municipality. (5) Leaders from various sectors of the community must be brought into the effort early on, kept informed, and solicited to carry the message to the community. (6) A variety of participation mechanisms are needed to gain interest in and support for the issue at hand. A concrete and practical response to the problem (in this case, the municipal bond program) is also necessary.