Books published by Practical Action Publishing

International NGOs are increasingly under pressure from governments and the public to demonstrate evidence of impact and positive results. This book critically examines how development NGOs working around the world create knowledge and evidence, and use it to satisfy donors, to improve their practices, and to further our understanding of poverty. It asks questions such as: does the evidence of community organizations count as much as higher-level organizations? Should southern NGOs be expected to disseminate pre-formed development ''messages''? What do we mean by ''evidence-based advocacy''?The eight studies that form the core of Negotiating Knowledge span scholarly and practitioner research across Africa, Asia and Latin America. They tackle political issues that determine what forms of evidence and knowledge are given credence. They explore the power dynamics that shape the value placed on knowledge and learning in relationships within and between organizations. Negotiating Knowledge urges NGOs to examine how they use knowledge in order to make it work better for themselves and for the people that they aim to assist. To do this well, they have to understand better what they mean by knowledge and evidence, revisit the value that they place on learning and knowledge, and invest in appropriate capacity and skills.

A canal through Nicaragua connecting two oceans has been a dream central to Nicaraguan identity and to the history of the country. But the current Canal scheme, passed in 2013, has catalysed opposition to President Ortega, who is seen to be using the project to boost his reputation. This book asks the questions: what are the possible economic benefits that the Canal will offer the country? What damage might the Canal will do to the environment, particularly to Lake Cocibolca, the largest source of freshwater in Central America? The Nicaragua Grand Canal explores the geopolitics of the project, especially the significance of China's involvement. The final sections of the book examine resistance to the Canal proposal from within Nicaragua. Although popular with the wider population, the Canal proposal has been greeted by protests particularly by peasant farmers whose land will be expropriated and by indigenous groups whose lives will be irrevocably altered by the Canal.

Rosa of the Wild Grass, the Story of a Nicaraguan Family is a true story which spans the last fifty years of the life of this small Central American republic. This fascinating and deeply moving personal and family chronicle brings alive the tumult of events in a way no textbook of contemporary politics could achieve. Rosa and three generations of her family, especially her mother and her daughters, recall life under the Somoza dictatorship and the carnage of the insurrection which ended it; the hopes kindled by the Sandinista Revolution in 1979, and their eclipse by the destruction and cruelty of the Contra War; the subsequent years of neo-liberalism and the retreat from many of the social advances achieved; and the continuing battle to keep alive community spirit at home. Rosa reveals the catholic church both progressive and conservative; evangelical groups; the beliefs in saints, witchcraft, and traditional remedies; literacy and health campaigns, land reform, and trade unions; military service and bereavement in war; unemployment and drug gangs; migration from countryside to city and back again, and abroad to Costa Rica and the US; wide-scale alcoholism and domestic violence; the strength of women's networking, and their schemes for survival and co-operative ventures; and through it all the vital support of extended families.Rosa is an excellent resource for students and teachers in the field of Latin America, gender politics, human rights and international development. More than that, it is a wonderful human story that will appeal to readers everywhere.Rosa of the Wild Grass is dramatically visualized with stark illustrations painted by the author.

Farmer Research Groups reviews the history of participatory agricultural research, particularly in Ethiopia. It introduces cases of research conducted by FRGs in Ethiopia – both successful and less successful – and describes how issues of research quality, technology dissemination, effectiveness and efficiency are dealt with.

This book seeks to contribute to the lively debate on the impact of fairtrade schemes by showing the diverse outcomes and impacts that such schemes have as they are adopted or implemented in different geographical production and value chain contexts around the world.

In 2002, after a long political struggle, Lula was elected Brazil's first working class President amid huge expectations that he and the Workers' Party (PT) would bring much-needed reform. A great deal was achieved, including a dramatic reduction in poverty. But, just months before the staging of the World Cup in 2014, a series of social protests swept across the country. In 2015 further demonstrations erupted, with insistent calls for the impeachment of Lula's re-elected successor, President Dilma Rousseff, for corruption. Brazil Under the Workers' Party, the first serious look at what went right - and what went wrong - during the 12 years of Workers' Party rule, tells a fascinating story of realpolitik, as Brazil's first ethical party uses the old corrupt ways of Brazil's dysfunctional political system to achieve real change and is then devoured by the political system it has failed to reform. An enthralling tale, of great significance for Latin America and the world, told by two experienced commentators on Brazil.

Water is Life is based on research collaboration between Irish and Ugandan higher education institutes and NGOs, centring on communities in rural Uganda. Studies by social, physical and environmental scientists proposes solutions for community water supply that have eluded government initiatives and NGOs for decades.

Financial and Market Integration of Vulnerable People provides examples of some promising solutions including the 'push-pull' model of supporting supply and linking up to demand; cash transfers; graduation models; and vouchers for smallholder agricultural technologies.

Water is Life is based on research collaboration between Irish and Ugandan higher education institutes and NGOs, centring on communities in rural Uganda. Studies by social, physical and environmental scientists proposes solutions for community water supply that have eluded government initiatives and NGOs for decades.

Financial and Market Integration of Vulnerable People provides examples of some promising solutions including the 'push-pull' model of supporting supply and linking up to demand; cash transfers; graduation models; and vouchers for smallholder agricultural technologies.

The Politics of Evidence and Results in International Development critically examines the context and history of the current demands for results-oriented measurement and for evidence of value for money.This book will inspire development professionals and organizations to cultivate their political skills.

The approach of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Humanitarian Contexts is straightforward and practical, with little theory - the focus being on improving professional practice in the midst of humanitarian suffering; written for those whose everyday work involves humanitarian response to WASH needs in emergencies and disasters.

The approach of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Humanitarian Contexts is straightforward and practical, with little theory - the focus being on improving professional practice in the midst of humanitarian suffering; written for those whose everyday work involves humanitarian response to WASH needs in emergencies and disasters.