Abstract
This paper describes and discusses the experience of a group of researchers conducting when mobilised anthropological research skills to foster “development from below” in a Tay village in Vietnam’s Northern Upland. The research team developed an applied research project to test and prove the viewpoint: “To ensure development projects’ compatibility with local realities, ethnographic research must be carried out before the design of any development activities”. The article introduces and debates different points of view during the project, from the positions of scientists to cultural intermediaries, consultants and developers. On that basis, the article proposes a spirit of “involved anthropology” in research to foster local communities’ comprehensive and effective participation in the development process.