Policies for development assistance have undergone several changes In recent decades. These changes have affected the information needs in developing countries and the responses of aid agencies. The article outlines trends in assistance strategies and types of international organizations as sources of Information transfer. The review concludes with information-related factors to be considered by technical assistance projects and implications for developing countries.Technical assistance is governed by political, economic, and social forces. It blends governmental, commercial, and voluntary action. Researchers, managers, professional practitioners, and advocates of the poor work side by side and often at cross purposes. Critics of the process are more vocal than its champions. Failures abound, yet technical assistance creates more opportunities for person-to-person professional collaboration than any other process. Informal communications are often more important than formal information systems. The main determinant of the effectiveness of information transfer to a developing country* is the ability of the intermediary-individual or organization-to blend the information process with the culture of the particular society or group.
Development and InformationThese are elusive concepts that have been defined differently in different contexts. Formal organizations supporting rural development efforts tend to identify development "information" with scientific and technical knowledge, socioeconomic data, or a management information system. Development, however, implies not only a societal process but also an intensely personal involvement. As Ong observes, in those parts of developing countries where an oral culture exists "education consists in identification, *The term "developing country" will be used with the understanding that a wide range of economic, social, and cultural differences exist among nations as well as among population groups within each country.
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