Defining empowerment: perspectives from international development organisations

Author(s)
Hennink, Monique
Kiiti, Ndunge
Pillinger, Mara
Jayakaran, Ravi
Publication date
2012-04-01
Subject
Approach and methodology
Keywords
Empowerment
INGOs
Development methods

Metadata
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Publisher(s)
Oxfam GB
Routledge
Journal
Development in Practice
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10546/270061
DOI
10.1080/09614524.2012.640987
Document type
Journal article
Language
English
Description
Empowerment has become a mainstream concept in international development but lacks clear definition, which can undermine development initiatives aimed at strengthening empowerment as a route to poverty reduction. In the present article, written narratives from 49 international development organisations identify how empowerment is defined and operationalised in community initiatives. Results show a conceptual framework of empowerment comprising six mechanisms that foster empowerment (knowledge; agency; opportunity; capacity-building; resources; and sustainability), five domains of empowerment (health; economic; political; resource; and spiritual), and three levels (individual; community; and organisational). A key finding is the interdependence between components, indicating important programmatic implications for development initiatives.
Pages
13
ISSN
0961-4524
EISSN
1364-9213
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