Community-Based Organizations--New Fad or Old Hat?

Globally, we are witnessing a renewed interest in the role of Membership Based Organizations in improving the livelihoods of poor people. This reflection reports on an international conference in which academics and practitioners came together to discuss the significance of these developments. Unusually the conference was preceded by a period in which participants lived with poor members of the conference organizers. This lived experience complemented the more abstract papers presented at the conference. Crucially however it also drew attention to the serious challenge of supporting organizational attempts to bring about transformative as opposed to cosmetic change.