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  • Journal statistique africain, numro 13, novembre 201112

    1. The Grassroots Focused Index (GFI): Measuring Grassroots Perception of the Impact of Development Programs1, 2

    Sam O. Olofin, Olanrewaju Olaniyan, and Abiodun O. Folawewo3

    AbstractThis paper constructs and estimates a new results-based instrument called the Grassroots Focus Index (GFI), which measures grassroots perception of the impact of development programs. It demonstrates the extent to which African govern-ments and their development partners prioritize the grassroots in policy-making, policy implementation, and performance monitoring. The GFI was constructed using a combination of both primary and secondary data. The primary data derived from rapid appraisal surveys conducted in six communities in three pilot countries, namely Cameroon, Nigeria, and South Africa. The secondary data were obtained from government official publications. The results of the GFI show that on the whole, Nigeria appears to perform better than the other two pilot countries, with an overall index of 53.4 compared with 48.1 and 48.5 for Cameroon and the Republic of South Africa respectively. This ranking

    1 This paper is based on a pilot project titled Developing a Grassroots Focus Index for Africa, executed under a tripartite institutional arrangement involving the African Moni-tor [AM] Cape Town, as the funding and coordinating institution, the Department of Economics and Centre for Health Systems Research and Development, University of the Free State, [UFS] Bloemfontein, Republic of South Africa; and the Centre for Econometric and Allied Research [CEAR], University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria as the Consulting /Executing institutions.2 We acknowledge the role of African Monitor, Cape Town, South Africa in conceptual-izing the GFI as well as technically and financially supporting it. We also acknowledge the technical contribution of Warren Nyamugasira, Namhla Mniki, Augustine Mwiza Mkandawire and Masiiwa Rusare of the African Monitor (AM); Professor F. le R, Booysen, Jan Cloete and Lejone Ntema at University of Free State, South Africa, Mr. Pierre De-Joubert Nuguetse and Mr. O Oluwasanmi of University of Ado Ekiti. We acknowledge the inputs and guidance of the Technical Advisory Group constituted by African Monitor and composed of Dr. Kasirim Nwuke (ECA), Professor Olusanya Ajaikeye (AERC), Dr. Dimitri Sanga (ECA), Professor Julian May (University of KwaZulu Natal), Mr. Maurice Mubila (African Development Bank), Dr. Sam Nyambi (African Monitor Board member), and Dr. Alione Sall (African Monitor Board member). However, we are solely responsible for any errors in the paper.3 Sam O. Olofin, Professor of Economics and Director, Centre for Econometric and Allied Research (CEAR), Department of Economics, Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Tel: +234 802 346 3272, Email: [email protected]; [email protected].; Dr. Olanrewaju Olaniyan, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Ibadan and Senior Research Fellow, CEAR. Tel: +234 802 325 5741, Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; Dr. Abiodun O. Folawewo, Lecturer, Department of Economics, Faculty of the Social Sci-ences, University of Ibadan and Senior Research Fellow, CEAR. Tel: +234 803 442 1791, Email: [email protected]; [email protected].

  • The African Statistical Journal, Volume 13, November 2011 13

    1. The Grassroots Focused Index (GFI): Measuring Grassroots Perception of the Impact of Development Programs

    differs from a priori expectations of what might have been expected in fact, it evidences a reverse order from a number of other indices.

    Key words: Africa, concept mapping, rapid appraisal, governance, indicators, indices

    Rsum Le prsent article conceptualise et value un nouvel instrument ax sur les rsultats, dnomm Indice de perception des communauts , qui mesure la perception quont les communauts de limpact des programmes de dveloppement. Il rvle dans quelle mesure les gouvernements africains et leurs partenaires au dveloppement accordent la priorit aux communauts dans llaboration et la mise en uvre des politiques, et dans le suivi des rsultats obtenus. LIndice a t mis au point partir de donnes primaires et secondaires. Les donnes primaires proviennent dtudes dvaluation rapide, faites dans six communauts de trois pays pilotes, savoir lAfrique du Sud, le Cameroun et le Nigria. Quant aux donnes secondaires, elles ont t extraites des publications officielles des tats. Selon les rsultats obtenus suite lapplication de lIndice, le Nigria semble obtenir de meilleurs rsultats que les deux autres pays pilotes, avec un indice global de 53,4 contre respectivement 48,1 et 48,5 pour le Cameroun et lAfrique du Sud. Ce classement diffre de ce quoi lon pouvait sattendre priori en fait, il est linverse de lordre que lon obtient avec dautres indices.

