Community-Driven Development (CDD) in World Bank parlance refers to an approach that gives communities direct control over key project decisions as well as responsibility for management of investment funds. Because poor people are included as partners in decision-making and are learning as they go, the guide explains, continuous evaluation of programs is much more effective than traditional input-output-outcome reporting mechanisms. Copublished by the World Bank, this guide provides directors of such programs with lessons on monitoring and evaluation (M&E) as a management tool.

This book tells the story of development studies in practice over the last fifty years through the work of one remarkable individual, Robert Chambers. His work has taken him from being a colonial officer in Kenya through training and managing large rural development projects to a fundamental critique of top-down development and the championing of participatory approaches. The contributors eloquently demonstrate how he has been at the centre of major shifts in development thinking and practice over this period, popularising terms that are now at the centre of the development lexicon such as vulnerability, multi-dimensional poverty, sustainable livelihoods and 'farmer first'. Robert Chambers played a major role in the massive growth in participatory approaches to development, and particularly the application of participatory methods in development research and appraisal. This has led to fundamental challenges to development practice, ranging from approaches to monitoring and evaluation to institutional learning and professional training. There is probably no-one who has had more influence on approaches to development in the past decades. Revolutionizing Development offers a unique overview of these contributions in thirty-two concise chapters from authors who have been intimately involved as collaborators, critics and colleagues of Robert Chambers.

This book is a cornerstone resource for a wide range of organizations and individuals concerned with sustainable development at national or local levels, as well as for international organizations concerned with supporting such development. Whilst the focus is on integrated strategies for sustainable development, the approaches and methods covered are equally relevant to poverty reduction, environmental and sectoral strategies, programme development and review. Agenda 21 called for all countries to develop sustainable development strategies. For such strategies to be effective there needs to be a real commitment. In every country, government at all levels, the private sector, and civil society, must work together in a true partnership, in transparent ways which enable genuine stakeholder participation. The necessary mechanisms and processes need to be coordinated to enable continuous learning and improvement. This resource book provides flexible, non-prescriptive guidance on how to develop, assess and implement national sustainable development strategies. It sets out principles and ideas on process and methods, and suggests how these can be used. It is based on an analysis of past and current practice, drawing directly from experience in both developed and developing countries. Following a discussion of the nature and challenges of sustainable development and the need for strategic responses to them, the heart of the book covers the main tasks in strategy processes. Individual chapters offer a rich range of guidance, ideas and case studies.

Learning from Change provides an overview of the common themes and experiences in participatory approaches to monitoring and evaluation across different institutions and sectors. It is a compilation of selected case studies and discussions between practitioners, academics, donors, and policymakers in participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E). It explores conceptual, methodological, institutional, and policy issues that need to be addressed to enrich our understanding and practice of PM&E. The book is in three sections. The first provides a general overview of PM&E, synthesizing literature surveys and regional reviews of PM&E practice around the world. The second presents case studies that illustrate the diverse range of settings and contexts in which PM&E is being applied. The third raises the key issues and challenges arising from the case studies and discussions, and proposes areas for future research and action. Learning from Change will be an important reference for development professionals worldwide as well as for anyone interested in the process of participatory development, including researchers, academics, fieldworkers, development practitioners, and policymakers.

This book is intended to be used to support the campaigning and lobbying work of local and international development organizations, to improve the formulation and implementation of development strategies and to strengthen participatory project planning, monitoring and impact assessment in poverty and environmental change.