A Second Dip into the Reading Pile

[Jennifer Lentfer]

If you’re like me, you have a pile of all the reports, articles, and publications that you’re aiming to get to. And from time to time, I take pleasure in dipping in to explore the new thinking or sound practices in international development and aid effectiveness.

So I’m sharing twelve papers from my virtual pile, featuring excerpts from the 7^th page of text of each, first 3-4 sentences of the second paragraph. Hopefully the exercise will be a fun way to highlight these authors’ insights for how-matters.org readers and see which of these end up on my recommended reading list.

(1) Applications for official support – an innovative way to promote grassroots initiatives.By Antal Miklós, The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Vol. 15(2), article 6.

“Conclusion: In the present article I briefly outlined an innovative way to promote grassroots initiatives. Today, when basic power structures undergo massive changes that further alienate citizens from public affairs, it is increasingly important to let people have their say. Participatory democracy and the revival of regional politics, two cornerstones of the way out from the currently unfolding crisis of representative democracy (Castells, 2004) are inconceivable without the inclusion of grassroots actors. To achieve collective success in communities, the ambitions of engaged community members committed to constructive objectives have to be recognized and patronized.”

(2) Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction: Experiences from the horn of Africa, by Cordaid and theInternational Institute of Rural Reconstruction (2011). Not available online – [e-mail] to request a copy.

“Jerusalem Children and Community Development Organisation (JeCCDO) took advantage of the emergency response programme to introduce a long-term community managed programme to reduce the risk of future floods in Ada village.

“Mille is one of the districts in the drought and conflict prone Afar regional state in Ethiopia. Support for Sustainable Development (SSD), a local NGO and communities in Dyle and Geraro villages are working together on an integrated drought risk reduction programme through diversification into irrigation farming to address food insecurity and pasture shortage for livestock.

“In the Borena zone of Oromia regional state, Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD) and SoS Sahel Ethiopia have been working with Borena pastoralists.”

(3) Deconstructing Development Discourse: Buzzwords and Fuzzwords, edited by Andrea Cornwall and Deborah Eade (2010) Published by Practical Action Publishing in association with Oxfam GB.

“Another facet of buzzwords emerges in Ben Fine’s account of social capital: their use as substitutes for terms that are far less easily assimilated into a consensual narrative. Of the buzzwords examined in this collection, social capital is one of the most accommodating: its uses span just about any and every kind of human relationship, lending it considerable discursive power as a feel-good catch-all Good Thing. Charting its rise within mainstream development, Fine shows how it came to be linked to a broader set of personal, institutional, and professional projects, including that of what he terms ‘economics imperialism’. Like civil society, the normative appeal of social capital sits uneasily with its ‘darker’ sides; the ‘wrong kind’ of social capital is, after all, corruption.”

(4) Evaluating Social Justice Advocacy: A Values Based Approach by Barbara Klugman, August 2010, Center for Evaluation Innovation

“Networks and coalitions should be assessed on whether collaborative strategizing trumps the desires of particular groups to push forward their individual agendas. This can be particularly vexing when questions of class or other power determinants are in play because some network members have more time, funds, or even arguments. In international advocacy, it talks to the power dynamics between international NGOs, usually based in the U.S. or Europe, and NGOs and community-based organizations in the global South. The extent to which advocacy values its diversity by enabling meaningful participation of less resourced groups and individuals is one of the core questions for social justice evaluation.”

Read more at: http://www.how-matters.org/2011/09/11/a-second-dip-reading-pile/

Now this kid has got the right idea--have a dip, of ice cream that is, while IN your reading pile.

[Jennifer Lentfer]

Thanks Laurence for your comment & encouragement! I included the first four papers in this post and people can see the rest at how-matters.org!

[Laurence Gilliot]

Hi Jennifer,

 

It would be nice to post a few of these reading tips in your blog so that we have some idea and then you can add a link for more.

Just wanted to say that I enjoy your blogs a lot. i'm amazed at your creativity :-)

 

Laurence