Bhutan:

Institutional support to Decentralized Planning Programme:
District Access Planning Guideline (2004 - 2007)

Narrative: Consultant-Team Leader for SNV-Bhutan to establish best practices, identify options, develop and demonstrate Bhutan Specific Access Planning Tools and Procedures for national and district road planning and the development of guidelines and procedures for District Rural Access Plans and multi-sector planning.

The result of the process enables decision makers to prioritize development interventions with sound justifications, on what is most cost effective and how to intervene in a environmentally friendly manner, while targeting the poorest communities of the country. SNV piloted the DRAP process with partners of two districts to adapt the planning process to the unique situation in Bhutan. As a result, a DRAP manual for Bhutan was developed and another 5 districts are already implementing the new methodology. Further, the DRAP methodology was presented to high level government officials and received positively and is now, a few years after the date of finalisation, a major planning instrument in the 5 year planning of Bhutan rolled out nationally.

Focal Points/Deliveries: Assessment of planning frameworks and indicators, Development of access planning techniques and methodologies, Leading SNV advisors and district technical staff in the piloting of the new methodology. Training and coaching of staff in the methodology and the application of DRAP.

Training focus points: collection of primary data through participative key informant meetings, collection of secondary data, data entry and processing, access mapping and data analysis, road network development and reporting and data processing.