ABSTRACT
The MDGs failed to lift up those most in need. At the time of writing, there is little to suggest that the SDGs will not go the same way unless something changes drastically in terms of our understanding of, and responses to, inequity, inequality, and the social hierarchies that create and sustain them. In this chapter, evidence of what actually helps to generate transformative change – and gender transformative change in particular – is reviewed, revealing the importance and practical effectiveness of using participatory, generative processes that are context specific and that engage with practical wisdom; not just ‘fixed facts’. Readers are asked to consider why, despite the proven effectiveness of such approaches in generating transformative change, international development remains deeply wedded to known, ordered, technical solutions to the problems of the world.
