Putting ‘projectized’ development in perspective

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Abstract
The project approach to development assistance has been attacked for its inability to make results self‐sustaining. This has been attributed to a short time horizon, an inability to pick up recurrent costs, and a tendency to either by‐pass or fragment local institutions and therefore to neglect the need for local capacity building. At the same time, claims have been made that projects are politically advantageous due to quick high visibility results and they are useful instruments for experimentation, social learning and capacity building. This article examines both arguments and concludes that there is a need for radical changes in project development processes, but that there should not be a rush to abandon the project as an instrument for development.