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Mr. John Best
Associate
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From a background in agriculture and agricultural economics, I worked during the 1970s and 80s mainly at tasks aimed at understanding rural livelihood systems and the impact (or likely impact) on these of development interventions. I was a practitioner of RRA (rapid rural appraisal) in the 70s and 80s; subsequently I have had experience of participatory approaches to engaging with rural people (PRA/PLA), and – in a recent research project in Bangladesh – of attempts to use such approaches to reach findings which are statistically robust.
I have also been a development communicator (including a period as a practising wrtiter and editor), gaining experience in several aspects of media production, notably print but also film and video. Another aspect of my work in communciation has been in training, including the development and preparation of training materials which reflect approaches appropriate to experienced development practitioners as learners. In 1999-2002 I led the international component of a training input to capacity-building of CBOs and local NGOs in southwestern Nigeria, as a component of a national project of DFID Nigeria.
More recently I have worked in a different area of communication, namely researching poor rural people’s knowledge and information systems and participating in an initiative (with NGO partners in Bangladesh) which has aimed to strengthen access to information as a means of enhancing access to rural services.
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Alongside this I have been involved over the past 4 years with a GYA-led DFID project in Northern India which has developed a highly innovative approach to micro-institutional development as a means of enhancing livelihoods of extrememly poor and vulnerable people. At the same time I led a project (in Bangladesh and Nepal, also DFID-funded) which has explored a contrasting approach (namely ‘asset transfer’, in this case of small livestock) as a pathway out of poverty. Recently therefore my work has had a strong focus on rural poverty alleviation and I hope to make further inputs to development strategies which have a similar thrust, contributing to GYA’s work on the theme of Poverty and Livelihoods.
My country experience is in South and South-East Asia (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia) and West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone).
Contact info:
e-mail: john_best@gya.co.uk
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