His approach

Since the 1980s, he has been one of the leading advocates for putting the poor, destitute and marginalised at the centre of the processes of development policy. In particular he argues they should be taken into account when the development problem is identified, policy formulated and projects implemented. He popularised within development circles such phrases as "putting the last first" and stressed the now generally accepted need for development professionals to be critically self-aware. The widespread acceptance of a "participatory" approach is in part due to his work. This includes participatory rural appraisal

Participatory rural appraisal

Participatory rural appraisal is an approach used by non-governmental organizations and other agencies involved in international development...

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Key Works

Robert Chambers, (1983) Rural Development — Putting The Last First. Essex, England: Longmans Scientific and Technical Publishers; New York: John Wiley

Robert Chambers, (1997) Whose Reality Counts: Putting the First Last.

Festschrift

Mukherjee Amitava, (2004) Participatory Rural Appraisal Methods and Applications in Rural Planning : (Essays in Honour of Robert Chambers), Concept, Second Revised Edition, ISBN 81-8069-105-5

Other useful sources

• Chambers, Robert (2005) Critical Reflections of a Development Nomad, Chapter 4 in Kothari, Uma (Editor) A Radical History of Development Studies: Individuals, Institutions and Ideologies, Zed Books.

See also

Rapid Rural Appraisal