Glossary of terms for Development Management

G

Note: Within each definition, terms for which there are definitions elsewhere are highlighted.

The term gender describes the specific social roles of women and men in a given culture. In contrast to the biological "sex" (innate and mostly unchangeable), "gender" remains culturally formed and changeable. "Female" and "male" roles vary depending on the culture and society. Gender roles are culturally formed, individually learned and from time to time bargained upon. They are mainly determined by the social, cultural and economic organisation of a society as well as the predominant religious, moral and legal regulations and standards. Inside a given society gender roles may differ from each other depending on the marital status, economic situation, ethnic or religious group Gender bias and discrimination can be related to class, caste, or race. etc. of the persons/ families. Gender discrimination results in women being denied access to basic needs, e.g. food, education, jobs, information, credit, and it assists in maintaining, or exacerbating poverty.

Knowledge about the specific gender roles inside a society is a prerequisite for any development planning. "Genderised" planning means avoiding discrimination of women through development interventions, but it does not aim at changing gender-relations by alien interventions.

Gender analysis

Gender analysis is a specific type of target group analysis. It focuses on the gender-specific distribution of roles and duties and the socio-economic interrelations among the genders in a system. In the centre of the analysis is the distribution of resources, tasks/ activities and goods/ income between the genders in relation to the interconnected aspects of control/ power, work load/ duties and satisfaction of needs.

Goal

A term used technically in development planning to describe the benefit as part of the intended impact of a development project or -programme. In the intervention strategy of a LogFrame plan the goal describes the benefits which the beneficiaries or target groups and/or supporting institutions are expected to gain from a development project or -programme. This should be consistent with their desires and intentions, and their capabilities. The goal statement may contain hints as to which type of capabilities the target group should be enabled to maintain or develop to improve their conditions in changing economic, social and institutional environments. Together with the purpose statement, the goal constitutes the plan's development hypothesis by indicating expected impact.

Grassroots organisation

see Self help organisation

Gross domestic product (GDP)

The gross domestic product represents the value of the goods and services produced within the borders of a country, irrespective of whether the production of goods and services is performed by foreign or domestic businesses, or by foreign or domestic labour. Gross domestic product is presented as the result of the contributions of the individual companies or economic sectors. The goods and services produced are valued at their current market price. The level of economic activity in a country is measured as a rule by the amount of the gross domestic product at market prices.

see also Gross national product, Net domestic product.

Gross margin calculation

A method of micro-economic analysis. Gross margin is equal to income less costs (equals net income). For a gross margin calculation, all income from a certain economic activity and all costs have to be identified and quantified. When doing so, three cost factors have to be distinguished: (1) investment costs, (2) input costs and (3) factor costs.

Gross national product (GNP)

The total value of all goods and services produced by the national citizens or business of a country in a specified period (usually annually), and including income received from other countries (e.g. interest payments). The GNP is most commonly used as a measure of a country's wealth and is expressed as a per capita figure (total GNP divided by number of people in population). Therefore GNP is gross domestic product (GDP) plus the income accruing to domestic residents arising from investment abroad, less income earned in the domestic markets accruing to foreigners abroad.

see also Gross domestic product, Net national product.

Group

More than one; in the technical sense, it is important to differentiate between: (1) a group as a social unit (social group): a number of human beings who do something jointly; characterised by the feeling of togetherness, interaction of group members, common objectives, and, (2) group as a statistical unit (sociological group): individuals who share a certain set of characteristics which distinguish them from other people. Such sociological groups are the relevant type of groups for a target group analysis.

Group interviewing

A method of social research, part of the Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA) tool box. Interviews may be conducted in focus groups (for the investigation of interest-groups or specialists' opinions and attitudes), or open group workshops (for general discussion or feedback).

Growth pole

The economic growth pole theory was developed in France in the 1950s and gained world-wide popularity with planners and politicians. The regional version of the growth pole theory deals with the question of which industrial sectors would be suitable for stimulating economic growth in one region. The idea behind this is to initiate a growth cycle in peripheral regions by locating some key industries there in order to overcome regional disparities. (Note: also used for growth axis, growth corridors).

Regional planners appropriated the assessments of the growth pole theory under the slogan "decentralised concentration". Respective policy procedures concentrate on identifying a suitable site within a peripheral region as a potential growth centre and providing special incentives (subsidies, credits, infrastructure, etc.) for locating industrial enterprises at such a location. It is expected that after the establishment of these industries a spontaneous self-reinforcing growth process develops.