Development in Practice
Volume 26, Issue 1, 2016
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cdip20/current

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Articles
Right to information (RTI) legislation: the role of infomediaries in enhancing citizens’ access to information
DOI:10.1080/09614524.2016.1119248
Kazi Nazrul Fattah
ABSTRACT
Merely creating a legal space by enacting right to information (RTI) legislation is often not enough to ensure citizens’, especially women’s, access to information. Based on a pilot intervention on RTI implementation in Bangladesh, this article explores whether the introduction of information intermediaries, or “infomediaries”, enhances rural citizens’ access to information through using the RTI Act. It was found that due to the assisted access provided by infomediaries, the number of RTI Act users increased significantly in the intervention areas compared to the national average, with five times more women than men being able to use the Act.

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Articles
Assessing the fit of RapidSMS for maternal and new-born health: perspectives of community health workers in rural Rwanda
DOI:10.1080/09614524.2016.1112769
Purity Mwendwa
ABSTRACT
This article examines field results that show the potential for mobile health (mHealth) technologies to support community health workers (CHWs) in delivering basic maternal and new-born services in Rwanda. The fit of RapidSMS, a UNICEF/Ministry of Health (MOH) mHealth technology is examined through focus groups with CHWs. The results highlight the need for more training in the use of RapidSMS, continued upgrading of mobile phones, devising innovative ways of charging mobile phones, and ensuring the availability of ambulances. We suggest that CHW supervision be a two-way process built into RapidSMS utilising real-time communication to enhance effectiveness.

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Articles
The learning organisation: conditions of possibility in a feminist NGO
DOI:10.1080/09614524.2016.1118017
Jacques P. de Wet* & Jonathan Schoots
ABSTRACT
Amidst criticism of the concept of “the learning organisation” there is a perspective which is both critical of, and open to, innovative ways of developing the notion of a learning organisation. This article contributes to this perspective by examining the learning practices of a feminist NGO which operates across Southern Africa. The ways in which this NGO has interpreted the idea of a learning organisation and put it into practice are an example of a bottom-up approach which is informed by humanism. The findings of this qualitative study demonstrate both innovative possibilities for organisational learning and potential pitfalls.