Improving skills in small groups

In Morocco, public policies in rural areas have recently given increased importance to local development projects. Evaluations of these projects have often focused on physical and financial achievements and less on the learning and skills of project participants. We conducted a study on the skills and learning of participants in local development projects, and the contribution of these projects to the improvement of their capacities to carry out new projects in the future, their resources and their representations. The study focused on 5 collective experiences in the province of Sefrou. The analysis enabled us to classify these participants into 4 groups according to their skills and learning, whether technical, administrative, related to collective action or a change in representations and values. There appears to be a wide gap between the beneficiaries and the leaders in terms of skills and learning, which could jeopardise the functioning and sustainability of the associations that manage the collective projects if the leaders leave.