RURAL DEV PROJECT IMPLEMENTS NEW INITIATIVE ...In Upper West

Story: George Folley Quaye, Wa

THE Community-Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) is implementing the Rapid Results Initiative (RRI) approach in four area councils in the Upper West Region.
The area councils are Vieri, Ga (Wa West), Gbae and Tuggo in the Jirapa-Lambussie District.
The projects include a three-unit classroom block, day care centre, CHPS compound and sanitary facilities.
The rapid results initiative is a planned effort designed to stimulate "group adrenaline" by galvanising a team around to achieve meaningful and challenging results in a short period of time.
The programme generates progress and creates momentum in a critical area of an overall project, and stimulates new insights on implementation challenges and risks.
"It aims at a real, measurable, bottom-line results not just a study or set of recommendations for someone else to implement, but it is achievable within 100 days," Mr Anthony Boateng, the institutional specialist in charge of the project in Upper West, told the Daily Graphic.
According to him, the rapid results approach had been used successfully by private sector organisations and government agencies to jump-start change efforts and enhance implementation capacity.
The approach speeds up the achievement of longer-term efforts by focusing on specific, results-based goals that require the co-operation of several different parties.
Achieving the results has three benefits, namely, the immediate benefit for targeted communities, achieving benefit that helps the parties involved to discover new ways of working together, and the development of skills and confidence of those involved.
Mr Boateng said the RRI, which was on a pilot basis, gave a grant of ¢GH 1,500 with their District Assemblies contributing discussions with other stakeholders after which the CBRDP released the grant to the area council and beneficiary communities.
"Interestingly, they control the funds but we monitor them constantly to ensure accountability and transparency," he added.
Mr Boateng was happy that the communities had accepted the programme, especially Ga, where a day care centre being built was at the lintel level.