Participatory technology development: a critique of the new orthodoxy

This article is a critique of the New Orthodoxy in participatory approaches, such as PRA, participatory technology development and participatory process projects. The limitations of the New Orthodoxy are discussed, most notably its emphasis on techniques as the major missing ingredient for development, while overlooking the individual, institutional and political context of its use. It is argued that the unquestionable acceptance of the New Orthodoxy as a panacea to developmental problems has the danger of cutting itself off from a critical reflective understanding of the deeper determinants of technical and social change. A number of measures are suggested.