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Paper short abstract:

This paper critiques participatory frameworks in the USAID's (2024) and the FCDO's (2022) inclusive development policies, using them as case studies to examine how International Development Agencies (IDAs) conceptualize and implement participation in disability-inclusive programming/policies.

Paper long abstract:

Participatory methodologies are instrumental for inclusive development in the age of interconnected global (poly)crises. However, the tension between meaningful collaboration and performative tokenism persists to challenge the implementation of participatory approaches. This paper critically investigates the participatory frameworks outlined in USAID's (2024) and FCDO's (2022) disability inclusion policies, and how it operationalizes participation.

Document analysis approach is used to evaluate how each policy incorporates participatory practices, engages underserved communities/voices, and taps into global frameworks such as the UNCRPD with local practices. Significantly, the focus is on mechanisms for collaboration with Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), as well as to the policies' alignment with decolonial principles. Main questions are: (1) How do disability-inclusive policies align local collaborations, equitable decision-making and priorities of donor-led agendas? (2) How can participatory methods be reimagined to address the polyscrises of our time in a decolonial and equitable manner?

Findings show that both policies endorse participatory approaches, however, systemic barriers and inequitable power structures remain detrimental to materialize their transformative potential; undermines localization and encounter challenges in contextual implementation in the Global South. The expected outcome of this analysis is to identify actionable recommendations for IDAs to move beyond tokenistic participation and toward more locally-situated development practices. This includes reimagining participatory practices as co-creative/co-designs and transformative tools for addressing polyscrises in an inclusive manner. In conclusion, this paper emphasizes the need for a paradigm shift in participatory development, one that facilitates local agency/positionality, decolonial epistemology, and sustainable solutions to global crises through a meaningful inclusion.