From indigenous people's groups, classroom teachers, and local and international community workers comes the desire to build community. Participatory Development Practice provides a theoretical and applied base for rethinking development practice that is deeply influenced by a 'community' development tradition having its roots in participation and dialogue, yet is broader than that. The book makes the link from the intra-personal to the community and beyond, into the inter-organizational and international domains now required of twenty-first century development work.

The book is framed conceptually as implicate method (starting with positioning self), micro (developing constructive relationships), mezzo (forming small participatory groups), macro (structuring participatory work within formal organizations) and meta (working with both local to global and global to local issues).

Kelly and Westoby draw on diverse traditions of thought and practice, including the written works of author-activists such as Gandhi, Freire, Fanon, and the unwritten oral traditions of female workers in Asia, and First Peoples. The result is a true and tested methodology using frameworks of good ideas born from practice wisdom, that have come from research and reflection on 70 years of combined experience.

Participatory Development Practice helps experienced practitioners, as well as scholars and students of international development, community development and social work, to reflect critically on the concepts and assumptions guiding their work. It is also aimed at corporate actors within community relations departments of major industry who increasingly interact with the public.