I have two reactions to Bill's question, at quite different levels.
First, Bill's adoption of the Blairite 'What works' slogan is suspiciously
close to the formula 'Getting the work done by the best means available'
(see my 1996 'What is Development Management?' paper, JiD 8, 1,
pp.95-110). This is all very well as far as it goes, i.e. if development
management is about the achievement of tasks. But it leaves two important
questions out. First, what are the most important tasks, what are the
values on which they are based, and how is it decided what are the most
useful development interventions? And second, is not the manner in which
the tasks are carried out as important as the tasks themselves?
Particularly as 'what works' is so uncertain, I would argue for carrying
out development tasks in such a way that the doing is intrinsically
valuable (e.g. empowering for those involved), even if in the end it
doesn't 'work'. After all, on one level very little that passes for
development activity actually 'works' in terms of measurable development
outcomes attributable to a particular intervention.
Second, I must admit to not knowing Kerr's " On the Folly of Rewarding A,
While Hoping for B". Can you give us a full reference, Bill? But if the
title does encapsulate the paper, it does not sound entirely foolish to
me. Quite a lot of things we hope for in development are so intangible
that we could hardly run an organization on the basis of a reward system
linked directly to the achievement of these intangible aims. If A is a
good proxy for B, or if there is a sound reason to believe that achieving
A will make it more likely to achieve B, then why not reward A while
hoping for B? Of course, this may not be what Kerr is talking about, and
there are many other, more contrary, circumstances where people are
actually rewarded for things which are counter to their organization's
development aims. Another comment on this title is that it sounds as
though whoever is doing the rewarding is in complete control of the reward
system. Of course, what counts as a reward to a development worker is not
entirely in the control of whoever is their boss or runs the organization.
So it's more a question of understanding motivation and trying to affect
it in a way which does not contradict one's general development goals.
I realise I haven't answered Bill's question at all - he was calling for
suggestions on 'What works' in terms of theories or models people have
found useful. Well, I'd love to hear responses on that, as well as
comments on my own views expressed above.
Alan
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