Development Methods and Approaches: Critical reflections

by Deborah Eade, Jo Rowlands (Introduction)

Many aid agencies advocate approaches to development which are people-centred, participatory, empowering and gender-fair. This volume of essays explores some of the middle ground between such values-based approaches and the methods and techniques that the agencies adopt. The selection offers critical assessments of fashionable tools such as Participatory Rural Appraisal and Logical Framework. It demonstrates how these are linked (conceptually and in practice) to the wider ideological environment in which they are used, and shows how they depend upon the skills of the fieldworker and/or organization applying them. Contributors argue that tools and methods will contribute to a values-based approach only if those using them have a serious commitment to a social agenda which is genuinely transformative.

304 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2003

Reviews

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a course titled "Aid to Developing Countries". It is a great read if you are looking for practical methods to development.