Development projects too often assume there is a simple structure of local governance. But innovative research based on people in Mozambique, Myanmar, and Pakistan writing diaries reveals how in fact their lives are governed by many competing informal and formal actors. Katrina Barnes of Oxfam and Colin Anderson of the Institute of Development Studies on key dilemmas this complexity raises for practitioners
Why access to water may not benefit all women equally
In a study of water projects in Western Nepal Stephanie Leder and Floriane Clement found that community dynamics impacted on planning processes. As a result the more marginalized and disadvantaged women were less likely to benefit from improved water supplies. (Stephanie and Floriane, with Emma Karki, authored an article for the WASH issue of Gender & Development ). Global discourses …