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Robert Chambers, is a preeminent promoter of participatory approaches to development.

In his seminal work “Rural Development: Putting the Last First” he set out his view that if these approaches are to be truly participatory and sustainable, then development practitioners must be ‘self‐aware’ and alert to the inherent knowledge and capacities of those living in poverty or suffering some form of injustice. He set this view out way back in 1983.

Almost 30 years later, in his keynote to the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) conference in Canberra on 28 November 2012, titled “Participation for Development: Why is this a good time to be alive?”, Chambers is optimistic about opportunities for Development Practitioners to make Change for the Better. Chambers states 4 realities and potentials reasons for this optimism, and goes onto suggest that ‘reversals’, ‘reflexivity’ and ‘realism’ are particularly relevant in order to understand those reasons.