Degree Name

MA in Sustainable Development

First Advisor

Charlie Curry-Smithson

Abstract

As development workers, we often are on the outside looking in. We may have counterparts that are open to the work that we are doing, the suggestions that we may have, but often they are resistant to change. This can be a result of many things including a fear of losing power or a threat to their role as an expert in their area of expertise. I believe both of these played a role in my RPP project. I worked with a group of people who were interested in improving services available at our local food pantry, Norwalk Area Food Bank (NAFB).

This Development Management I CLC evaluates the process that a small group went through to research possible opportunities for implementation at NAFB. When a proposal to relocate the food pantry was presented for the Board, it was met with significant resistance. This capstone seeks to determine whether using the more formal, structured process presented in Development Management I would have led to more thorough research and a more positive response from the Board. Hindsight provides us an interesting prospective in this case, as a few in the organization were not very forthcoming with information. Through interviews with four group participants, opportunities for improvement were evaluated by those who were closest to the project. The consensus was that a more organic process was preferred by the members. They could see the benefits of the Development Management I process, but felt that it would not have led to a different result.

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

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