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Methodfinder Practitioner's Guide: Social Inclusion

Author: Claudia Maier, Bodo Schulze, Sophia Sprenger
Date: 2008
Size: 15 pages (997 KB)

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Summary

How can social inclusion be embedded in development programmes? This handbook from German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) suggests that social exclusion can best be addressed through integrated approaches and collaborations between different stakeholders to produce interventions at different levels. As a cross-cutting issue, inclusion requires awareness raising and a change of consciousness. It also requires a long-term strategic response.

Social exclusion is defined as the systematic and multi-dimensional deprivation of certain groups within a society. These deprivations are interlocking and exist in all societies. Excluded groups lack access to opportunities, resources and services as well as the voice and power to change their situations. Deeply rooted power relations and socio-cultural institutions that enable or constrain human interaction lie at the core of social exclusion.

Social inclusion should be embedded in social analysis, organisational and institutional analysis, planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting. There needs to be broad representation of excluded groups in planning and decision-making processes. On the beneficiary level, programmes should be aware of possible transformations of informal power relations, decision-making procedures, social norms and practices. These aspects should be reviewed through impact monitoring. The following steps represent the main milestones in this iterative process:

• Social analysis and definition of target groups.
• Preparation of an inventory of socially excluded community members within the target area. The creation of a disaggregated baseline data allows progress to be monitored and change relating to particular groups to be tracked over time.
• Organisational awareness, which helps remove institutional barriers to social inclusion within one's own organisation. This includes awareness raising and capacity development among staff, partners and beneficiaries and an inclusive policy on staff recruitment.
• Monitoring and reporting formats that can be reviewed to ensure they capture all relevant information on social inclusion.
• Active participation of excluded groups.

The issue of social exclusion must also be addressed from above, both at the level of governance structure and by specific policies including formal rights and regulations. This is important in order to change structural opportunities and to facilitate sustainable social progress towards equity and equality. It is import to support:

• Legal changes in order to ensure equal citizenship rights and access to institutions and resources for all groups in the society.
• Affirmative action, for example through awarding scholarships.
• Revision of partners' sector plans, policies and programmes in order to identify whether they address social inequality and inequity.
• Improvements in the monitoring capacity of sectoral ministries.
• Development of capacity and institutional mechanisms across all administrative levels and sectors for more effective and coordinated implementation of social inclusion as a cross-cutting issue.
• Good governance as well as the freedom of the media and the right of association to establish a conducive environment for social inclusion.

Access full text: available online

Source: Maier C., Schulze B., Sprenger S., 2008, 'Methodfinder Practitioner's Guide: Social Inclusion', German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) Food Security and Rehabilitation Project, Kathmandu