Does SL raise too many expectations and demands?
Raising expectations is a danger for all externally-financed development activity. In some respects projects that are framed by an SL approach are less at risk here. This is because they have the flexibility to develop in a variety of different directions (though over-complexity should be avoided). By contrast, when projects operate within a given sector they may uncover issues that they can never address. For example, participatory exercises conducted for agricultural research projects frequently end up discussing issues to do with trading practices, adverse policies or water supply. But the projects themselves may not have the freedom to address these or even to form alliances with others who can. On the other hand, the fact that SL investigations cover such a wide agenda may unduly raise expectations. It is important to be aware of this danger throughout and to make an active effort to manage expectations. Partners and those involved with SL analysis need to be aware that SL does no
