Anthony Bebbington is Professor of Nature, Society and Development in the Institute of Development Policy and Management at the University of Manchester, an ESRC Professorial Fellow, and also a member and research affiliate of the Centro Peruano de Estudios Sociales, Lima, Peru. He has previously held positions at the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Cambridge, the International Institute for Environment and Development, the Overseas Development Institute and the World Bank. Sam Hickey is lecturer in International Development in the Institute of Development Policy and Management at the University of Manchester. Diana Mitlin is an economist and social development specialist with staff posts at both the International Institute for Environment and Development and the Institute for Development Policy and Management at the University of Manchester.