ABSTRACT
The move from development in theory to development in practice has been through the development project. The fundamental role of development agencies is to help work out that tension in a creative productive way. In the modernisation/neo-modernisation model of development, development projects are ‘purposive planned interventions that are commonly used to accelerate economic development’. Traditionally in the project cycle, planning and implementation have been two very separate and distinct phases. In conventional ‘blueprint’ planning, participation is collaborative and is seen as a way to improve the efficiency of projects. In people-centred development, by contrast, participation is empowering, enabling much greater control of the project by the participants. A common approach used is referred to as participatory rural appraisal which encompasses a number of methodologies developed since the late 1970s. Development projects may be considered cultural interventions that stimulate unpredictable cross-cultural interaction and negotiation at the interface.
