In this article, we challenge the notion that complex and resilient problems – such as global warming and poverty – will have to be resolved by governments or responsible corporations. Instead, we argue for the potency of social initiatives promoted by communities of engaged people. A variety of experiences from around the world, and especially from Brazilians with their “Why not?” temperament, suggest characteristics of the origin, development, and diffusion of these initiatives. We conclude that social initiatives, by addressing local problems of a global nature, using networks connected across communities, may be the greatest hope for this troubled world.

Legal reform is necessary but not sufficient to realise women's rights. This paper compares two campaigns for legal reform in Nigeria: attempts to domesticate the UN Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in federal law, which resulted in defeat of the bill in 2007, and a successful campaign to introduce legislation to prevent the mistreatment of widows in Anambra State. It considers the role of religion in the campaigns, by examining how the women's movement engaged with religious actors. The research shows that religious beliefs, discourses, and actors had a significant influence on the outcomes of the campaigns, in part because of the content of the proposed legislation, but also because of the strategies adopted by the campaigners and the interests of the religious bodies concerned. Despite the implication of religion in gender inequality, these cases show that religious teachings, leaders, and organisations can be allies rather than obstacles in achieving progressive social change.

Recently there has been a shift in development discourse from ideas of paternalism to those of participation. Set within the framework of a postmodern critique of development, this paper questions the assumption that the ideas of development still exist in the same discursive space. Using University of East Anglia (UEA) development studies postgraduate students as a case study, it considers why students want to work in development and the manner in which individual students think of and conceptualise the enterprise. It explores the role of postgraduate study in developing a conscientisation needed for truly transformative development.

Debt-for-development exchanges are one technique through which to address the ongoing debt crisis in the less-developed world. This paper discusses how Australia's first debt-for-development exchange, with Indonesia, came into being, and explores future possibilities for Australian debt exchanges. It is an interesting example of how activists and advocates can successfully pursue innovative public policy solutions to development problems. More importantly, however, this paper explores the link between debt accumulation in less-developed countries and trade policies of industrialised countries like Australia.Debt-for-development exchanges in Australia: past, present and future.

In the literature on the religious contribution to health and development, it is commonly stated that faith-inspired institutions (FIIs) provide from 30 to 70 per cent of all health care provision in Africa. This article tracks the sources of such statements back to the 1960s, highlighting a process of ‘broken telephone’ whereby estimates are passed on and frequently distorted by policy- and advocacy-oriented influences at both the national and international levels. This demonstrates how estimates are being wielded bluntly, often resulting in poorly substantiated claims to the detriment of more careful research, thereby weakening the empirical knowledge-base and improved practice.

Advocacy communication is now a key action term in development discourse. Advocates are usually issue- or programme-oriented and do not often think in terms of an ongoing process of social change in general, or peacebuilding in particular. The resolution of an issue or the initiation of a programme are ends in themselves. Thus, the primary aim of advocacy is to foster public policies that are supportive to the solution of an issue or programme. Since public policies must be viewed as an integral part of development processes, the kind of advocacy we advocate is participatory.

The article presents the results of participatory monitoring and evaluation of projects which aimed to aid the establishment and development of 24 modern rural cooperatives in Shandan County, Gansu Province, China. The evaluation was designed to assess the economic and community development outcomes of the cooperatives after three years of operation. The data were collected from four cooperatives using surveys, group work, and semi-structured interviews of stakeholders. The evaluations showed that within two years of inception cooperatives were improving social and economic outcomes for members and communities. Improvements for establishing and sustainably operating rural cooperatives are suggested.

Religious and secular ideologies are hotly debated within Indian educational circles, partly in response to neo-liberal trends in educational provision, which have encouraged non-state providers, including religious organisations, to increase their involvement. The paper explores similarities and differences between educational providers affiliated with different faith traditions in Maharashtra, with respect to their educational activities and the extent to which their ethos and practices are pro-poor. Drawing on six illustrative case studies of Hindu, Christian, Islamic, and Buddhist religious education providers, it concludes that although all have a stated commitment to enhancing the welfare of the poor, the ways that this is expressed in their educational activities are strongly influenced not only by their religious ideology but also by their class and gender positions.

Despite the growing interest in performance measurement and evaluation of international NGOs (INGOs), little is known about actual INGO evaluation practices. The present article, based on a survey of 38 US INGOs, examines the process of evaluation practice, as well as the purposes and dissemination of the results. The findings on evaluation purpose, dissemination of results, and formal feedback mechanisms suggest that INGOs typically develop stronger formal accountability measures for donors and staff-members than for beneficiaries. The findings also indicate that many INGOs consider evaluation as an opportunity for organisational learning and for improving their performance. Many of the difficulties identified by respondents in conducting evaluations are consistent with previous literature.

Identifying risks and risk-mitigation strategies at the project design stage is a key part of managing development projects. Yet, experience in the field suggests that many risks that derail projects are unknowable during project design. Risk management needs to evolve to respond effectively to these unexpected risks. We argue that the concept of resilience can provide insight into responding better to unexpected risks. The article describes the nature of resilience and outlines a number of practical strategies to build resilience into projects to respond to risk more effectively.