British Colonial Expertise, Post-Colonial Careering and the Early History of International Development

Abstract

British Colonial Expertise, Post-Colonial Careering and the Early History of International Development This article examines the connection between late colonial development efforts and post-colonial, rural development policies and programmes. It does this by mapping the contributions of several technical officers who had their professional start as part of the British colonial service in the 1940s and 1950s, but who later went on to subsequent careers in international development. Many of these officials were recruited to work for Britain's overseas development administration or the UN's specialist agencies and the World Bank. Others were hired as advisers by international charities or consultancy companies, bringing with them the development strategies first devised during their formative years as colonial experts. After a brief overview of the early background and experiences of the colonial officials surveyed for this research, the article examines two important development schemes implemented in Kenya in the 1950s and 1960s: the Swynnerton Plan and the Million-Acre Settlement Scheme. It highlights the careers of several agricultural officers involved in these projects, who later rose to positions of leadership with the World Bank. These former colonial experts were instrumental in formulating some of the institution's most high profile, Integrated Rural Development programmes, including the Lilongwe Land Development Project in Malawi and the Transmigration Program in Indonesia.