Abbot, Jo

A summary of some of the findings of a workshop on participatory research and geographic information systems, with a case study from South Africa. The article describes GIS as a computer-based technology and discusses its potential as a participatory planning and policy tool. The authorse emphasise the challenges of local politics, updating and ownership. They conclude that there is valued to participatory GIS if it can help to inform process and relationships rather than simply extracting patterns from large volumes of data.

Starting with a question - can participatory learning and action methodologies be combined with more formal, academic approaches and still be effective?, this paper reflects on the methodological complementarity and compromise between PLA and other research methods. Numerous examples are drawn from participatory research and development practice which suggest that complementarity seems to be both essential and effective.