We are grateful to the many people who have contributed directly and indirectly to the preparation of this Rapid Guide.
Much of the original work upon which this document is based is contained in a longer publication by Norman Messer and Philip Townsley, entitled "Local institutions and livelihoods: Guidelines for analysis," published by FAO's Rural Development Division in 2003. That publication built upon and distilled a set of findings from original research undertaken by Kirsten Appendini, Robin Marsh, Norman Messer, and Guillaume Lanly during their employment with the FAO's Rural Institutions and Participation Service.
This Rapid Guide is oriented specifically toward field missions and draws heavily upon Alice Carloni's 18 years of experience in agricultural investment project design, implementation support and evaluation missions for the Investment Centre. It is a product of the excellent collaboration and inter-disciplinary work between the FAO's Investment Centre and its Rural Institutions and Participation Service (Sustainable Development Department). Ms. Carloni can be reached at [email protected]
In addition to Eve Crowley who conceived and technically supervised this piece and worked closely with the author in all stages of its preparation, we are grateful to Marcelino Avila, Stephan Baas, Ian Cherrett, Jennie Dey DePryck, Olivier Dubois, Jan Johnson, Pamela Pozarny and Bernd Seiffert of FAO, as well as Zarina Douglas and Genevieve Dionne, for providing constructive comments and inputs on earlier drafts of the document. Additional copies may be obtained from [email protected]
