This article refers to those processes of development that take place in practice in specific projects and programmes. I understand these realms as a particular sphere of action that establishes ideologies and practices, which often differ from the official development discourse. Here, development experts are not architects or masters of change protected by a secure and powerful institutional framework. On the contrary, they are thrown into a stormy sea of cultural norms and identity constructions in flux, into dynamic societies, and even more so into polycentric currents of social, political and economic interests and power relations. Thus, they become actors in a dynamic and controversial process we call development.
