Papers by Mirtha R Muñiz Castillo
Projects retain a crucial role in international aid. There are standard ways to evaluate them in ... more Projects retain a crucial role in international aid. There are standard ways to evaluate them in terms of predefined objectives and the logic of connections for reaching those objectives. Projects typically face sustainability problems once the inducement of external resources is over, for their project logic is too narrow. In contrast, this paper proposes an interpretive analytical framework to assess
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
We have proposed elsewhere an alternative analytical framework for project evaluation and a crite... more We have proposed elsewhere an alternative analytical framework for project evaluation and a criterion of 'human autonomy effectiveness' to examine the effects of aid projects on the lives, opportunities and capacities of participants . A project is human-autonomy effective when it promotes an expansion of individual autonomy that allows people to support and sustain their own development, in a way that does not constrain other priority capabilities. In this paper, we explore how four aid projects influenced the autonomy of local participants, by examining their project logic. We elicit key assumptions behind the projects' design and implementation; identify significant project practices (forms of interaction and practical strategies); and analyse the practices' possible influence on the participants' autonomy. The paper shows that we need to understand the project logic in a deeper way than through the conventional 'logical framework' approach. Power relations between project stakeholders are crucial elements of the actual practices that influence the access to resources as result of the projects. Moreover, practices such as top-down design or excessive conditionality could harm participants' autonomy despite being supportive to other goals, and thus have negative longer-run significance. When project practices constrain the opportunities and perceived competence of individuals to help themselves, the 'development' or change promoted by those projects is not sustainable .
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
This paper presents a conceptual model of autonomy grounded in the theories of human needs and ca... more This paper presents a conceptual model of autonomy grounded in the theories of human needs and capabilities. The analysis suggests that autonomy can be considered a human need that requires satisfiers to secure a sufficient level of competence to effectively participate in social life, and a combined capability to make choices in significant matters and achieve positive results in one's life. The model allows analysing individual experiences of autonomy, through attention to three determinants of autonomy: agency as an internal capacity, entitlements, and structural contexts. It highlights the relations of individuals that negotiate their entitlements and options in specific contexts. Personal and contextual, subjective and objective, factors explain people's actual conditions for and their feeling of being autonomous. The paper also discusses the relation between human development and autonomy and asserts that initiatives that aim at fostering human development should promote the expansion of individual autonomy and empowerment.
Oxford Development Studies, 2012
The Institute of Social Studies is Europe's longest-established centre of higher education and re... more The Institute of Social Studies is Europe's longest-established centre of higher education and research in development studies. On 1 July 2009, it became a University Institute of the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR). Postgraduate teaching programmes range from six-week diploma courses to the PhD programme. Research at ISS is fundamental in the sense of laying a scientific basis for the formulation of appropriate development policies. The academic work of ISS is disseminated in the form of books, journal articles, teaching texts, monographs and working papers. The Working Paper series provides a forum for work in progress which seeks to elicit comments and generate discussion. The series includes academic research by staff, PhD participants and visiting fellows, and award-winning research papers by graduate students.
Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 2014
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
The 'watch dog' role of the media, the impact of migration processes, health care access for chil... more The 'watch dog' role of the media, the impact of migration processes, health care access for children in developing countries, mitigation of the effects of Global Warming are typical examples of governance issues-issues to be tackled at the base; issues to be solved by creating and implementing effective policy.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
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Papers by Mirtha R Muñiz Castillo