Organising grassroots infrastructure: The (in)visible work of organisational (in)completeness

Abstract

In this article we build on the concept of incompleteness, as recently developed in both organisational and urban studies, to improve our understanding of the collective actions of grassroots organisations in creating and governing critical infrastructures in the changing and resource-scarce contexts of urban informal settlements. Empirically, the article is informed by the case of resident associations providing critical services and infrastructure in informal settlements in Kisumu, Kenya. Findings suggest three organisational processes that grassroots organisations develop for the production and governance of incomplete grassroots infrastructures: shaping a partial organisation but creating the illusion of a formal and complete organisation; crafting critical (and often hidden) material and organisational infrastructures for the subsistence of dormant (but still visible) structures; and moulding nested infrastructure that shelters layers of floating and autonomous groups embedded in communities. In a resource-poor environment, the strategy is to create incompleteness, less organisation and to keep it partial and limited to a minimum of elements. The article also explores the political implications of organisational and infrastructural incompleteness by examining how it leads to efforts to craft loose and ambiguous governmental arrangements, connecting them materially and politically to formal infrastructure systems. These governmental arrangements are shifting and in the making, and therefore also incomplete. The article reveals how grassroots organisations mobilise a wide range of (in)visibility approaches. It concludes by exposing the hidden power of ‘incompleteness’ and the potential in hiding certain elements of incompleteness from outsiders, while rendering other elements visible when perceived as useful.

Nothing to lose: the rationales of grassroots financial innovations in contexts of extreme scarcity

“…A third strategy grassroots innovations follow to adapt and grow is organizational incompleteness. This strategy has been observed particularly in contexts of extreme scarcity (Zapata Campos et al, 2023). Recent research has argued organizational incompleteness is not necessarily a negative feature nor a threat, but can instead be beneficial (Simone, 2014;Guma, 2020): a quality that describes social innovations in informal settlements as emergent, shifting, open and in the making.…”

“…However, the mobilizing power of these framings debilitated with time, as participants found it hard to fully understand it, make it work, expand the recruitment and increase the economic benefit. Instead, what explains perseverant participation in these grassroots innovations over time is the space for experimentation and strategies of incompleteness that characterize organizational life in contexts of extreme scarcity (Zapata Campos et al, 2023). a.…”

“…Yet, our study shows how these development and community framings alone are insufficient to explain the persistence of participation in the face of uncertain benefits. The digital quality of this grassroots innovation (digital framing) seemingly contributes as well to stimulate its adoption, challenging colonial imaginaries of modernity (Graham and Marvin, 2002) and innovation (Carenzo, 2017) and transforming the identity of urban poor communities as of innovators (Zapata Campos et al, 2023). Kenya has been leading the creation of alternative monetary schemes and digital start-ups in Africa since 2011 (Bijker, 1995).…”

“…The vignette above, although unique to Manyatta RA a grassroots organization for informal community in Kisumu (see also Plate 1), describes some realities of how highly deprived urban contexts, such as informal settlements in the global south, can turn into extreme niches of innovation and sparkle ingenuity out of necessity (Zapata Campos et al , 2023). But what are the rationales behind the participation of disadvantaged communities in social innovations?…”

Grassroots innovations in ‘extreme’ urban environments. The inclusive recycling movement

“…Maintaining these networks is often challenging due to resource scarcity and the multiple interests and rationales involved. Regardless of previous efforts to create waste picker networks in Kenya and Tanzania, their fortunes still fluctuate, and some have disappeared or become dormant (Zapata Campos et al, 2022a). The Kisumu Waste Management Association created in 2009 lost its significance due to internal conflicts and mismanagement but was resurrected as Kiwan in 2017.…”