Manual for Integrated District Planning - National Institute of Rural ...

Chapter 3
The Envisioning and Perspective Planning Process
3.1 Envisioning is a process of building up through a consultative back and forth
process, a set of accepted priorities for the district. Since the vision is the basis for
the plan, it cannot be prepared in isolation and must involve all stakeholders in the
district. Stock-taking and envisioning are two sides of the same coin. The vision must
have a strong grounding on facts, which are provided through rigorous compilation
and analysis of the district baseline data by the stock-taking exercise. The purpose
of envisioning has been defined in the report of the Expert Group on grassroots
level planning. What is envisaged in this handbook is the preparation of a five year
perspective at the commencement of each five year plan as part of a longer term 15
year vision. The preparation of the longer term 15 year vision has been dealt with
in Volume 1 (See Para 2.14 of Vol 1). The distinction between these two aspects of
envisioning is described in Box 8. We have used the term ‘envisioning’ or ‘visioning’
wherever both processes are considered together. They are also referred to separately
as the ‘five year perspective plan and the ‘15 year vision’, wherever relevant.
Box 8: Five year plan vs 15 year vision
The five year perspective plan
More exact and attuned to budgetary
allocations that are fixed in the five
year plan.
Is guided by existing funding priorities
and schemes.
Capable of being projectised and
implemented through annual plans,
which take out prioritised activities
and implement them
The 15 year vision
Concentrates on the larger picture and sets
out broad development goals that are not
affected by funding constraints
Aims at influencing funding priorities over
the long term
Not in a ‘projectisable mode’ but more of
setting out the priorities.
3.2 Participation in envisioning exercises: Envisioning at district level has to
be much more than an armchair exercise of brainstorming by a closed group of
people. The visioning committee at district level should regularly invite stakeholders’
representations both at the visioning and planning stages (See Box 9). At the same
time, a compromise has to be found between participation and guidance from
the top. It is quite possible that the vision and perspective is initially prepared by
experts and then piloted through the participative planning process, where local
governments and people can conceive of cost effective approaches. On the other
hand, the 15 year vision and 5 year perspective plan might also emerge from the felt
needs of people and local governments that might be otherwise overlooked by an
expert. In some States, where decentralisation and empowerment of Panchayats has
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