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Prelims - Social Progress and Sustainable

Development

Chapter · January 2002

DOI: 10.3362/9781780441399.000

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 Social concepts and principles i

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Social Progress
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Development
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4 Published by ITDG Publishing
5 103–105 Southampton Row, London WC1B 7HL, UK
6 www.itdgpublishing.org.uk
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9 © Neil Thin 2002
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First published in 2002
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4 ISBN 1 85339 566 0
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7 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or
8 reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other
9 means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocoipying and
211 recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without the
1 written permission of the publishers.
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6 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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9 The author has asserted his rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents
311 Act 1998 to be identified as the author of this work.
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ITDG Publishing is the publishing arm of the Intermediate Technology
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Development Group. Our mission is to build the skills and capacity of
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people in developing countries through the dissemination of information in
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all forms, enabling them to improve the quality of their lives and that of
6 future generations.
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2 Index by Indexing Specialists (UK) Ltd, Hove, BN3 2DJ
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511 Printed in Great Britain
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7 Contents
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111 Preface and acknowledgements v
1 List of figures, tables and boxes vi
2 Abbreviations ix
3 1 Introduction 1
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5 The third term 1
6 Adding value by addressing ‘social’ dimensions 4
7 Socially responsible development 6
8 The scope of this book 7
9 The structure of this book 8
211 2 Social concepts and principles 12
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2 Sustainable development objectives and principles 12
3 Social dimensions of change: why concepts matter 16
4 The ‘three pillars’ framework – or is it a balloon and two pins? 23
5 Human development and the individual/society distinction 29
6 3 Trend assessments and visions of progress 32
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8 Social policy and the dominance of pathology 32
9 Social trends and unsustainabilities 37
311 Social goals, models and sources of optimism 43
1 Operational principles and concepts of social progress 47
2 Utopian and communitarian literature 55
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4 Social planning 61
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5 Identifying social development strategies 61
6 Intrinsic and instrumental values of social change 65
7 Blueprint and learning process approaches to social planning 67
8 Defensive, targeted, and positive mainstreaming approaches 72
9 Stakeholders, actors, and new partnerships 77
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5 Core social development themes 83
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2 Four categories of social progress 83
3 Social justice: equity and rights 84
4 Solidarity 87
511 Participation, social inclusion, and diversity 93
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1 Security: resilience, adaptability 96

2 Synergies and trade-offs 99
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6 Learning strategies 103
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5 Social assessment and learning: content, process and purposes 103
6 Components of learning strategies 105
7 Evaluation 108
8 Developing indicators of social progress 112
9 Participatory learning as a social process 121
10 Global and regional assessments and generic analysis 124
1 National assessment 127
2 Thematic assessments 131
3 7 Conclusions: social issues in policy and practice 134
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5 Description, norms and plans 134
6 Linking principles with description and plans 136
7 Paying attention to qualities and causal patterns 137
8 The contribution of social planning to sustainable development 139
9 Glossary of key terms and concepts 141
211 References 148
1 Further reading 165
2 Index 175
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7 Preface and acknowledgements
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111 This book’s purpose is to clarify the meaning of ‘social’ dimensions of sus-
1 tainable development in the hope that if this broad category can be better
2 conceptualized by planners, they will make better contributions to social
3 progress. The book reviews literature on development to identify how the
4 concept of social development is used in policies, strategies, assessments,
5 and in theoretical analysis. It proposes clarification of analytical frame-
6 works which could help conceptualize ‘social’ development in relation to
7 other dimensions and objectives of sustainable development. It approaches
8 the topic of development as inclusively as possible without trying to be
9 encyclopedic. The agencies, policies and strategies reviewed include busi-
211 nesses, civil society organizations and specialist development agencies, and
1 the content covers development work in poorer as well as richer countries,
2 and global as well as micro-level ‘community development’ work.
3 In response to the widely held view that social dimensions of sustain-
4 able development are ill-defined and poorly monitored, a shorter paper on
5 which this book is based was commissioned by the World Bank’s Social
6 Development Department (SDV) and the UK Department for International
7 Development’s Social Development Department, Rural Livelihoods
8 Department and Environment Policy Department. That work was part of
9 DFID and the World Bank’s preparations for the World Summit on
311 Sustainable Development (WSSD, Johannesburg, August–September
1 2002) and for the 2002/3 World Development Report on the theme of sus-
2 tainable development. It will also inform the World Bank Social
3 Development Strategy Paper which is currently under production.
4 I should first like to thank Gil Yaron (consultant to DFID) and Clare
5 Lockhart (consultant to the World Bank), who co-wrote sections of the ear-
6 lier paper and who gave very helpful insights on draft versions. I would also
7 like to thank the following for their support and helpful comments: Tamsyn
8 Barton (DFID), Lynn Bennett (World Bank), Tom Bigg (International
9 Institute for Environment and Development), Judy Edstrom (World Bank),
411 Clare Ferguson (DFID), Alicia Herbert (DFID), Steen Jorgensen (World
1 Bank), David Marsden (World Bank), Desmond McNeill (Centre for
2 Development and the Environment, University of Oslo), Zmarak Shalizi
3 (World Bank), and two anonymous reviewers.
4 The book also makes extensive use of some 18 years of social develop-
511 ment consultancy in policy analysis, project design and implementation,
and training. That work has involved too many people to thank individu-
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1 ally here. Particular recent pieces of my consultancy work that have been
2 most informative for this book have been: the DFID Participatory Rights
3 Assessment Methods project; working on the Rwanda study of the
4 Strategic Partnership with Africa/ODI review of institution processes in
5 preparing African Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers; my reviews for
6 DFID of social dimensions of African and Asian poverty reduction strate-
7 gies; preparation of DFID’s guidance and training materials on poverty; a
8 global review for the OECD Development Assistance Committee on aid
9 agencies’ evaluation of impacts on poverty; research on social development
10 policy and evaluation for DFID from 1996 to 1999; and regular advisory
1 work from 1988 to 1999 on DFID and National Lottery Charities Board
2 support for poverty reduction in poorer countries through UK NGOs and
3 trade unions.
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7 Figures, tables and boxes
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10 Figure 1 Assessing performance and responsibility 7
1 Figure 2 What is society? 22
2 Figure 3 Forms of associational linkage 92
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Table 1 Value added by attending to ‘social’ dimensions 5
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Table 2 Environmental and social critiques of economism 24
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6 Table 3 Using the BITE framework to distinguish means 30
7 and ends for individuals and for society in general
8 Table 4 Social outcomes and influences 70
9 Table 5 Social protection strategies in Bolivia 100
211 Table 6 A proposed social planning matrix 138
1 Box 1 Sample definitions of social dimensions of 18
2 development
3 Box 2 The diverse meanings and associations of 20
4 social development
5 Box 3 Components of sustainable health improvement: 28
6 comparing the three pillars with the BITE framework
7 Box 4 Social pathology in participatory poverty assessment 36
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Box 5 Social progress and the World Happiness Database 38
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Box 6 Trends in gender equity 40
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Box 7 A balanced appraisal of progressive and regressive 42
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trends and risks
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Box 8 Visions of social progress in national Poverty Reduction 56
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Strategy Papers
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Box 9 Strategies for social progress 63
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Box 10 Explicit social development strategies in Rwanda’s PRSP 64
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Box 11 Social technology and public health 66
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8 Box 12 Social inventions and experiments 71
9 Box 13 Social development in European aid agencies 75
40 Box 14 Unilever mainstreaming social responsibility 76
1 Box 15 EDF/McDonald’s partnership for better waste 78
2 management
3 Box 16 Citizens’ report cards and responsible public 80
4 services in India
511 Box 17 Productive Partnerships for Peace Project, Colombia 81
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1 Box 18 Nijera Kori: Social Mobilization Programme, 86

