Design of Social Funds · Participation, Demand Orientation, and Local Organizational Capacity

Social funds have become an important instrument for contributing directly to community well-being and social cohesion among the poor through the engagement of community groups in the creation and management of local infrastructure, basic services, and natural resources. This paper examines the extent to which social fund subprojects are designed to support community participation, demand orientation, and investment in local organizational capacity to achieve sustainability at the community level. This paper is organized into five chapters. The introduction places the social funds within a broader context of the World Bank ' s Program of Targeted Interventions and community-driven projects, of which social funds are a subset. The chapter then sets out a working definition of social funds, describes typical social fund components, and lays out the analytical framework and study methodology. Chapter 2 briefly defines community participation, then examines the extent to which social funds are designed to promote this feature in their subprojects, highlighting good practices. Chapter 3 addresses the rules and incentives that contribute to demand orientation. Chapter 4 discusses capacity building for community groups and intermediaries such as local government and nongovernmental organizations. Chapter 5 draws some conclusions and makes recommendations for the design of future social funds.