Why can’t development be managed more like a funeral? Challenging participatory practices
Overview
The adoption of techniques to elicit community participation in development practice is an important step forward. The question remains whether this is sufficient for development outcomes that accord with the aspirations of ‘participants’. Community perceptions are somewhat different, as our own conclusions demonstrate. We have developed a ‘methodology of inclusiveness’, based on community institutions which embed collective social action in everyday life. We use the analogy of funerals as collective action in which activities are planned, roles are demarcated, responsibilities are assigned, and desired outcomes are realised. We ask the question: why can’t development be managed more like a funeral?
This article is hosted by our co-publisher Taylor & Francis.
Additional details
Author(s)
How to cite this resource
Citation styles vary so we recommend you check what is appropriate for your context. You may choose to cite Oxfam resources as follows:
Author(s)/Editor(s). (Year of publication). Title and sub-title. Place of publication: name of publisher. DOI (where available). URL
Our FAQs page has some examples of this approach.
