Guy Bessettle. Involving the Community: A Guide to Participatory Development Communication. Penang, Malaysia: Southbound. 2004. xiv+154 pages. Paperback. Price not given.

Participatory approaches, tools, and methods have become a buzzword and common practice in development programmes throughout the world. Institutions of participatory development, specialised expertise, and a body of knowledge relating to participatory development, developed over the last couple of decades, are now an important part of the development literature. Whereas much of the theory and practice in the Development Economics has been based on top-down models, they are being replaced by bottom-up participatory strategies to ensure that socioeconomic needs of the poor and the vulnerable are met. There is ample evidence that participation strategies have been quite successful in the realisation of economic and social objectives.