Dialogue in Pursuit of Development - Are you looking for one of ...

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ment co-operation. Through a constructive dialogue actors can better understand
each other and as a consequence spend more time on implementation,
rather than on dealing with problems and misunderstandings.
Competence in communication
It is not possible to standardise a process for dialogue, since it is dynamic
and is dependent on who participates. We can however acquire communication
skills that are useful. How we express ourselves and how we listen are
central in the dialogue and depend on a range of factors, including professions,
culture, language and personal backgrounds. Dialogue is therefore both
an issue about how we act as organisations, as well as individuals. Two persons
can go through exactly the same kind of training, but the outcome will
be quite different.
For many professionals, such as medical doctors and nurses, social workers,
teachers, and journalists, competence in communication is a requirement
and on-going training is common, which does not seem to be the case for
staff in aid agencies. When positions are advertised social competence is
often mentioned as a merit, but not enough is done to follow it up.
Communication skills and human relations are areas that can be much
developed. This would help us to be more constructive as development
partners, and facilitate a better understanding of social dynamics in partner
countries. In concrete terms capacity building in this area can be training in
interviewing, techniques for dialogue, running workshops and seminars and
listening skills. The latter is something that is often taken for granted, even
though it is demanding to be a good professional listener.
Working in development co-operation involves a great deal of analysing
and judging situations, which requires a good understanding of social
and cultural dynamics. If we are too focused on our own missions, we
will not be able to grasp the complex reality around us and as a consequence
we will easily miss both opportunities and valuable information.
The Non-Governmental Organisation Community Development Resource
Association (CDRA) brings up the importance of development practitioners
having a holistic competence in order to deepen the ability to truly
grasp situations, including the impact of their interventions. In one of
CDRA’s reports it is stated that: “Development is not always visible – like a
plant growing under the surface of the ground, a great deal may be happening
that is not readily apparent. We need to develop capacities to access and
understand this movement in order to have a full understanding of the
process at work – be it in preparation for an intervention, or as part of a
process of understanding its impact. This demands a good understanding of
the rhythms and patterns of human, group, organisational and community
development (World Bank, 2001, p. 12).”