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JANUARY 2003
Jane Samuels was invited to DFID by Michael Mutter to discuss how best to take the Removing Unfreedoms project forward. Two issues were identified for development. There was a need to determine whether Amartya Sen's philosophical ideas of economic development and their application to the urban situation made sense to NGOs, slum dwellers and the recipients of international development concerns. The second issue was to broaden the interaction of discussion between government agencies, donors, NGOs, academics and beneficiaries to the concept of a shared international development framework with new evaluations.

As a result of this meeting further funding from the UK Department for International Development was made available for further research and a workshop with the National Slum Dwellers Federation of India and the Women's Saving Group, Mahila Milan in Mumbai. Further funding was also made available to hold an international colloquium to review the outcomes of the research and the workshop in India.

MARCH 25th 2003
A presentation day and preparatory meeting was held at DFID with project participants including Michael Mutter, Romi Khosla, Jane Samuels, Sheela Patel of SPARC, Nick Hall and Smita of WSP, Pelle Person Of Sida, Cities Alliance, Ruth McLeod of Homeless International and Rick Davies. A three way video link was organized to include DFID India, the World Bank with John Flora and invited participants.

APRIL 2003
A series of pre-workshop research and methodology discussions were organized with relevant consultants. As a result of these meetings it was possible to formulate some kind of framework through which we could begin to view community aspirations in relation to the removal of obstructions to freedoms in the ordinary lives of slum dwellers. Pre workshop discussions were held with the following four development consultants.

1. Professor Nabeel Hamdi of Center for Development and Emergency Practice.
   
   
2. Dr Rick Davies at Cambridge on monitoring and evaluations
   
   
3. Dr David Satterthwaite at IIED.
   
   
4. Sundar Burra of SPARC India