New developments in using values
theory and international
development
Martin Kirk
Oxfam
Q: ‘How concerned would you say you are about levels of poverty in poor
countries?’
Sources: ONS 1999-2004; PPP 2007a; MORI 2008; COI 2009; TNS 2009a; TNS 2009b; TNS 2010
Frames
“Frames are the mental structures that allow human
beings to understand reality – and sometimes to
create what we take to be reality …They structure our
ideas and concepts, they shape how we reason, and
they even impact how we perceive and how we act.
For the most part, our use of frames is unconscious
and automatic – we use them without realising it.”
George Lakoff, 2006
Deep frames
The Embodied Mind frame, not the Rational Actor
The Shared Prosperity frame, not the Free Market
The Participatory Democracy frame, not the Elite
Governance
Non-hierarchical Networks, not the Moral Order
frame
Surface frames
What next?
• A 10 year trajectory?
• A pan-third sector revival?
• New alliances with the private sector?
• A definable shift in dominant social values?