ABSTRACT
The move from development in theory to development in practice has been through the development project. In ‘blueprint planning’ the project cycle has five main stages: identification, design, appraisal, implementation and evaluation. This chapter outlines a very critical and ‘ worst-case scenario’ description of projects. ‘Theory building’ as found in modernisation theory has a much greater tendency to ignore contradictory evidence and only select supporting evidence. In the scientific method, inductive observations are used to generalise and then errors are searched for via repetition, questioning, deduction, prediction and experimentation in order to improve the accuracy of a theory. Development projects may be considered cultural interventions that stimulate unpredictable cross-cultural interaction and negotiation at the interface. The chapter examines issues of intervention and interfaces, of interpretations and motivations, of opportunity and response. There are several groups that interact with each other in the development process: development planners, social analysts and development participants, each with their own culturally influenced motivations and objectives.
