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Anthropologists have long debated their role in relation to development. Whilst an ethical consensus has been reached, and sympathy with informants usually stressed, the agency of the anthropologist has remained problematic. From the critique of 'anthropologist as advocate' to a range of participatory action research models, anthropologists have been highly atuned to the relations of power between themselves, their informants, and the various kinds of authority (bearing in mind that the latter two are sometimes the same). Anthropologists have also turned their attention to policy and development, and often been involved in projects as participants as well as critical voices. However, what has been sorely lacking has been a coherent theory of governance that offers a realistic prospect of the opportunities for influence. This paper examines the idea of intervention in the context of existing governmental systems and debates on participatory governance. It questions what anthropologists 'do' and what roles they may adopt in policy-making in contemporary contexts.

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