Paragraph 247

I teach international development. I love the nuance and the subtlety we get into when attempting to define this or that. The dialogue appeals to my philosophical side. I like precision, but realize it can be hard to come by. Life is about paradox, complexity, and contradiction. Finding clarity is tough.

The OECD definition doesn't capture what sustainable development is all about. ‎It lacks nuance and real world coherence. My students and I come to a comprehensive definition through discourse, persistent dialogue and struggling with layers of contextual and cross-cultural complexity.

The RIO+20 document on the SDG's covers a lot of ground. Paragraph 247 enumerates and recalls the SMART acronym as it calls for goals that will be “action-oriented, concise and easy to communicate, limited in number…” These are all good ideas. What we need to be talking about though is efficacy. Impact is elusive in short periods of time. It’s always contextually based and difficult to attain in a holistic and comprehensive manner. Donors who demand quick results and “greater impact” often only embarrass themselves at their lack of understanding. Substance is not synonymous with bigger numbers. More wells do not necessarily reduce the rate of water borne diseases.

We need to communicate to critics and donors that impact, efficacy and quantitative indicators must be understood through a qualitative, contextual and deeply relational lens. Not everything can ‎be measured.  As a parent I have seen that the growth and maturity of children cannot be boxed in through a systematic method of quantification. As Henry Felsen reminds us, proper treatment will cure a cold in seven days, but left to itself it will hang on for about a week.

It's easy to lie, manipulate and deceive with statistics. We all know that numbers often betray, yet we are hypnotized by the notion that 2+2 equals 4. In development 2+2 often equals 5 and that’s just the beginning of the answer. Time to look for a nuanced approach that is able to account for the difficulties we all face every day in the field.