Participatory Learning and Action 24:

This special issue of PLA Notes brings together social anthropologists, policy makers, NGO development workers, economists, ecologists and trainers to reflect critically on the practice of PRA. The issue is divided into two sections. The first focuses on PRA and Social Anthropology while the second deals with Politics and Practicalities. The debates are complex, the perspectives varied, the issues immense. These diverse, and sometimes conflicting views are all also challenges, urging us to improve on what PRA has offered to date.

Editorial: critical reflections on the practice of PRA
Irene Guijt and Andrea Cornwall

View PDF (39KB)

Abstract
The practice of PRA is now widely spread. However, routine demand and applications raise dangers of reducing PRA to a "buzz word" and of inadequacy of local participation. Some of the critical concerns highlighted and discussed are: lack of a clear definition, confusion over objectives, overemphasis on the importance of methods, political positioning in participatory research and planning, impact of PRA, questions about appropriateness.

PRA and Social Anthropology:

1. Context and Complexity: Anthropological Reflections on PRA
Andrea Cornwall and Sue Fleming

View PDF (30KB)

Abstract
This overview article discusses some of the wider concerns voiced about the practice of PRA by practitioners and academics working in development settings. The relative strengths and shortcomings of a PRA approach versus an anthropological approach are discussed.

2. Participatory Rural Appraisal: A quick-and-dirty Critique
Paul Richards

View PDF (28KB)

Abstract
The article discusses four areas of concern in current PRA practice. Firstly, it is likely that investment in careful, long-term and comparative on-the-ground social research will be curtailed in favour of quicker data-gathering using PRA methods. A second concern is whether the routinisation of PRA within the bureaucratic processes of development agencies contradicts or diverts the original aim of giving more voice and control to the rural poor. A third issue is the lack of clarity on where RRA/PRA practitioners stand in relation to the major debates in social theory. A fourth issue is the question of whether participative initiatives ever break free from the context of local politics.

3. PRA and anthropology: challenges and dilemmas
Ian Scoones

View PDF ( 27KB)

Abstract
The first part of the article explores ten of the myths about PRA - for example, that it is quick, easy, that people involved are neutral, that it is not political - and attempts to debunk them. The second part discusses the relationship between anthropology and PRA and what they have to offer each other. The author concludes that PRA needs anthropology to continue the process of reflection, self-critique and theoretical and methodological enrichment. Conversely, anthropology needs an applied context to work effectively and make the most of the discipline's insights.

4. Trades in different worlds: listening to refugees' voices
Rachel Hinton

View PDF (228KB)

Abstract
The author spent a year amongst Bhutanese refugees in Nepal, using questionnaire surveys, PRA and anthropological participant observation methods in her research. The paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the different research methods, and explores questions of validity, appropriateness and complementarity. The experience demonstrated that PRA and anthropology can be of mutual benefit in enhancing a critical self-awareness and understanding of complex realities.

5. Social analysis in participatory rural development
David Mosse

View PDF (44KB)

Abstract
In the Kribhco Indo-British Rainfed Farming Project (KRIBP) in India significant constraints were experienced in using PRA techniques for social analysis. The author argues that it is unlikely that public participatory research methods will prove good instruments for the analysis of local power relations since they are shaped by the very social relations which are being investigated. In fact, an understanding of local social networks is a necessary prerequisite for the organisation of effective PRA based work. In KRIBP understanding of these relations came from participant observation and critical review of the PRA activity itself rather than from the use of PRA methods.

6. Participatory appraisal and education for empowerment?
Korrie de Koning

View PDF (28KB)

Abstract
This paper looks at the role of PRA in addressing inequality and argues that participatory methods themselves contribute very little to an emancipatory process. It suggests that unless PRA is explicitly linked with an educational process which enables people with little power and resources to gain more control over their lives, the term 'participatory' will remain meaningless. A critical step is understanding issues of difference among 'the poor,' especially gender difference. However, it is one thing to identify differences but another to deal with the conflicting interests that emerge. The potential for a backlash against weaker groups is a real concern and must be taken into consideration.

7. Consensus or cover-Up? the limitations of group meetings
Johan Pottier and Patrick Orone

View PDF (32KB)

Abstract
This article discusses concerns that information obtained through PRAs can hide disparate, multiple and muted voices. Concern about these 'absent voices' arose during a PRA workshop held in Uganda to find out how food insecure groups and individuals perceive obstacles to food security. It was found that although some coping strategies, such as food-for-work and collecting wild foods were discussed openly, others such as theft or food for sex/marriage could not be mentioned in public. A major obstacle is the public nature of such workshops, during which certain aspects of everyday social life must remain hidden from the outside world. Other 'absent voices' were those of the very poor, who did not take part in the workshop. The paper concludes that only through more intensive, longer-term field research can we understand how poor people organise themselves in situations of food stress.

