“Good Practices” Are Sometimes Better Than “Best Practices”
Denika Blacklock Originally published in Kanava Global Connection http://www.kanavainternational.com/2014/12/good-practices-sometimes-better-best-practices/#.VRLZC_mUemM The sobering reality of “best practices” is that they are often only “best” where they are conceived. Unless the foundations for success where a practice first emerged are thoroughly understood and can be adapted to a different context, it is probably doomed to failure. Based on my experience, most development practitioners have become wary of importing “best practices” generated in contexts foreign to the locale in which they are working. This is not a pessimistic view; but a realistic one. Why? Because context – culture, history, language, politics, religion, geography, economy – underpins the success or failure (or mediocre outcome) of any development initiative. Policies, laws, and planning processes all hinge on a specific context and what works in one country is unlikely to work in another unless i