The effects of donors’ ownership and participatory policy ideas on local power structures: A case study of informal settlements in nairobi

Development is still dominated by an instrumental view of policy and practice (Mosse, 2004; 2005); once you get the policy right, then the implementation is a linear, relatively unproblematic process. However, recent work has underlined the negotiated nature of development as a process involving beneficiaries in the shaping of project outcomes. This perspective requires an increased focus on local level dynamics in order to understand how policy ideas are translated into practice. This chapter explores the effects of overarching global policy discourses of local ownership, and democratic and community participation on local politics and power structures. These effects are analyzed in the context of a participatory slum-upgrading program in Kenya, implemented by the Government of Kenya and the United Nations with the financial support of a bilateral OECD donor.