Appraisal of Community-Demand-Driven Approach to Provision of School Facilities and Human Capacity Building: Community and Social Development Agency Perspective, Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study appraised Community-Demand-Driven approach to project implementation adopted  by Community and Social Development Project/Agency (CSDP/A) with a particular reference to the provision of school facilities and enhancement of human capacity building in Cross River State, Nigeria. The Community and Social Development Agency as it is called at the state level, is a multi-sectoral intervention of the World Bank in partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria. The primary aim of the project was to help communities manage their own resources in an effective manner and to fight poverty among the rural people. It was a survey design and an evaluative study. Questionnaire and interview schedules were the main instruments used to collect data from a sample of 2562. The questionnaire used four-option-likert- scale format ranging from Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree to Strongly Disagree. The sampling techniques adopted were holistic, judgmental and accidental. Descriptive statistic such as frequency count,  percentages, mean scores and standard deviations were used in the study. It was found out that the Community-Demand-Driven (CDD) approach was very effective in accomplishing the organizational objectives of providing school facilities and improving human capacity among the needy rural communities. It was recommended that the women who are most often marginalized and the youths who are highly volatile in nature, should in subsequent projects, be adequately represented in all aspects of community  programmes.