Understanding the meaning of development

Abstract

A major portion of national and international public policy centres around development and meeting the development objectives. Antecedent to this is the concept of development itself and what it means to different people and communities. There is often ambiguity and divergence on the concept. Moreover, the idea of development keeps changing across time and geography, making it important to constantly hear the voice of different communities on the same. This can help to build ongoing consensus as well as identify gaps, if any. An element of negative connotation with the concept of development further calls the question of studying the convergence or divergence of development with desirability due to the important policy implication of challenging and correcting any underlying assumptions in the policy conception of development as against what communities deem desirable.