Abstract:
Infrastructure projects are backbone for developing countries. The main objective of these
projects is to improve the livelihood of the community. The degree to which the beneficiary
community is effectively involved in the project life cycle is of paramount importance toward
achieving this objective. Involvement of beneficiary communities in all stages of project is
crucial for successful completion. The main aim of this study is to identify and prioritize the
critical factors for effective participation, asses the importance of community involvement in
project lifecycle, and finally to determine the best and effective community participatory
approach. For collection of data, extensive literature review and questionnaire survey was
conducted. Total 136 responses were received and then data analysis was done. For
successful and smoothly execution of project, 27 factors were extracted. The top critical
factor for successful completion is ‘availability of resource’ and top ranked strategy for
effective participation is ‘community-based strategy’. The findings of the study show that
involving community during the project life cycle enhances project sustainability. Finally, a
case study is conducted in term of cost and duration, result shows that considerable difference
in cost (low) in community based project than government executed project. On the basis of
analysis, recommendation has been proposed for all stakeholders to formulate policies and
strategies for effective community participation for successful completion of infrastructure
projects.
