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"Participatory action research" has been acclaimed for producing new knowledge as well as solutions to organizational and social problems. But the term has quite different meanings to different audiences: The "Southern" tradition is committed to community transformation through empowering disenfranchised groups; the "Northern" tradition is concerned with reforming organizations through problem-solving. This paper describes a series of collective reflections that brought together leaders of development agencies from Southern and Northern settings to consider the roles of nongovernmental development organizations (NGOs) in promoting sustainable development. The results of these reflections, in terms of new knowledge and new action strategies, are illustrated. Critical processes for such collective reflection, including the management of value and ideological differences, the definition of participation, and the organization of joint inquiry are discussed. The paper also discusses the implications of such reflections for re-defining the social realities of key actors in the development drama, and so catalyzing major changes in development theory and action through relatively small interventions.

Strengthening citizen participation, chiefly.

In many developing countries, sustainable social and economic development depends on creating effective local organizations, horizontal linkages across sectors, and vertical linkages that enable grassroots influence on national policy-making. This paper examines the role of "bridging organizations" in creating such institutional arrangements. Examples of bridging organizations and their constituencies of various types (associations, networks, cross-sectoral partnerships, political coalitions, social movements) are described. On the basis of these examples, it is argued that bridging organizations and their constituent networks are shaped by values and visions, their tasks, member diversity, and external threats. The cases suggest that bridging organizations can play key roles in building local organizations, creating horizontal linkages, increasing grassroots influence on policy, and disseminating new visions and organizational innovations. Finally the paper argues that bridging organizations are central players in an emerging "multisectoral" development paradigm that is less subject to the flaws of the still-dominant market-led and state-led paradigms.

"Contains an introduction to the history, achievements, and challenges of transnational civil society initiatives on several critical issues and the forces that catalyzed and shaped those initiatives"--Provided by publisher

This article examines the construction of transnational action research networks that bridge local and global, practice and research, North and South, and many disciplines. Using an 'insider—outsider' approach the article examines the emergence of the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability as a network of partners from seven countries concerned with research, capacity building and policy influence. The article examines how this network constructed shared goals and values, developed relationships and trust, and created network architectures to support action research, policy influence and capacity building. It also explores implications of the network's evolution for change processes, bridging leadership, mutual accountability and institutional embeddedness.