Beneficiary Assessment

Abstract

Beneficiary assessment is a tool that can provide project personnel with information about community-based factors that may foster or limit social sector project success. The method is described as involving participant observation and intensive qualitative interviewing in the project communities by nationals trained to develop information attuned to the needs of local project management. This review presents the evidence accumulated from use of beneficiary assessment in World Bank projects since its introduction in 1982, examining how it has been utiltzed and to what effect, together with observations on how it may, in the future, be operationalized more extensively. These experiences illustrate a number of insights to be gained from use of this method: adequate communication between project staff and beneficiaries is often lacking; ignorance of the various social strata within the community can lead to inequitable/in efficient implementation; the role of community participation in project success is not always sufficiently understood; and there is a demonstrated need for project management to understand the living conditions, economic realities, and felt needs of beneficiaries.