Development Narratives, Or Making the Best of Blueprint Development

Roe argues that development policies are often based on arguments, scenarios and narratives that do not stand up to closer scrutiny. Frequently the narratives are directly contradicted by experience in the field. In spite of this, the narratives persist and continue to inform policy-making. The most obvious reaction is to dismiss the narratives as myths or ideologies, and to call for more rational policy-making or a more learning-based process. However, Roe suggests that this will not have any great effect, because the ideals of rationality and learning would not automatically fulfil the needs that the narratives do, and thus are likely to be discarded in practice.

Instead, it is necessary to first try and understand why policy so often leans on narratives, and why policy-making apparently 'learns less and less' over time, before attempting to reform it. Narratives have several functions. Importantly, they are a way of dealing with the uncertainty and ambiguity that characterises development activity. There is a strong pressure to produce and reproduce simplifying narratives, especially in situations where difficult and ambiguous decisions have to be made. Narratives are able to transform a chaotic reality into an ordered and comprehensible sequence of events.

Roe suggests that the best way of reforming outdated narratives is to engage with them, either by trying to improve the narrative itself, or by introducing counter-narratives (i.e. making the best of blueprint development).