ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to assess what has happened in the last 15 years with community-driven development (CDD). CDD going forward is likely to look much more like the elements of CDD, as described by Hans Binswanger in the early 2000s putting into practice his vision that scaled-up CDD programs would be fully embedded in poverty reduction strategies and programs. Binswanger always maintained that CDD needed to invest in rigorous monitoring and evaluation research to show that it was more efficient and effective than the counterfactual in achieving the multiple objectives of poverty alleviation, good governance, and inclusion. Critics of CDD are equally passionate about the need for more evidence that participatory programs like CDD work better than the counterfactual, before financiers embark on wide-scale investment programs. Successful nationally scaled-up CDD programs, managed by national governments, are increasingly integrating all five elements recommended by Binswanger: empowered communities, empowered local governments, realigned central sectors, downward accountability, and capacity building of all stakeholders.
