Short-sightedness

Tags: Knowledge Platform
Additional tags: Future Calling

Gazing in the future becomes interesting when it provides you with inroads in another or different way forward. Especially the optimists, which most development workers are, long for new horizons. However, it is very difficult to look ahead when many things are blocking you’re sight. Short-sightedness, seeing close objects clearly whereas objects in the distance appear blurry, seems to become a larger and larger problem in our sector.

Whereas at the start of our Knowledge Programme we lamented the short-termism of the sector and wanted to provide an answer through the development longer-term visions through knowledge development, we seem to be farther away then ever. Should we define other ways of overcoming short-termism beyond longer-term processes of knowledge development and reflection? How to move from reflective to prospective exercises? How to energize longer term scopes in a quick win world? Or should we just give up our current frame? Does the thread mill spinning out of control already tell us to abandon the development ship and ride the wave of global public goods? Or are we falling into the NGO-trap of always wanting to do something new?