Full paper on participatory depression

Here is the full text of an article I wrote for the ISDA 2010 conference in Montpellier, France. Participatory approaches in development projects are en vogue now, and have the potential to make projects more effective, as well as strengthening human and social capital. However, my paper warns against the possibility of participatory depression. Just as a successful project that has employed deep participatory methods can have positive effects beyond the mere completion of project objectives, a failed participatory project can cause intense disillusionment and frustration among local participants. I conclude the paper by laying out an ethics for researchers that would use participatory methods in their projects. Namely, by engaging local people in a deep personal participation in a project, a researcher takes on an ethical responsibility to finish what he starts. Secondly, the decision to use participatory methods demands a sincere commitment on the researcher's part to collaborate as equals with his local partners.