Kaplan (founder and leader of the Community Development Resource Association in Cape Town, South Africa) explores the practice of organization development and group change. Drawing on his consulting experience as well as on the work of Goethe and Jung, he challenges the tendency to reduce development to a technical operation that attempts to control. The 23 chapters address the complexity of the process of social transformation, describing social change and providing exercises through which practitioners can enhance their abilities to respond to a mixture of chaos and order. They also show how development groups can intervene in social situations in a humane and effective manner. Distributed by Stylus. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A critical account of the politics of aid-giving.

"Development from below" is not enough. The key to sustainable social change is development from within- change in individual and group consciousness that leads to collective capacity for self-management among people's organizations. This book is a conversation between a practitioner and a scholar of participatory development exploring the inner and outer journeys of both development facilitators and women villagers. It is grounded in the experience of manavodaya, a non-profit organization that has facilitated self help groups among rural poor and trained development practitioners in methods of dialogue and empowerment for over twenty years. The book presents a successful method of dialogue called collective reflection that has enabled significant changes in the lives of the participants-both development professionals and villagers alike.

Based on 25 years of community development practice, six of which have been lived in South Africa, Peter Westoby’s ground-breaking monograph moves away from dominant normative accounts of community development to provide an appreciative and critical analysis of concrete examples of community development theory and practice. By examining community development stories as experienced on the ground, Westoby is able to show how the poor are organising themselves using various forms of community development as well as demonstrating how the state and non-state actors are attempting to organise, engage or accompany the poor through community development. The book also breaks new ground in theorising the practice of community development, drawing inductively from the stories analysed. The diversity of South African contexts and the proliferation of different kinds of community practice, make this a hugely difficult task. Despite this, Westoby argues it is one worth undertaking given the seriousness of the challenges facing the poor and progressive social change agents within South Africa. In this undertaking, Westoby draws upon a unique analytical framework to help illuminate current community development policy and programme challenges, along with practice dilemmas and wisdom.

Effective community development means that many different stakeholders have to work together: governments, development organizations and NGOs, and most importantly, the people they serve. Knowledge Partnering for Community Development teaches community development professionals how to mediate community needs and development agendas to make community-based solutions for development challenges. Based on the newest research in community and global development, Eversole shows readers a strong research and theoretically based framework for understanding local development processes, and gives them the skills to turn this into cutting-edge practice. Each chapter features global case studies of innovative community-state partnerships, and practical application exercises and strategies for professionals looking to bring new approaches to their research. Knowledge Partnering for Community Development is essential for community workers and students of community development looking to bridge the gap between research insight and best practice between community actors.

How do we know whether our development programmes are reducing poverty and empowering the most vulnerable people? What evidence do we have to support our theory of change? Qualitative research for development aims to build the research capacity of development practitioners so that their work benefits from the significant contributions offered by solid qualitative research. The book guides development practitioners through the process of planning, conducting and reporting on a qualitative study, whilst simultaneously highlighting the role of qualitative research in improving the impact, quality and accountability of development programmes. It covers in detail data collection methods such as Participatory Learning and Action, Photovoice, Individual Interviews, Focus Group Discussions and Observations. It demystifies qualitative research and builds the skills and confidence of development practitioners to use qualitative methods authoritatively, and to communicate findings to different audiences. The book draws on considerable hands-on experience and incorporates case studies from Save the Children and other international organizations to illustrate 'good practice'. To facilitate learning, all the chapters include a series of practical activities that can help the reader to engage actively with the material. This book is an indispensable learning tool for all development practitioners within NGOs and government departments, as well as researchers and students engaged with applied qualitative research in the context of development.