| In the context of emerging approaches to development planning and management such as Sector Wide Approaches (SWAP) and Results Based Management (RBM), the main goal of the thesis is to analyze the interaction between development planning approaches, methods and tools and development processes.;Starting from a cross-disciplinary theoretical framework, including an analysis of the co-relation between general project theory, development thinking and planning approaches, the current approaches and methods are classified in two categories: orthodox (Project-blueprint Approach, Logical Framework Approach-LFA, Project Cycle Management-PCM and RBM methods) and heterodox ones (Process Approaches, Participatory Learning and Action, and other alternative methods).;The main hypothesis is that orthodox approaches and methods are detrimental to development processes because of the nature of the tools themselves.;The research strategy is based on alternative paradigms, and combines the triangulation of documental research, semi-structured interviews, and case studies using long-term participant observation.;The results are represented on a proposed comprehensive model of the interaction between methodological, institutional, economical and political variables, and development processes. In these interactions, social capital plays an important role.;The main conclusions are the following: (a) The reaction of donors to the fatigue phenomena and to the process approaches criticism and proposals have been mainly rhetorical and, even, a leap in the dark, which can be expected to deteriorate the long-term global results on development processes. (b) There is no an evident co-relation between efficiency, effectiveness, pertinence and viability and the generation of development processes (the people point of view). (c) There are management requirements (the donor and most of counterpart staff's point of view) that reinforce the use of LFA-RBM methods and approaches. Process approaches have failed on providing management instruments and tools, which would make friendly for managers the process approaches. (d) There is the need to develop new management tools to conciliate the managerial problems with the process requirements (the two points of view). This is possible, and we propose several principles and methodological orientations, as a contribution to a Process Oriented Management. |
