Institutional Development in Social Interventions: Towards Inter-Organizational Effectiveness

This book posits that development process as a whole can be sustained only through inter-group, inter-organization and inter-community collaboration. Just as developing individual skills does not necessarily make an effective team and developing groups does not automatically translate into an effective organization, similarly developing organizations individually does not result in effective inter-organizational process. The authors put forth a theory and methodology of inter-group, inter-organization and inter-community collaboration. The book has generated fresh knowledge through responsible intervention programmes at the level of inter-organizational processes which has in turn challenged the conventional approaches in development interventions. It will provide development practitioners with a reliable conceptual base.

Table of Contents:
PART ONE: LOOKING BACK: CONCEPTS AND PERSPECTIVES Social Institutions in Development Understanding Institutional Development The Relevance of Social Ecology Key Ideas in Neo-institutional Economics Thinking Systems PART TWO: PRACTITIONER EXPERIENCES Case Studies in Institutional Development Introduction to the Cases The Kurubas of Ranebennur: Traditional Community Livelihood System Micro-Concrete Proofing: Disseminating a New Technology Vivekananda Girijana Kalyan Kendra: Community Participation in Natural Resource Management The LEISA Network: Co-operating for Sustainable Agriculture NESA: An Institution in the Making Community Grain Banks: An Alternative Public Distribution System FEVORD-K: An NGO Network Case Leads for Further Consideration Emerging Questions PART THREE: LOOKING AHEAD: INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT WORK Learning from the Case Studies Understanding Methodology Methods in Practice

About the Author :
Vijay Padaki is co-founder and Director of The P&P Group, a Bangalore-based management research and consultancy centre with a special focus on organization and institutional development. Early in his career he headed the Human Resources Division of ATIRA (Ahmedabad Textile Industry Research Association). He was a member of the founding faculty of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, where he designed courses in research methodology, organizational behaviour, marketing research, organizational development and rural socio-technical systems. Besides setting up the Chimanlal Lalbhai Centre for Management, Ahmedabad, and helping to formulate the first comprehensive research-based textile policy for India in 1985, he has also been a Visiting Professor in Management Studies at the Indian Institute of Science and Honorary Visiting Professor at the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore. He has published several books, including Industrial Sickness: The Challenge in Indian Textiles (with V. Shanbhag, ATIRA 1984), Development Intervention and Programme Evaluation: Concepts and Cases (Sage 2001, edited) and Institutional Development in Social Interventions: Towards Inter-Organizational Effectiveness (with Manjulika Vaz, Sage 2003). With a deep involvement in the theatre over many years, he has authored over 25 plays, including a national awardwinning playscript. His plays have been produced internationally. Manjulika Vaz is an independent consultant for The P&P Group and for the Centre for Education and Documentation, as well as Principal Associate at CoCoon Consulting, an HR development firm. She earlier worked in the marketing research division of the Indian Market Research Bureau (1994–95) and with Development Alternatives (1995–97) on a programme for disseminating alternative building materials. Her work at The P&P Group (where she worked full-time from 1997 to 2002) included coordinating action research projects to promote inter-group and inter-organizational collaborative processes. Manjulika Vaz has also been the convenor of projects to study the management development needs of boards of NPOs and to enrich the methodology used in development interventions through a trainer’s forum.

Review :
This book is in the nature of a presentation of a work-in-progress and not merely a report of a research project….The most important consideration in the choice of cases is given to extensiveness and variety rather than to the similarity between them…. Institutional Development (ID) is a relatively new field of inquiry that is attracting widespread interest.  This book explores both the concept and application of ID from multiple perspectives. The book stands out as a path-breaking treatise... The academic fervour combined with its practical approach make the book interesting and relevant for the concerned circle of theorists, social scientists, researchers and planners. Institutional Development (ID) is a relatively new field of inquiry that is attracting widespread interest. This book explores both the concept and application of ID from multiple perspectives. The book brings to focus a number of alternative approaches to development interventions, their funding and management. It is a judicious blend of theory and practice. The book argues for the need to embark upon a journey towards the formation of a recognizable body of knowledge to give us a reliable methodology for institutional development. This document is an important work that goes beyond conventional theories of studying development interventions…. [It] will be widely welcomed by researchers, practitioners and others engaged in development interventions.