Browsing by Author "Obeng-Baah, Joseph"

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    Non-Governmental Organizations and Development Service Provision: A Conceptual and Empirical Review
    (PanAfrican Journal of Governance and Development (PJGD), 2022-02) Odoom, Daniel; Obeng-Baah, Joseph; Agyepong, Lawrencia
    Globally, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are seen as a significant driving force behind delivering development services. There is universal consensus within the development community that development service delivery will be incomplete without the involvement of NGOs. Thus, many NGOs across the globe complement governments' efforts in development service delivery, a situation that has occasioned a rapid rise in both the volume and scale of operations of NGOs. Nonetheless, there is a growing debate regarding the conceptual intentions of NGOs. While some scholars believe that NGOs effectively provide development services, others have suggested that development service delivery does not constitute a critical component of NGOs' agenda. There is also the issue of whether or not the approaches NGOs employ in development services are participatory enough. While some scholars opine that participatory development communication approaches characterize NGOs' development services, others maintain that participation is merely rhetoric value within the NGO sector. These contending views risk an obliteration of the continuing relevance of NGOs in development discourse. This paper seeks to contribute to the debate on the place of NGOs in development services and the approaches NGOs employ in contemporary development practice. The authors posit that NGOs occupy a central place in development service provision but concede that NGO operations in development services are not without challenges. The authors argue further tha development services can better be appreciated based on a thorough understanding of the role of participatory development communication in development service provisions. The paper presents a review of the relevant conceptual and empirical literature on NGOs' activities in development services and concludes by identifying lessons that should engage the attention of key stakeholders.
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    The Challenge of Participation in Community Development Activities in Rural Ghana: Implications for Effective Development Communication
    (Tanzania Journal of Development Studies, 2021) Odoom, Daniel; Annor-Frempong, Festus; Akaba, Selorm; Agyepong, Lawrencia; Obeng-Mensah, Albert; Obeng-Baah, Joseph
    Despite increasing calls for adequate measures to promote participatory development, stakeholder satisfaction with participation in development projects remains a challenge. This study explored the views of beneficiaries of Cocoa Life Project interventions and local authorities of Wassa East District of Ghana regarding their satisfaction with participation during the planning, implementation and evaluation stages of a development project. The study used sequential-dependence mixed methods design. A total of 410 respondents including farmers, members of Village Savings and Loans Groups, Head of District Agriculture Department, Head of Business Advisory Centre, District Education Planner and Extension Agents were selected for the study. Interview schedule, focus group discussion and interview guides were used for data collection. The study found that, apart from awareness creation on development problems and problem identification, project beneficiaries and local authorities were lowly satisfied with participation in planning activities. Again, satisfaction with participation in evaluation activities of the project was low among beneficiaries and local authorities. Also, no significant difference manifested in the overall satisfaction with participation among project beneficiaries irrespective of differences in sex and marital status.