Blindspotting in development cooperation
In: Global change management: knowledge gaps, blindspots and unknowables, S. 75-90
"The author discusses knowledge that is relevant to decision-making ('Decision-useful'), but which, for a variety of reasons, is still unknown, from the applied perspective of development cooperation. The recognition and elimination of blindspots, in the last decades, regularly triggered a series of paradigms shifts concerning development goals and measures. It is pointed out that in development cooperation, decisions often involve a high level of risk or uncertainty, and there are manifold reasons for this. Modern practices and tools, such as participatory and inclusive work minimize several blindspots. A key element of the German development agency's (GIZ) approach to learning and knowledge management is to produce a cultural change towards greater openness and flexibility. The unexpected and surprising must not be seen as a disaster or disturbance." (author's abstract)