Posted on February 16, 2009 - by Gavin
Coady Institute makes case for grassroots development…
Source: http://thechronicleherald.ca/Books/1106617.html
Who is accountable for building a community’s infrastructure, basic services and economic opportunities?
Especially in the context of international development projects, the answer may not be obvious. Aid workers, government officials, local activists and entrepreneurs hold different priorities, skills and resources.
A recent book of case studies, From Clients to Citizens, illustrates successes in grassroots community development, where relatively little involvement was forthcoming from government or aid agencies.
The book, sponsored by the Coady International Institute of St. Francis Xavier University, is “designed for development practitioners, including those aspiring to work in this field who are now in universities.”
As a pedagogical goal, the book promotes a set of practices called “asset-based community development” (ABCD). The premise of ABCD is that communities can benefit from identifying their own tangible and intangible assets, and employing these before seeking outside aid or imports.
Self-reliance, volunteerism, communal decision making, spending locally and investing locally are among the practices that the book values as ABCD.
The set of case studies spans 12 countries in North and South America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Some cases, such as the development of youth projects and educational facilities in Boghada, Egypt, have not been widely documented before. One case is close to home: it concerns community buildings in St. Andrews, Nova Scotia. Another case, the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in India, is much more famous and the book shows this million-person labour union, credit union and co-operative expanding beyond its origins in Ahmadabad City.
The book’s research and writing involved 15 authors (many of them executives in aid agencies, or professors) including the Coady editors, Alison Mathie and Gordon Cunningham. Additionally, assistants contributed to fieldwork in some cases.
They are a highly credentialed research team, and their work draws attention to many worthy projects, while supporting a plausible methodology.
On the other hand, From Clients to Citizens offers few unexpected conclusions. All the case studies are picked to illustrate success with ABCD, and the researchers report using an approach of “appreciative inquiry” — asking community members to describe their successes (not needs or concerns).
Although the case studies do not entirely omit dissenting voices, the researchers seem to have followed up more thoroughly on reports of progress than on reports of unresolved problems. As such, the book reinforces existing practices within ABCD while doing little to foster debate on improving them or managing risks.
For instance, in two of the cases, local non-profit organizations started issuing financial instruments, arguably without the proper license, and came under investigation by authorities. Both organizations won the related court cases, and the case authors imply that this shows strong leadership. No counterpoint is raised as to whether the organizations and their backers should have assessed and resolved regulatory issues sooner.
Elsewhere, From Clients to Citizens is more insightful in examining how community groups can productively interact with even flawed local government. Several cases suggest a root problem with higher layers of government offloading development responsibilities to an underfunded local level. Local officials seem more willing to act if community groups first demonstrate ability to fill in part of the resource gap, and an openness to sharing credit for successes.
As part of a course syllabus, From Clients to Citizens would benefit from being paired with a more technical book on risk management in a relevant field such as microfinance or agricultural co-operatives. Cunningham’s conclusion includes a section on the importance of risk management, yet the case studies deliver few specific lessons on this point.
From Clients to Citizens exposes important subject matter, and a relevant message for development practitioners to consider, but it leaves some of the less clear-cut analytical avenues unexplored.
Joseph Howse is a freelance writer who lives in Halifax.
0 Comments
We'd love to hear yours!
Leave a Comment
Here's your chance to speak.
The MiFi Report
-
