Conventional development policy has always been driven by grandiose plans, moving from one big fix to another, one set of best practices and universal blueprints to the next. I don’t blame them. The other need is to examine the perceptions and priorities of the poor themselves. Development administrators, professionals, authors and writers strain themselves to burnish their credentials on rural development and planning. It may also not be possible to lay down a standard blueprint for a rural development programme.What we need instead are policy innovations tailored to local societal contexts, economic circumstances and political complexities.

Practitioners ask why, if the consultants are so confident of their advice and plans, they don’t simply execute HIGH SPEED GEARBOX TILTING PAD BEARING these themselves.Most such professionals — politicians, bureaucrats, scientists, academics, professionals, activists and others — have neither the time nor the incentive to examine their own predispositions, leave alone those of the poor. The success of the design of any programme depends upon the recognition that local, practical knowledge is as important as formal, theoretical knowledge. It is preposterous simply to assume that we know best: this approach will justifiably scare the community away. Leadership in rural development programmes is an art and people need insights that come after long and sustained empathetic engagement with communities.