Praise for this book
Burns and Worsley bring an acute understanding of the practitioner's art and science of development. Intangibles like participation, learning, and network development are at the core of ownership and appropriate action for social change for the poor. Navigating Complexity in International Development unlocks the analysis and dialogue needed to impact sustainable large-scale change. An important contribution for all of us working at the front end of development.
Steve Hollingworth, President and CEO, Freedom from Hunger
This book makes an important case for engaging complex systems, and contributes theory and practice for those researching and intervening to improve the conditions of the poor. It challenges current linear development thinking and offers new methods to effectively engage complexity. Its reflective case studies give rise to a new hope that, with the right approach, development can do better.
Frank Rijsberman, CEO, CGIAR consortium
The timely message of the book then is that we must adopt a collaborative systems orientation anchored in the realities of human participation when dealing with the complexity inherent in international change endeavours.
Hilary Bradbury, Professor, Division of Management, Oregon Health and Science University, and Editor, Action Research
This book presents powerful and persuasive case-based evidence to show how systemic change can be achieved at scale.
Robert Chambers, Research Associate and Professor Emeritus, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex
One of the most thoughtful explorations on the nature of complexity in the development sector. A rare example of a book where the writing is accessible without trivializing the underlying theory. It provides a great platform from which the participative action research and complexity theory communities can develop an exciting new body of both theory and practice.
Dave Snowden, Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Cognitive Edge Pte Ltd
It is courageous to think in terms of complexity in an era where linear thinking and accountability set the tone. In my experience, working together, coping with power differences, energy, trial, error, reflection and learning, keeping an eye on the parts as well as the whole, using data as well as your senses are a few essential elements to make change processes developmental. The book is inspiring since it captures both practice and theoretical reflections.
Annemiek Jenniskens, ex-director, SNV/Netherlands Development Organisation
For too long, development problems have been articulated as technical issues reframed in ways that remove politics, power imbalances and economics from the analysis. In contrast, this valuable book draws upon original studies to demonstrate the case for taking account of complexity, emphasizing the importance of participatory action and reflection whilst recognizing the need to link bottom-up approaches with wider strategies for social change.
Marjorie Mayo, Emeritus Professor of Community Development, Goldsmith's College, University of London
A very readable and valuable contribution to the growing body of literature on change in complex situations, underscoring the futility of linear approaches based on the prediction of measurable results. With diverse examples of systemic action research, Burns and Worsley show how ownership, adoption and building relationships can lead to sustainability and scale with appropriate development interventions. Deserves to be read by practitioners and twice by development investors.
Richard Hawkins, International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture, Wageningen, the Netherlands
There are different ways to navigate complexity in development. One way is to attempt to model it quantitatively, in the hope that new and better analytical techniques can help resolve the tension between our current modus operandi steeped as it is in neo-Newtonian thinking and the challenges we increasingly face. Another way is to engage multiple stakeholders, and draw in different perspectives and mentalities, facilitating processes of social learning that can help better collective understanding and action. This book articulates how participatory methods can be used to effectively understand and engage with complexity. As such it provides an important bridge between these two approaches, and a vital step in showing how complexity thinking can be made practical and useful for those on the front line of development interventions, and most importantly for the communities they seek to support.
Ben Ramalingam, Leader, Digital & Technology Cluster, Institute of Development Studies, and author, Aid on the Edge of Chaos
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ISBN 9781853398513 Hardback
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Citation: Burns, D., and Worsley, S., (2015) Navigating Complexity in International Development, Rugby, UK: Practical Action Publishing,
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