Development Projects for a New Millennium

Economic matters entered a new phase of importance in the wake of the Cold War. Concerns within development-assistance efforts to the Third World have also shifted. The current macro-environment of development has been accompanied by a plethora of new concerns and methods, such as how to consider gender in development projects and how to develop participatory-centered projects. Yet no text has covered many of the new approaches and techniques related to development projects, including issues of participation, gender, and evaluation--until now. Hira and Parfitt bridge these serious gaps, drawing on their hands-on experience and teaching in the field.

The end of the Cold War was supposed to bring a new era of peace prosperity, and development. However, the post-Cold War world has not led to any major improvements in development. In this book, Hira and Parfitt examine why 50 years of development have not led to the wiping out of poverty. In the first part of the book, they break down the political agendas behind development in the post-Cold War World, as well as the serious flaws in current development project management. In the remainder of the book they look carefully at a number of new initiatives that seek to correct these problems, examining carefully their promise for bringing about more tangible results.

This book provides a thorough overview of the classic concerns and approaches of development project management, including clear explanations of predominant planning and evaluation practices. In addition, the book introduces the major new initiatives in development project management, including those regarding environmental sustainability, participation, gender, and the steps needed to create a real learning environment in development project planning. The result is a guide for the project manager and policymaker who want to know the implications of recent development ideas in terms of everyday practices, as well as for the student and interested citizen seeking to move beyond theory and critique to see how new practices can change the way that development projects are administered.

ANIL HIRA is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and Latin American Studies at Simon Fraser University. After working in a variety of public administration posts, Professor Hira taught development courses at the American University in Cairo, Tulane University, and Simon Fraser. Among his earlier publications are Ideas and Economic Policy in Latin America (Praeger, 1998) and Political Economy of Energy in the Southern Cone (Praeger, 2003).

TREVOR PARFITT is Director of the Master’s Program in Development at the American University in Cairo. Professor Parfitt has worked as a consultant for a variety of development organizations, including the United Nations’ Development Programme and the United States Agency for International Development. Among his publications is the forthcoming Towards Postmodern Ethics for Development.