2 Bangladesh
3 Box 19 Gender Action Plans 88
4 Box 20 Social processes, conflict and rehabilitation in 94
5 Cambodia and Rwanda
6 Box 21 The Kecamatan Development Programme (KDP), 96
7 Indonesia
8 Box 22 Sustainable Livelihoods and Social Risk Management 98
9 Box 23 Conflict handling: linking justice, solidarity, 101
10 participation, and security
1 Box 24 Learning strategies as aspects of society 105
2 Box 25 Components of learning strategies 106
3 Box 26 School education and social cohesion 108
4 Box 27 Evaluation biases 109
5 Box 28 Aggregate measures of progress 115
6 Box 29 UN-CSD’s Indicators of Sustainable Development 117
7 Box 30 The (Weighted) Index of Social Progress 118
8 Box 31 Indicators’ influence on performance – the IDTs 119
9 Box 32 Participatory impact assessment: Calcutta Slum 123
211 Improvement Project
1 Box 33 The European concept of ‘Social Quality’: more 126
2 obsession with growth and numbers?
3 Box 34 Social development coverage in national reports 129
4 on Millennium Development Goals
5 Box 35 Thematic assessments and reports on social the 132
6 measurement of trust
7 Box 36 World Values Survey, returned wallets, and the 133
8 measurement of trust
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9 Abbreviations
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1 ADB Asian Development Bank
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3 AfDB African Development Bank
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5 DFID (UK) Department for International Development
6 GDP Gross Domestic Product
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8 IACHR Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
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211 IADB Inter-American Development Bank
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IDT International Development Targets
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3 IFAD International Fund for Agriculture and Development
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5 IIED International Institute for Environment and Development
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ISEW Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare
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8 MDG Millennium Development Goal
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311 NGO Non-Governmental Organization
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2 NSSD National Strategy for Sustainable Development
3 OECD–DAC Organization for Economic Co-operation and
4 Development – Development Assistance Committee
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6 PM&E Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation
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8 PRA Participatory Rapid (or Rural) Appraisal
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PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
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1 QoL Quality of Life
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3 UN United Nations
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UN-CSD United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development
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1 UN-DESA United Nations Department for Economic and Social

2 Affairs
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4 UN-ECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
5 UN-ESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
6 Asia and the Pacific
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8 UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and
9 Development, Rio 1992
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1 UNDP United Nations Development Programme
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UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
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Organization
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5 UNHCHR United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
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7 WSSD World Summit on Sustainable Development
8 (Johannesburg August–September 2002) [same acronym
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211 1995]
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