The making and marketing of participatory development

Abstract

Why are there so many failures and disappointments in development? Why have development goals been so unattainable? For those working within aid agencies perhaps the most common response is to say that past approaches have been misguided, and if only aid agencies had better theory, the results of development would be more positive. Certainly, development agencies of all kinds promote a constant search for better theory, clearer goals, new paradigms, and alternative frameworks. They have little loyalty to their ideas: community development is abandoned in favour of micro-credit, farming systems development gives way to sustainable rural livelihoods (cf. Edwards 1999: 122). But, then, for others the problem is not theory, but the gap between theory and practice, and the real question is how can the gap between intention and results be explained and reduced? How can plans be more effectively implemented?

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