We think that development projects need to be holistic, adaptable, and relevant to what works in practice for different communities. We plan to keep building out our values and mission as we learn and grow.
Our work is guided by a network of practitioners who (i) use systems thinking to understand development challenges; (ii)adapt broad learning for specific contexts and; (iii) create practice-oriented solutions for our clients. Our Practice is grounded in these values.
Manifest(o) Destiny
When creating The Development Practice, the first question we got from many folks was: What makes you different from all the other international development consultants out there? In some ways we need to say that we are not that different from other passionate development professionals who want to solve real problems for real people, and who want careers that expose them to a variety of organizations, initiatives, regions, and problems that need solving....but, that's not a great response for clients who want a capability statement and value proposition. So what makes us different?
We think that development projects need to be holistic, adaptable, and relevant to what works in practice for different communities. Our work is guided by a network of practitioners who (i) use systems thinking to understand development challenges; (ii) can adapt broad learning for specific contexts and; (iii) create practice-oriented solutions for our clients.
We showed this value proposition to some practitioners in our network and some feedback we got was: "word vomit." Sure, we get that, but we do believe in these principals and do not consider them to be empty words- even if they come close to a lot of other word jargon that exists out there. Our network referred us to two other organizations that had manifestos that really inspired us- The Agile Development Manisfesto for ICT4D Projects and the Management Innovation eXchange (MIX) Manifesto. Can we leave it at that?
Agile Development Manifesto:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation (Working projects over endless reporting)
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan (on-going project learning)
MIX Manifesto Principles:
The Most Important Problem is the One You Care Most About
It's Good to be Humble
The Devil's in the Details
Innovation is a Social Process
Everyone Wins When Everyone Shares
Every Innovator Deserves a Hearing
Accomplished Innovators Deserve Acclaim
Essentially we want to work hard, focus on real problems, develop projects that address those needs, create genuine partnerships, and build on the shared knowledge of everyone we are lucky enough to learn from. We also want to work with professionals who are focused on what works in practice. So what does our "word vomit" practically mean?
Systems Approach: We do not shy away from complexity
Context Specific: We believe that there are no ‘one size fits all’ solutions
Practice Oriented: We know that knowledge is only as good as the action it translates into
This thinking really helped us get down to our core values and prompted us to develop a Development Practitioner’s Manifesto through discussions with our network. We’d love to hear from you if you have thoughts about what should be in such a manifesto or if you have a personal manifesto for your work.
We do not shy away from complexity and believe that the strongest programs are those that holistically consider problems and potential solutions. We work with Practitioners who not only have deep knowledge of their own organizations and sectors- but who also understand how other stakeholders, initiatives, and sectors can affect their outcomes.