‘Communities of practice’: Prospects for theory and action in participatory development

Abstract

This article critically examines the idea of “community” within participatory development. Development programmes often assume that communities are clearly defined groups of people who live in the same geographical area, share common interests and can readily be mobilised around development initiatives.

The article argues that this understanding can overlook differences among individuals and may restrict the very agency that participatory approaches are intended to promote. People living in the same location do not necessarily share identical experiences, priorities or interpretations of development.

Drawing on Etienne Wenger’s concept of “communities of practice,” as well as narrative theory and cognitive approaches to policy analysis, the article proposes an alternative way of thinking about community. Rather than defining communities primarily through geography, it suggests that communities can be created and sustained through shared meanings, practices and understandings.

This approach provides a more flexible basis for people-centred development by recognising that participation and collective identity can emerge through interaction and shared experience rather than being assumed in advance.