Recommendations of the entebbe workshop

The Entebbe Workshop set up a working group on "Project Planning." Its task was to summarise and draw lessons from the groups that had presented their experiences and the subsequent discussion. It made the following recommendations on project planning:

The workshop recognised that the success of integrated sustainable projects depends on the time, effort and expertise put in the initial planning process of the project. Thorough mobilisation of both local and outside resources, analysis, implementation and streamlined evaluation process were identified as essential components of project planning. It was further proposed that:

· Planning should be integrated, participatory and should involve the beneficiaries and funding partners in collaboration with the community.

· The beneficiaries who are the ultimate owners of the project should be facilitated to understand and articulate implementation effectively.

· Professionals who work with the beneficiaries should ensure that the planned objectives are achievable. In most cases, local expertise should be utilised to build the organisational capacity. The original ideas about the project should come from the beneficiaries.

· The plans should have projected implementation guidelines that are time scheduled with tasks to be determined by the various abilities of PWDs.

· Plans should reflect the achievable goals and the project that will be realised. What the project will realise in terms of revenue; how, whom, and when members will share the benefits; what percentage will be ploughed back into the project. The plan should incorporate an ownership system that recognizes equal opportunities for its members.

· It was resolved and recommended that partners must be transparent and accountable to their members and funders as well as involving members during the identification, designing, planning, implementation and evaluation of their projects. Decision making in groups and PWD organisations should be democratized.

· Special interests were also emphasised. This included women with disabilities (WWDs) and children. If PWDs were deprived of opportunities, WWDs were more deprived and disadvantaged. The need to conduct sensitivity programmes for different members of the society was recommended.

This would enable WWDs and children with disabilities to fully integrate into the mainstream.

The need to involve men in sensitisation programmes was emphasised. Affirmative action and supportive laws were also recommended. Furthermore, the United Nations System (including the ILO) should give more consideration to supporting disabled women's initiatives in their programmes.

· It was finally recommended that organisations of disabled persons should encourage the participation of disabled women by ensuring that there is at least 50 percent representation of disabled women in decision making, designing, planning, implementation and evaluation Of programmes of disabled persons.