L. Dave Brown

Organization-Building for Rural Development: An Experiment in India

This paper argues that local organizations able to act on behalf of the rural poor are critical to constructive social change in developing societies. An intervention for building such local organizations is described conceptually and its implementation illustrated in work with small farmers in rural India. Time-series data collected over 30 months revealed significant changes in activities by trained groups. Trained groups undertook more initiatives that were planned, informed, collectively organized, successful in influencing the village as a whole, and successful in influencing agencies outside the village. Qualitative data also indicated important changes in trained-group activities. The relevance of applied behavioral science theory and technology to rural development and social change is discussed in the light of these findings.

Interorganizational Information Sharing: A Successful Intervention that Failed

Behavioral science intervention at the interfaces of organizations is likely to become increasingly important in the near future. This paper examines an interorganizational intervention for evidence of intervention effects and for clues to the complexities of the thirdparty role. Although the data supported the hypothesis that the intervention would increase the amount and accuracy of the information shared by participant organizations, the expected increases in organizational consensus and decreases in interorganizational problems of coordination failed to materialize. Some implications of these findings are discussed, and some hypotheses about the role of third parties in interorganizational interventions are generated.

Can "Haves" and "Have-Nots" Cooperate? Two Efforts To Bridge a Social Gap

This paper examines two workshops that brought together chief executive officers of large organizations and activists from community groups to promote better intergroup communications and long-term cooperation for social projects. The workshops are described as attempts to create cooperation between noninterdependent and unequally powerful groups. The events of the workshops—one a success and one a failure—are analyzed in terms of the evolution of boundaries and the development of power relations. The roles of third parties as influencers of boundary development and power asymmetries are discussed.