IMPLEMENTING THE ROOT-BASED DEVELOPMENT

This book presents a practical implementation plan for the award-winning Root-based development (RBD) model and the results of the first baseline-survey conducted under the model to ensure sustainable community development.It provides an exposition of the genesis of the RBD, the dynamic institutional architecture which forms the foundational basis of the Citizens Sector comprising Traditional Leaders, Community and Citizens partnership, and the selection mechanism of members to these institutions which combines the time-tested Akan Agyinatuo (Consensus Building) selection system with the orthodox statistical sampling techniques.The survey results on basic development concerns provide authentic baseline data, not only to assess the basic needs of the communities and the best policy intervention measures to respond to them but also an informed basis for effective planning and implementation of the Root-based sustainable development initiatives involving the active participation of the citizenry.The RBD offers a credible alternative to address the development problems, particularly in Africa and regions of emerging economies, beyond dependency, with enormous benefits to all sectors individually and collectively in a win-win scenario. The unique collaboration between the Root-based institutions, the Traditional Authority and the Municipal Assemblies, which contributed to a lower than expected COVID-19 reported cases in the Eastern Region of Ghana,  also demonstrates the need for high-level community involvement in the control programmes of COVID-19 and other endemic diseases. 3