ABSTRACT
Robert Chambers has been a Fellow of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) almost from the beginning, joining in the late 1960s. Robert is certainly today the best-known of all of us in IDS. His pioneering contributions to the practice and articulation of participatory development have long been at the core of his work and creativity. This has brought a wealth of insights to development studies and influenced practice and approaches of development practioners, including NGOs, donors and countries. Robert’s emphasis on the need for ‘putting the last first’ and ‘the first last’ have challenged priorities at the very base of development. His emphasis on the need for personal commitment and for making clear the values underlying the work of all engaged in development have struck at the heart of the ‘development business’ – not to strike us dead or even to give us sleepless nights, but, at least for most of us, giving us pause for reflection, perhaps evoking a silent confession or a quiet resolve to try a new way.
