This article is part of The Future of Global Development, a series for Devex Executive Members that explores what development leaders think of the industry’s top issues.
Despite having risen to the top of their organizations, the majority of development executives told Devex they prefer working in the field to working in an office. This is according to the results of the 2014 Development Influencers Survey, which found that 80 percent of senior executives said they would rather work in the field.
It’s not surprising that many executives still harbor a passion for fieldwork, given the historic importance of field experience for development professionals looking to improve their understanding of development issues and build relationships with local stakeholders. Executives Devex spoke to noted the importance of fieldwork in grounding their perspectives and weighed in on how they think it will change in the future.