A participatory approach is one in which everyone involved in the intervention has a say, either directly or through representation. Members of the target demographic, community officials, interested individuals, and representatives from participating agencies, schools, and other institutions should all be invited to the table. Many low-income or minority individuals and groups, for example, believe that they have no voice in society and that they are not listened to even when their ideas are sought. True involvement entails everyone having a voice that must be heard. Acknowledgement also entails enough respect for another's point of view to disagree with it. Low-income or minority members of a planning team or governing board are sometimes viewed with contempt, as though what they say must be genuine and meaningful. Not only would everyone be heard, but everyone would also be thrashing out ideas and goals and battling with new concepts in a really participatory process. Those with less education and position may require additional support to learn the procedure and believe that their opinions and thoughts are valuable and worth expressing. All of this takes time, but the payoff is enormous.

By integrating local stakeholders in the project goals, participatory development aims to offer the poor a voice in initiatives and projects that are planned by outside organizations, in the hopes of making them more sustainable and successful. The participatory approach is currently being used by South African government departments, local government structures, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to achieve community development and empowerment, with a focus on rural areas. Some legislative laws have been enacted to encourage citizens to participate in programs such as the Local Government's Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and assessment systems, in order to improve the approach. A White Paper on Public Service Delivery Transformation (Batho Pele) was also released to regulate public engagement in determining the nature and quality of services they will receive from government. For years, an agricultural extension approach has been employed as a farmer participation methodology in the agricultural sector.