Process, People, Power and Conflict:

A large body of empirical literature highlights the need for stakeholder participation within the context of policy change and democratic governance. This makes intuitive sense and may appear to be a straightforward process of managing conflicting interests, building consensus, and lining up support. The reality, however, is often much more complicated and conflictive, even where there is general agreement on the policy objectives. The present paper examines these issues in the context of participatory policy development for the delivery of veterinary services by para-professionals in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It illustrates the challenges inherent in the politics of participatory policy processes and the potential of ‘agenda hijack’ by influential partners, resulting in missed learning opportunities. It also offers insights on practical steps to counter these dangers, as potential lessons for practitioners and project managers engaged in participatory policy reform processes. 1 Vinod Ahuja is Associate Professor at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA). He was the team leader for the case study presented in this paper. Daniel Gustafson is Director of the FAO Office in Washington DC and was formerly FAO Representative in India. Joachim Otte is the Coordinator of Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Facility of FAO, Rome, Italy. The opinions expressed in this paper are solely those of the authors and do not constitute in any way the official position of the organizations to which they belong. IIMA INDIA Research and Publications W.P. No. 2008-05-02 Page No. 3 Process, People, Power and Conflict: Some Lessons from a Participatory Policy Process in Andhra Pradesh, India