Alejandra Boni

Approaching Development Projects from a Human Development and Capability Perspective

Abstract This paper discusses the relevance of the human development and capability approach for development project planning, management and evaluation. With reference to the set of five other studies that it introduces, the paper suggests in which areas insights from human development and capability thinking offer advances and in which areas such thinking needs to link with and be complemented or corrected by thinking from other sources and traditions. The paper aims at capturing the learning from recent experiences and studies, both for project planning and for the human capabilities perspective.

Introducing development education in technical universities: successful experiences in Spain

This paper presents and analyses the main characteristics of successful experiences of Development Education (DE) introduced in two major Spanish Technical Universities (Technical University of Catalonia, TUC, and Technical University of Valencia, TUV) during the nineties and the beginning of the twenty-first century. In this paper, after a brief presentation of DE concept evolution and its links with sustainable development and education for sustainability, a classification of different instruments that the University uses to push DE activities is presented. This proposal is based on the conclusion of the Spanish Committee of University Co-operation for Development (CEURI), re-elaborated by the authors of this paper. After the overview of instruments, the main characteristics of four strategies developed in the two Universities referred to above are presented and discussed. These initiatives illustrate the feasibility and great potential of DE activities for introducing non-technical issues in engineering education. The initiatives highlighted are: Ethical codes such as the Ethical Code of the School of Industrial Engineers of the Technical University of Valencia; Training of faculty/lecturers and teaching innovation groups such the GREVOL group of Technical University of Valencia and the Interest Group of Collaborative Learning of the Technical University of Catalonia; Free elective courses in bachelor/master studies dedicated to international development aid and technology for human development as well as promotion of end of grade works and projects in the three universities; Student mobility programmes in coordination with technological-focused Non-Governmental Development Organisations, such as Engineering without Borders Spanish groups, which are present in the two universities.

The Impact of the Multinational in the Development: An Ethical Challenge

Multinational enterprises have continued their increase during the last decades. What these companies do and how they do, determines not only the economic development of countries, but also their social and cultural development. This enormous power implies responsibility and new challenges.If we also take into account the role of multinational enterprises in what has been called sustainable development, we see that their importance is still more decisive.In order to guide the performances of multinational enterprises that operate in developing countries, several supranational organizations like the ILO, the OECD, the EU and the UN have elaborated some recommendations to unify criteria and to set out some minimum standards to favor an integral development of these countries. In this document we present three of those with the greatest impact and we analyze them from the approach of an ethical sustainable human development.

Are technological projects reducing social inequalities and improving people's well-being? A capability approach analysis of renewable energy-based electrification projects in Cajamarca, Peru

Abstract This paper analyses four renewable energy-based electrification projects that were implemented by the non-governmental organization Practical Action in the rural area of Cajamarca, Peru. Using the capability approach, the research examines the effect of the projects on the things people value. It confirms that projects provide different benefits to the communities (reducing air pollution caused by candles and kerosene, improving access to communication through television and radio, providing the possibility of night study under appropriate light, etc.), but also detects an expansion of the capabilities in other areas not considered by the non-governmental organization such as those related to religion, leisure or community participation. However, the expansion of capabilities is different for men and women. The study reveals the limitations of interventions designed to supply technology, electrification in this particular case, which do not take into account certain elements that can make the use of technology contribute unequally to the expansion of peoples capabilities. The paper concludes that technological projects can generate inequalities, and some recommendations are presented in order to address these issues when planning interventions.

From Individuality to Collectivity: The Challenges for Technology-Oriented Development Projects

This chapter explores the contributions of the capability approach to technological aid projects implemented in small communities or villages. To achieve that objective we examine the evolution of technology-oriented development projects and the limitations of its current conceptualisation. After exploring the capability approach, we present a new framework for technology within the context of human development, the Technologies for Freedom (T4F). Throughout the chapter we introduce three case studies of power projects implemented in rural villages. The cases are funded by similar donors, and obtain the same results (ends) in the space of resources – a sufficient amount of energy for the communities. Nevertheless, the results differ in terms of processes (means) such as participation and empowerment of people. This chapter aims to show how technological artefacts (products, equipments, etc.) and organizational processes and relationships are ends of community interventions; but they also represent the means that allow people to do and to achieve whatever goals or values they regard as important, enhancing the ability of the community to help themselves to make changes happen. And, what is more important, that people can collectively become agents of change rather than being simple recipients of aid. Thus, we conclude that technology-oriented development projects can be vehicles for expanding people’s freedom (individual capabilities) but also to enhance their ability (individually and as a group) to pursue goals they consider valuable (agency).

