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[Hulme, D.]

• Hulme, D. (1995). "Projects, politics and professionals: Alternative approaches for project identification and project planning." Agricultural Systems 47(2): 211.

In the 1970s agricultural and rural development projects were believed to be on ‘the cutting edge’ of initiatives to improve rural livelihoods. However, subsequent evaluations have concluded that many projects have produced poor results. One response to these negative findings has been the generation of a large number of disparate ideas about how projects could be better identified, planned and managed. Despite the efforts devoted to drawing up these alternative approaches they are little known to the majority of planners. This paper reviews these alternative approaches by presenting a framework for their classification and comparison. It concludes that there is no optimal model for planning agricultural or rural projects but, rather, a set of alternatives that should be considered depending on the specific context and objectives of an intervention. Projects seeking to improve the living conditions of the rural poor, however, are likely to perform better when the conventional approach to project planning is put aside.