This document discusses failure in development projects and how learning from failures is important. It begins by reflecting on what failure means and how it differs from learning. It then provides brief summaries of some development project case studies that failed, including Kevin's thesis in South America, a grass and cow project, and infrastructure projects in Cambodia. It notes that failures can provide valuable lessons if properly analyzed. The document suggests creating safe spaces where failures can be discussed and learned from through tools like discussion, learning events, and learning labs.

1. Learning from Failure
Reflections from 30 years in Development
A discussion starter
S Batchelor

2. Reflections on the words
• Failure? “Didn’t go to plan”; “Didn’t fulfil the intended purpose”;
“Hurt people”; “Waste money”; “Didn’t work out as expected”; “Was
too difficult to actually do”
• Learning? “Know something now that doesn’t work”; “learnt some
new factors that need to be considered next time”; “gained insights
into peoples behaviours”; “realised that the target was wrong” “when
a failure is really a distorted success”

3. Some stories
• Kevin and his South American thesis
• Spedding and the grass and cows
• Cambodia – failure as a discursive introduction
• Windpumps – design failure, marketing failure
• Cambodia – dams, ducks, mushrooms
• Cambodia – doing things properly business plan for pumps (rise and
fall of pumps and their contextual relevance)

4. Kevin and his South American thesis

5. Spedding and the grass and cows

6. Cambodia – failure
as a discursive
introduction

7. Windpumps – design failure, marketing failure

8. Cambodia – dams, ducks, mushrooms

9. Cambodia –
doing things
properly
business
plan for
pumps (rise
and fall of
pumps and
their
contextual
relevance)

10. Whats on the web
• https://www.admittingfailure.org/
• EWB failute reporting
http://legacy.ewb.ca/en/whoweare/accountable/failure.html

13. Failure in a safe place
• DFID – Willing to fail? Daily mail – wasted money.
• Entrepreneurs – willing to fail? Disheartening, but investment was
clearly sign posted
• The poor – cannot fail due to lack of margins. So how can they learn?
• Create safe place to fail
• Cambodian game playing, role plays

18. How to learn?
• Discussion
• Learning events
• Learning labs

19. What do we know
What don’t we
know/do we want
to explore?
What do we suspect
What
resources/tools/literature
already exists?
A key question – what have we learned about failure?

20. References and Photo Acknowledgements
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quechua_people
• https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjc1JW5wJrMAhXEWxQKHQv-
BKQQjhwIBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FDairy_farming&bvm=bv.119745492,d.d2s&psig=AFQjCNE3zBrld5n34EUfkF2_DQmmjsoj3g&ust=1461144495913309
• https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj966ymwJrMAhWFVBQKHclcATMQjhwIBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FTakao_Furun
o&bvm=bv.119745492,d.d2s&psig=AFQjCNHUH63LHToK7CcAwzHUEzr6uo_IGw&ust=1461144853628999
• https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sustainablecambodia.org%2Fcambodia%2F&bvm=bv.119745492,d.d2s&psig=AFQjCNFHBJ
szcjsNvCe4ndhcQMH7mMC3cw&ust=1461144628208690
• https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj229GuwJrMAhXHvBQKHd4dBlcQjhwIBQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.howtopedia.org%2Fwiki%2FHow_to_Build
_a_Windpump_(Principles)&bvm=bv.119745492,d.d2s&psig=AFQjCNELSnnaYmLwz5uY-H9jJRJ5A6FP2A&ust=1461144680312125
• https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj189irs5rMAhVBuxQKHTf-
CL4QjhwIBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpixabay.com%2Fen%2Fphotos%2Fwelding%2F&bvm=bv.119745492,d.d2s&psig=AFQjCNGR2HTlZwBEZuWJd_4_fS8nS4_Ywg&ust=1461144968016681
• https://www.admittingfailure.org/reading-room/
• http://legacy.ewb.ca/en/whoweare/accountable/failure.html
• http://www.ewb.ca/sites/default/files/EWB_FAILURE%20REPORT.pdf
• https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjbq8K6uJrMAhXGaRQKHQZnB68QFgggMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-
3510827%2FRevealed-UK-aid-funds-TERRORISTS-budget-cuts-12bn-taxes-splurged-foreign-hand-outs-militants-killers-Palestinian-palaces-jobs-don-t-exist.html&usg=AFQjCNHHEJms9RL5Oh9-TyDeVXPaUmc1xA
• http://www.globaljustice.org.uk/blog/2015/apr/13/why-daily-mail-right-aid-money-wasted-wrong-we-must-reduce-it
• https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi11Mnfv5rMAhUKmBoKHfdJCFAQjhwIBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.entrepreneur.com%2Farticle%2F2270
11&psig=AFQjCNH9oR3LZ650RsxGad3Ib7lZGtWC2Q&ust=1461146604729993
• https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiY3vTSv5rMAhVLnBoKHf2kBx0QjhwIBQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.preventionweb.net%2Frisk%2Fpoverty-
inequality&psig=AFQjCNGlmHpCbRB7Q0jezkRVMgIVDlq5Iw&ust=1461148279458506
• http://3rdworldfarmer.com/
• https://www.ids.ac.uk/files/dmfile/PPInBrief9_Embedding_Reflective_Practice_LearningLabs_Beynon_Fisher.pdf