Participatory learning for women's empowerment in micro-finance programmes- Negotiating complexity, conflict and change

Micro-finance programmes for women are currently promoted not only as a str ategy for poverty alleviation but also for women's empowerment. However, th e complexity of empowerment itself and interlinkages with policy make conve ntional research methodologies extremely lengthy and costly This article pr oposes frameworks and participatory methodologies for integrating empowerme nt concerns into ongoing programme learning. These would themselves be a co ntribution to empowerment. First, programme staff would be given a more rep resentative and reliable exposure io the priorities and problems of program me participants. Second, it would develop networks and a forum for discussi on between women themselves on issues relevant to their interests and integ rated into programme decision-making. The quantitative and qualitative info rmation obtained by programmes and clients on an ongoing basis would be dir ectly and immediately available to inform policy decisions and enable indep endent outsider research to be cost-effectively targeted to issues where it is really needed for policy development.