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This article revisits central questions arising from Pentecostal actors’ development practices. These were raised during the final panel discussion of the 2014 GloPent conference on “Pentecostalism and Development”. The four panel participants, all development actors from various organisational and religious backgrounds, considered whether Pentecostal approaches to development work are distinctive, as well as identifying various benefits that can be gained from the engagement of Pentecostal churches in development and some challenges that arise during collaboration between development actors and Pentecostal churches. The discussion was conducted through two rounds of statements by the panel participants, complemented by editorial comments and reflections. It concludes that neither the Pentecostal approach to development nor Pentecostal churches’ links with development actors are necessarily distinctive. However, more exchanges are needed between Pentecostal organisations and their members, development practitioners working with Pentecostal churches and scholars of the Pentecostal movement to improve development work among Pentecostals, links between Pentecostals and other development actors and scholarly awareness of the most salient issues.

The evolution and achievements of the Eagles Relief and Development Programme in Malawi are inspired and influenced by Christian values. The strength of Eagles comes from its integration of religious teaching and values with the way it works and from its decision to work through the local congregations, despite the challenges that such integration entails. The Eagles Programme challenges the stereotype of Pentecostal churches as being preoccupied with providing charity and welfare rather than justice for the poor. This case study shows how combining an explicitly Christian approach with recognised good development practice can lead to sustainable impact in a profoundly challenging context. Lutter contre la dependance par la foi et l'espoir : l' Eagles Relief and Development Programme of the Living Waters au Malawi L'evolution et les reussites de l'Eagles Relief and Development Programme au Malawi s'inspirent de valeurs chretiennes et sont influencees par elles. La force de ce programme reside dans son int...

Religious faith has always had an intense but uneasy relationship with development. Donors are currently seeking greater engagement with faith-based organisations (FBOs). This positive shift needs careful consideration. Faith can be a powerful – but flammable – fuel for change. FBOs are highly diverse and complex. Donors therefore need to handle them with understanding and care. This article outlines both the major concerns about faith in development and also the potential ‘value-added’ of FBOs. It charts growing interest yet residual ambivalence on the part of donors towards faith in development. It presents the practical challenges and suggests ways forward for both donors and FBOs.

We know what works in capacity development: a succession of studies from official agencies, academics and NGO practitioners have all highlighted similar principles of good practice. But the evidence also suggests that there is a distressing dissonance between what international development agencies know about capacity development and what they implement. This article explores the reasons for this failure. It highlights constraints that arise from the changing aid context and from a lack of resources and skills. Ultimately, however, it concludes that capacity development is driven more by self‐interest than by knowledge of what works. Until agencies' pride, greed and self‐interest can be restrained, much capacity development will continue to be disappointing and ineffective. But if agencies combine existing professional knowledge with virtues of humility, patience and a genuine commitment to others, then capacity development becomes something that can bring transformation.

This article is the second of two papers that review the field of spatially sensitive social scientific research into the links between social status and transport disadvantage. The first paper undertook a comprehensive review of the social scientific and transport planning literature to mark the level of development in the field and identify conceptual and methodological issues and constraints in this field of inquiry. The present article supports the advancement of socially and geographically sensitive transport research by opportunities for the development of more sophisticated spatial analytical methodologies. The approach we present is able to account for factors not previously addressed in either social or transport planning research, in particular the temporal dimensions of transport service accessibility. The article articulates the methodology through an empirical case study of socio-spatial transport disadvantage within the Gold Coast City. The article demonstrates that there are important theor...

Organization development (OD) has become an increasingly popular approach among international donors who are eager to improve the impact of their aid to developing countries. Major questions, however, have been raised as to whether this is not another example of “technique peddling” by Western donors and consultants. Many argue that this participatory, imported, Western approach to organizational change relies on cultural assumptions of open discussion that are simply not present in many developing societies. Taking up Lewis's challenge in his article “Organization and Management in the Third Sector: Towards a Cross-Cultural Research Agenda” (NML 2002), this article explores the veracity of such concerns. Using practitioner experience of implementing OD with African NGOs, this article reveals that many principles of OD are pre-existing within African cultures and are not a new foreign import. It concludes that, as with any culture, there are aspects that undermine and reinforce particular approaches to management and change. An anthropological perspective can assist in understanding the local culture sufficiently to be able to identify, avoid, or overcome cultural resistance, while at the same time using cultural symbols as levers for change.

Learning and knowledge management are crucial capacities for many NGOs. This article attempts to answer such questions as: why is learning seen as so important for NGOs? How do successful NGOs actually learn? And what role do key individuals or leaders play in this process? The article draws heavily on the findings of a study of South Asian NGOs, which suggests that an NGO's ability to learn is dependent on its organisational culture and in particular the development of an internal culture of learning. The case studies from South Asia reveal that the creation of this 'learning culture' derives primarily from the attitude of the leadership towards learning: at the heart of a learning organisation is a 'learning leader'.