Stakeholders’ Participation in the Constituency Development Catalyst Fund Projects in Tanzania

With a focus on Tanzania's Dodoma Urban and Itilima constituencies, this study investigates
the involvement of stakeholders in projects funded by the Constituency Development Catalyst
Fund (CDCF). The study used a qualitative case study design, guided by stakeholders' theory.
Interviews, focus groups, document reviews, and observation were used to gather data, which
was then subjected to content analysis. The results demonstrate that while both constituencies
had comparable patterns of participation during preliminary planning, they diverged during
execution. In contrast to the instrumental perspective of stakeholders' theory, citizens'
participation in the planning phase was restricted to voting for proposed projects rather than
determining project needs. Participation took the form of contributions and involvement in CDCF
committees during implementation. Participation levels varied: in Dodoma Urban, contributions
from urban wards were lower than those from peri-urban wards and Itilima; similarly, CDCF
committee participation was higher in Itilima and Dodoma Urban's peripheral wards than in its
urban wards. According to the study's findings, CDCF participation is still low, which is in line
with Arnstein's ladder's lower levels. Instead of just supporting proposals from street and village
councils, it suggests reviewing policies and guidelines to allow stakeholders to actively
participate in project identification.