Search results

AbstractThis article attempts to examine familiar things through a different comparative focus. The results given here are preliminary and intended for comment and further development. The article takes as its basis the tradition which has arisen from the export of methods to developing countries in all manner of scientific and technical development projects. In the area of global development the traditions of technology transfer and development intervention by donor agencies and their related consultancy groups is well documented. Not so well covered in the literature is the related issue pertaining to the export of the methods which accompany and, to some extent, confer respectability upon all manner of technology, intervention and work towards nation building. The article is concerned with what might be called the 'tyranny of methods', which, it is argued, are applied often uncritically in development work. The mindsets which are invoked by traditional western scientific methods are reviewed using a psychological model. Following from this, the article investigates two areas of existing experience in the adoption of methods and then goes on to develop a critical perspective of one particular form of information systems development method, drawing on the experiences related. The article briefly investigates traditional, linear methods and makes links to the experiences of fanning systems research and rapid rural appraisal. Although no definitive conclusions are made, observations relating to an action plan are provided. The core of this relates to self‐analysis and points to be conscious of in the export of any method.

AbstractA fundamental component of resource conservation in Ethiopian development programmes is sought in part through the dissemination of improved stoves. However, as an evaluation of a range of stove programmes reveals, the absence of applied research by government and non‐governmental organizations together with fundamental constraints arising out of the wider development context is resulting in programmes that are poorly targeted, inflexibly implemented and largely unable to meet the energy needs of poor rural and urban households. Despite these problems, donors continue to fund such projects, in large part because project evaluations are not made public, because of a policy lacuna, and ultimately because development thinking appears locked into finding a quick technology fix for what are essentially long‐term, intractable sociopolitical processes and problems.

AbstractThis article analyses the circumstances surrounding municipal institutional reforms in Ecuador which were set in motion through, on the one hand, a link established by external contributors between the financing of infrastructure projects at the local level, and institutional reforms on the other. Credit was only provided to municipalities on the understanding that attempts were made by them to improve their capacity to provide urban services. This approach has enjoyed considerable success to date.

AbstractConcepts of privatization have been adopted on a global scale. Yet few studies examine issues other than economic and selected political ones. This article argues, however, that a broad spectrum of institutional considerations must be evaluated in order to assess the viability of any proposed privatization strategy. A further distinction must be made between countries with developed markets and those market‐based political economies (MBPEs) whose extant institutional configurations have not reached a level of independence to fully support extensive privatization measures. Jordan, Turkey and Egypt would be examples of such countries.This article contends that the enactment and implementation of privatization policies will achieve its avowed goals only (a) if the state‐controlled enterprises (SCEs) are sufficiently independent of their supervising bureaucracies (presumably a ministry, the treasury or development planning organization) prior to their transfer to a private partner and (b) if the government possesses requisite monitoring capacity to ensure the fulfilment of contractual obligations of the privatized entity. An ancillary thesis suggests that the societal and organizational culture must be succinctly separated to warrant a full‐scale transfer of SCEs to the private sector.In Jordan, privatization has been discussed for a number of years, but no projects have been attempted so far. The article assesses the likelihood of large‐scale privatization occurring soon.

AbstractThis article comments on the above‐titled article which appeared in Public Administration and Development (PAD), Vol. 12. It argues that Hulme's article: (i) does not, as it professes to, bring out the organizational impact of the training and visit (T&V) system of extension and, more seriously, does not suggest what improvements are needed to the system, and whether any such improvements have been tried anywhere and with what results; (ii) dismisses the rigorous statistical analysis of the impact of the system by Feder and Slade, and approvingly cites Antholt's methodologically unsustainable comparison between states in India, without giving convincing reasons for this choice; and (iii) ignores the important developments regarding T&V extension in the recent past, and relies on earlier papers on the subject. Some of the recent developments regarding the implementation of T&V in Africa are given in this article, including a summary of recent evaluations done in Kenya and Burkina Faso. The article concludes with an account of the managerial issues posed by T&V.

AbstractCohen (1992) discusses in detail the problem of 'Kenyanization' of positions filled by expatriate advisors in the Kenyan civil service. He outlines six possible solutions to the problem, four of which involve the funding by donors of higher than civil service level salaries to attract Kenyan staff to the donors' particular projects. While Cohen is critical of these options he does not discuss the most serious danger in their use, the danger that resources will be seriously misallocated. In this article the traditional approach of supplying new resources to Kenya is compared with this new alternative of using donor funds to induce the reallocation of existing Kenyan staff. It suggests that donors must be extremely careful in using their funds to entice workers to their own projects without consideration of where these resources are drawn from. An alternative explanation to those discussed by Cohen for the lack of success with 'Kenyanization' is also proposed.

AbstractThis article argues that non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) active in community development exhibit different organizational characteristics at different phases of their evolution. Being able to recognize the characteristic descriptive elements of the different phases of organizational development better positions one to understand the nature of an NGO's relationship with donors, beneficiaries and the world around it. Perhaps more importantly, recognizing what phase of its organizational development cycle an NGO is in will assist the practitioner to understand the types of problems the NGO may be facing, their cause and the range of options available for problem resolution.

AbstractThe article compares the Training and Visit System of Agricultural Extension in India with the Anand‐type dairy cooperatives (India) and the Grameen Bank (Bangladesh) to explain the reasons for their success. In attempting an explanation of such microsuccess in an environment of macrofailure, the article lays emphasis on tailoring the programmes to the needs and social capabilities of the rural people. The services offered are perfected to a routine, thus encouraging the recipients of the services to respond on a regular and systematic basis. The recipients of these programmes see success in terms of increased benefits, greater participation and ultimately increased incomes. Their success has led to their widespread adoption elsewhere in the Third World.