Influence of different discourses on the outcomes of development policies and projects

Abstract

This study develops a systematic, participatory research method to study the impacts of different discourses on the outcomes of development policies and projects. The method visualizes relationships between key project discourses, enabling comparisons to be made between stated and actual discourses, and recognition of mutual synergies or inconsistencies among the discourses. Case study analysis of a rural water resources management project in Nepal demonstrates the ways in which individual responses from project specialists, combined together, lead to distinct hierarchical groups and clusters of discourses that reflect the day-to-day ways in which policies and projects are implemented. The paper discusses the ways in which project and organizational management could utilize the analysis in project planning, team formation, monitoring and supervision to meet external policy requirements, fit with local realities, and improve policy and project outcomes.