Politics and Practicalities:

8. PRA, social tremors and rolling heads: thoughts on PRA and empowerment
Judith Appleton

View PDF (31KB)

Abstract
The article discusses the issue of conflict and the skills required to deal with it, in the context of two FAO projects in Guinea and Tanzania. In the Guinea example an exploratory RRA investigating food security issues in a fishing community revealed conflict between the project credit scheme and the local community over the repayment of loans. In the second example an exploratory appraisal focusing on nutrition and food security in fishing communities in Tanzania uncovered layers of corruption and manipulation in the management of the credit team. This was the cause of conflict between the communities and the project. Although in these examples a constructive resolution to the problems was found, it does raise questions about whether facilitators and researchers have the skills to deal with such situations.

9. Participatory methods: precipitating or avoiding conflict?

Parmesh Shah and Meera Kaul Shah

View PDF (28KB)

Abstract
The article discusses conflict and conflict management in using PRA as a long-term process of local institutional development. It describes factors which prevent practitioners from using PRA as part of a process which recognises and handles conflict. Examples from India illustrate situations where the use of PRA has generated conflict and how it was managed in different institutional contexts. The potentially serious consequences of failing to address conflict are highlighted by an example from Gujerat, India, where conflict generated by a PRA resulted in violence and death.

10. Linking PRA-based research to policy
Victoria Johnson

View PDF (159KB)

Abstract
The article suggests that three processes - detailed field research, policy research and dissemination - need to run in parallel in order to make research relevant and accessible to policy-makers at different levels of decision-making. These processes are discussed in the context of an ActionAid research project on children's roles in development. Some of the problems with the approach and the lessons learned are discussed.

11. Making the best of going to scale

Robert Chambers

View PDF (34KB

Abstract
The article discusses some of the problems and opportunities presented by the increasing use of PRA on a large scale. This presents dilemmas, particularly in the realm of quality assurance. Some of the shortcomings of scaling-up are discussed and suggestions are made of ways these can be overcome. The author argues that "the benefits to poor people can be greater from doing less well on a wide scale than from doing better on a small scale". There may also be "benign viruses" in PRA which can gain a foothold in large organisations and then start to spread.

12. Only playing with beans? participatory approaches in large scale government programmes

Christoph Backhaus and Rukman Wagachchi

View PDF (29KB)

Abstract
The article describes the experiences of Sri Lanka's North Western Province Dry Zone Participatory Development Project (DZP) in transferring participatory approaches from one institutional culture to another. It summarises some of the difficulties which have been encountered while facilitating participatory planning processes in 40 villages. These included raising the expectations of villagers; difficulties encountered by government officers in sticking to their promises; changing the behaviour and attitudes of government officers; and the temptation to make up results of 'participatory planning exercises'. It argues that the principal differences between the institutional culture of NGOs and GOs have to be taken into account and concludes that the changes required to realise true participation in large-scale government projects are so fundamental that due time and resources must be provided if the approach is to succeed.

13. Participatory approaches in Save the Children Fund, UK
Louisa Gosling

View PDF (31KB)

Abstract
The paper discusses the use and usefulness of participatory approaches in the work of Save the Children Fund (SCF). It asks how PRA can be used effectively by SCF when the nature of its work means it is unlikely to be involved purely as a facilitator in a community development process. Participatory methods are seen as having a useful role to play in turning SCF into a more child-focused agency, and in helping to develop partnerships between SCF, local communities and partner organisations.

14. Development of PRA in Francophone Africa: Lessons from the Sahel
Bara Gueye

View PDF (26KB)

Abstract
Since 1989 the experience with PRA in Francophone West Africa has grown enormously. There is now a French language newsletter on PRA and networks have been established in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. These networks focus much of their efforts on PRA training with the aim of: strengthening the capacity of relevant institutions to use participatory approaches in their work; maintaining standards in the use of PRA methods; and identifying obstacles to PRA development in the region. The article analyses the problems encountered in trying to achieve these aims and suggests some possible ways forward.

15. The respective merits of RRA and conventional methods for longer-term research
Kathrin Schreckenberg

View PDF (27KB)

Abstract
Describes the experiences of a researcher using conventional questionnaire surveys as well as PRA methods while carrying out PhD fieldwork in Benin, West Africa. The advantages and disadvantages of using the different research methodologies are discussed. Combining the two types of methods was found to be rewarding, with the RRA work supplying the contextual information for the quantitative data provided by the conventional research methods. However, it is suggested that if no action is planned it might be better to use RRA methods only to supplement more conventional methods, being careful to avoid raising false hopes or exposing conflicts unnecessarily.

16. PRA: a new literacy?
Anna Robinson-Pant

View PDF(40KB)

Abstract
The article examines how far the visual language of PRA can be considered to be neutral and empowering for non-literate people. Using concepts from the New Literacy Studies, it looks at the process whereby new skills of mapping and diagramming are introduced to non-literate villagers.

17. Tips for Trainers:

What is PRA? a participatory learning game

Rachel Hinton

View PDF(40KB)