Societal Development Through Human Resource Development

The Problem. Recently, human resource development (HRD) scholars and practitioners have reported the usefulness and effectiveness of an HRD framework to address emerging problems and issues to bring about meaningful and lasting change for the public good at multiple levels. However, basic expectations inherent in traditional HRD theory and practice that pursue organizational interests often do not fit numerous projects and programs designed for community development, nation building, or international development. The Solution. To understand the use of HRD for the purpose of societal development (SD), this article presents typical contextual characteristics of HRD in a community, a nation, and the world, along with the key change agents, such as governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and international agencies. The Stakeholders. This article is addressed to the many HRD practitioners who work for SD without broader scope of theoretical background by providing principles, concepts, and methods that are currently used or have potential for advancing the practice.