IT IS RARE to see the ideas upheld by a non-governmental organization (NGO) being incorporated into government-led social programmes. This appears to be the case with some of the ideas of the Instituto Internacional de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo (IIED-America Latina)⁽¹⁾ on poverty reduction initiatives and the Argentine Government’s Programme of Support to Vulnerable Groups (PAGV). Both institutions promote strategies such as participatory planning, a cross-sectoral approach involving a range of actors, and giving financial support to community initiatives.⁽²⁾

This paper describes and analyzes the implementation of the participatory planning process (PPP) that constituted the first stage of the PAGV...

THIS PROGRAMME, CREATED by Argentina’s National Secretariat of Social Development, sought to contribute towards improving the living conditions of vulnerable groups⁽⁴⁾ and to reduce the social risks they face. Its purpose is to facilitate their access to social services through the implementation of an innovative management model which aims to strengthen social networks, increase community participation and promote transparency in the use of government resources at the local level.

Risk factors include the limited social capital available to vulnerable groups and their limited and difficult access to public social services (health, education, housing, social welfare, etc.). Social policies that target...

PARTICIPATORY PLANNING PROCESSES (PPPs) that were undertaken in three zones of San Fernando over five months (June to November) in 1999 had the following objectives:

to formulate a diagnosis of the situation of vulnerable groups;

to prioritize their problems and needs; and

to identify actions that responded to these problems, and prepare projects and design the neighbourhood scheme.

The PPPs were carried out using two different activities, namely, workshops and interim meetings. The workshops consisted of six meetings with all those involved in the processes, whilst the interim meetings were gatherings with selected participants in order to explore in greater...

THE DESCRIPTION AND analysis of the PPPs that were undertaken in San Fernando allow some conclusions to be reached that can be useful for social programmes aimed at reducing poverty and social exclusion.

The PPPs showed that, given the needs and problems of people belonging to vulnerable groups, it is very difficult for such people to participate in planning processes that give rise to projects where benefits are not apparent in the short term.

Few of the organizations that participated during the course of the PPPs included members of vulnerable groups. With the exception of the organizations working with young...