Ethical learning in higher education: The experience of the Technical University of Valencia

Ethical learning is an educational proposal that aims to prepare students for their future working life by helping them to acquire skills that allow them to carry out their professions with autonomy and responsibility. In this paper, we reflect on the main characteristics of this educational proposal, on its connections with the European Higher Education Area, and on the experience gained at the Technical University of Valencia, which is based on that of a considerable number of teachers and researchers grouped under the Teaching Innovation Group for Ethical Learning in Scientific and Technical Studies (GREVOL). First, we describe the main characteristics of this research and action group and then give two examples of how we have introduced ethical learning into engineering lectures by means of two different approaches: one of these is a technical course, named “Industrial Sensors”, and the other is through two humanistic subjects, called “Introduction to Development Aid” and “Development Aid Projects”. Finally, we critically assess the advantages and disadvantages of these two approaches: humanistic courses versus engineering courses. †Presented at 28th Annual EAIR FORUM 2006, Rome, Italy.

Education for Global Citizenship at Universities: Potentialities of Formal and Informal Learning Spaces to Foster Cosmopolitanism.

This article explores how three different learning spaces could be appropriate for developing a sense of global citizenship among university students. We draw on an interview study conducted at the Universitat Politècnica of Valencia (UPV) between 2010 and 2012. The spaces analyzed were two electives devoted to international cooperation, a mobility program that took place mainly in Latin American countries and a student-led university group. We examined the three spaces in terms of expansion of capabilities and agency related to global citizenship and cosmopolitanism using a conceptual framework that synthesizes Nussbaum’s and Sen’s capability approach with Delanty’s critical cosmopolitanism to explore the limits and potentialities of those three spaces. Although the exploratory character of our study cannot allow us to generalize our findings, what we can affirm is each of these areas has the potentiality to enhance global citizenship but with nuances, differences, and complementarities. The electives appear to be good spaces for the critical learning capability, while international mobility (Meridies) is a strong enabler for narrative imagination capabilities. Students belonging to Mueve (student led group) showed elements of these capabilities plus a very strong emphasis on agency, which does not occur in the other two learning spaces. Critical cosmopolitan process happened both in Mueve and Meridies. In the student-led group, this cosmopolitan process begins with the local, while in the internships it was the global encounter that initiates a cosmopolitan reflection.

Higher education and the post-2015 agenda: a contribution from the human development approach

ABSTRACT Sustainable Development Goals will guide the global development agenda for the coming years. Under this premise, this article explores the role which higher education (HE) has been assigned in contributing to sustainable human development, and concludes that the vision of HE offered is too narrow and unable to capture the essence and full meaning of sustainable human development. Moving away from problematic indicators and thresholds that understand HE as a producer of human capital, the article proposes placing the concept of human development at the centre of HE. Particularly, the article argues that its main elements (its normative approach, the idea of capability, functioning and agency) can provide a valuable and sound footing for a more transformative institution.

Scrutinising the Process of Adaptation to the European Higher Education Area in a Spanish University Degree Using Power Analysis

In this article the authors explore power imbalances in a decision-making process to define the contents of a new Spanish degree adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), specifically the industrial design and product development engineering degree which started in the academic year 2009/10 at the Higher Technical School of Design Engineering (ETSID) at the Technical University of Valencia (UPV). They start the article with a description of the tool they used to analyse the power issues: the power cube, developed by John Gaventa. Then, they briefly explain the process of adaptation of the Bologna Process at the UPV in general and at the ETSID in particular. They introduce the methodology used in their research by referring to the type of questions asked and the criteria used to select their informants. Subsequently, they discuss the answers, paying special attention to three aspects: the quality of participation and the quality of the process; the types of power; and the concept of education. Lastly, they propose a series of recommendations intended to improve the quality of participation in deliberative processes at university.

Approaching Quality of Global Education Practices through Action Research: A Non-Governmental Development Organization-University Collaborative Experience.

This article intends to describe a collaborative experience between a nongovernment development organization (NGDO) and a university in the area of development education. The experience has included the design, following an action research methodology, of a system of quality criteria for experiences promoted by the Network of Educators for Global Citizenship. The network comprises a wide range of people from Spain and is supported by the NGDO Intermón Oxfam. The experience has enabled stakeholders to acquire valuable knowledge, primarily in understanding educational practices and about how to tackle their analysis.