    Mots clefs : Afrique, schmatisation conceptuelle, valuation rapide, gouver-nance, indicateurs, indices

    1. INTRODUCTION

    It has been argued that the development process in Africa could be acceler-ated if development policies, program, and activities were to focus more on the grassroots majority who are poor, to enable them to lift themselves out of poverty. Although a number of countries have shown a willingness to improve the well-being of the poor and reduce the number of people living in absolute poverty, the indications are that several countries still have a long way to go (UNESC 2008).

    Recent developments have shown that the construction and use of de-velopment indices help to deepen our understanding of the development process and the status of countries along the development path. Develop-ment indices can also provide a basis for shaping the policies and actions of governments and their development partners. Development indicators

  • Journal statistique africain, numro 13, novembre 201114

    Sam O. Olofin, Olanrewaju Olaniyan, and Abiodun O. Folawewo

    are thus becoming more acceptable as a way of tracking the performances of different economies over the years. However, there exist disparate indices covering different areas of country performance; further, the objectives tend to be driven by the organization that is sponsoring the index rather than the needs of the country. By 2005, there were more than 130 such indices with over 80% of them created between 1991 and 2005 (Bandura 2005). Despite their proliferation, most of these indices have focused on govern-ance and development, but looking at these issues from the viewpoint of the development actors and not necessarily from that of the grassroots, who are the ones most affected.

    The key methodological contribution of this paper is in the construction and estimation of a development index from the perspective of the grass-roots. Indices are generally constructed on the assumption that they are composite indicators that measure multidimensional concepts, and hence cannot be captured by a single indicator. Ideally, a composite indicator should be based on three key pillars which are: a solid theoretical frame-work, a sound process of construction, and good-quality underlying data (Nardo et al. 2005). The value of such a composite index can be assessed by how well it fulfills a number of criteria. First, it needs to exhibit robust-ness to uncertainties in data and to alternative weightings. Second, it needs to retain its relevance over time. Third, it needs to be highly defensible in dialogue with stakeholders. Finally, it needs to facilitate negotiation rather than create disagreements. These are some of the criteria that have guided the preparation of the Grassroots Focus Index (GFI).

    The grassroots are those most directly affected by development activities; indeed they are the principal target of most development policies. All too often, however, they are excluded from the process, and so have come to be identified by some commentators as the neglected majority. Conse-quently, they need to be given a voice in reporting back on how well they judge the policies and projects to be performing on the ground. This paper aims to contribute to the debate by creating an index that focuses on the perceptions held by the grassroots themselves as to the performance of de-velopment activities in terms of intended outcomes. The aim is to measure whether the grassroots perceive that their priorities and aspirations have been taken into account. The long-term neglect of this critical dimension of the development effort and process may largely account for the relative ineffectiveness of the various development strategies pursued over the last six to seven decades of post-independence experience in the three pilot countries (Cameroon, Nigeria, and South Africa). It is also possible that correcting for this by bringing the grassroots into the mainstream of the development

  • The African Statistical Journal, Volume 13, November 2011 15

    1. The Grassroots Focused Index (GFI): Measuring Grassroots Perception of the Impact of Development Programs

    effort may scale up the tempo of progress towards self-sustaining growth and development. The GFI takes this as its overarching premise and seeks to explore and answer three key questions, namely:

    To what extent have African governments and donors been able to prioritize the grassroots in development policy priorities and strategies?

    To what extent (where such prioritization has occurred) has prioritization led to an effective channeling of resources to grassroots development by African governments and donors?

    To what extent is the grassroots able to meaningfully influence government and donor policies and programs, including resource commitments and flows?

    It is against this background that the GFI measures