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Reframing expert support for development management
Author(s) -
Reynolds Martin
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of international development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1328
pISSN - 0954-1748
DOI - 10.1002/jid.1495
Subject(s) - cognitive reframing , legitimacy , ideology , sociology , space (punctuation) , citizen journalism , masking (illustration) , epistemology , frame (networking) , knowledge management , engineering ethics , computer science , management science , political science , psychology , social psychology , politics , economics , engineering , art , philosophy , telecommunications , world wide web , law , visual arts , operating system
Three critiques of participatory development (PD) and their respective challenges for expert support are discussed—(i) the masking of ideological imperatives behind PD, (ii) the depoliticising practice of policy language and (iii) the restrictive space for enabling responsible support from different fields of expertise including science. Drawing on the experience of two interventions—one Guyana based and one European based—three conceptual tools are suggested for dealing with these issues, respectively. First, systems thinking is described from a critical systems perspective, interrogating the legitimacy of boundaries that we use to frame reality. Second, social learning is considered as a complementary policy instrument in which language and communication are regarded as integral to development. Third, critical space for systems thinking and social learning is examined with reference to the limitations of space provided by conventional project management. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.